Well, I keep flip-flopping on this head gasket thing. I'm not so sure now that the damned thing is blown. First off, I pulled the plugs the other day. I figured that one of the plugs would look drastically different than all the others. If the head gasket was shot, one of them would be burning water and anti-freeze in addition to fuel and air. Well, I found nothing. All four plugs looked identical. Each one of them looked normal. The only discoloration and build-up looks like normal wear to me. They looked fine.

So, anyway, I was planning on replacing the radiator cap anyway. I just decided to expedite the process and I bought one the other day. I started to wonder if maybe the reason that I wasn't building up any pressure was because I couldn't get a good seal around the filler neck of the radiator. The inside of the radiator looked pretty gunked up, so I took some sand paper and a socket and sanded the o-ring surface down flat to make sure that I was getting a good seal. Then, I installed the new cap. Wouldn't ya know it?! I took her out for a spin, and I noticed that the cooling system was now pressuring up.

So, I started thinking that maybe the problem was fixed. I decided to test her this weekend, and I drove her from San Diego to Los Angeles. Much of the trip was through rush hour traffic. It's about a hundred and twenty mile trip. I made it all the way without the temperature guage creeping up at all. I started becoming more and more convinced that it was fixed. I waited for the car to cool down, opened the radiator, and checked the water level. It was a bit down, but not much. Took well less than a quarter of a gallon to fill it up.

Anyway, now the problem is MUCH less severe, but is still there to a very limited degree. I can roadtrip and drive around town, but every once in a while, I have to fill it back up. I still check it regularly, but most of the time, I only have to add a little bit of water - like less than a quarter of a gallon. Still can't find a leak. However, I'm wondering if it has something to do with the fact that I have NO coolant in there whatsoever. I know that water has a lower boiling temperature, and it evaporates much sooner than coolant. I'm wondering if that's why the lever keeps dropping. I don't want to fill her up with coolant if I'm just going to lose it. What do you guys think? Does it sound like I still have a leak, or is the water just evaporating? Do you think that filling her with coolant solve would this problem?

I haven't had a chance to pressurize the cooling system yet. I'm having a hell of a time finding a pressure tester. Autozone has one to rent, but the kit doesn't have the right adapter to hook it up to my car. Apparently, all the stores have the same kit, too. So, I'm still looking. I'll let you guys know once I figure out what's up. If you've got an opinion on this, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks
Jon

 

Ah Ha!! The last culprit might've just reared its ugly head!! That means that I might've figured out where the rest of the water is going. Yesterday, I took the car for a spin. I hadn't filled the cooling system in a while, and I know for a fact that it was low. The temperature guage was creeping a bit. It wasn't running anywhere near the danger zone, but it was operating at a bit above normal.

Anyway, I stopped and shut off the car. When I got out and walked past the front of the car, I heard some hissing, and I looked down and saw some water. I kneeled down and peeked under the car, and, lo and behold, I saw a stream of water coming from the bottom of the car. I couldn't tell exactly, but it looked like it was originating from the left (driver's) side of the radiator.

So, I think that the radiator might be cracked. Wouldn't surprise me, considering that the top and bottom of those radiators are plastic. Hopefully, I'll have time to pull it out today and inspect. Funny thing is that that leak only showed up when the coolant level was low. I filled it back up before heading home and when I got there, no stream this time. Any ideas why that would be?

So, I think I might've whipped this problem. I'll keep you posted and let you know what I figure out.

Thanks for the Help
Jon

 

Okay, guys. I'm going to start this post by saying that I think I'm about to ask a stupid question. Well, not stupid... just ignorant. I feel like I should know the answer, but don't.

All Right!! That being said, let's move on. I got a chance to investigate my leak a little more. I can (sort of) see where the leak is coming from, but I didn't think that coolant could leak from there (meaning that I didn't think that coolant ran through this part of the car).

After taking off the plastic shield from the underside of the car below the radiator, I drained some of the water and took the car for a spin. I got it a bit hot (not in the red, by any stretch of the imagination), then got out to see what I could see. Sure enough, water was dripping. When I crawled under the car, it looked like the water was coming from the fins about half way up on the little "radiator" (cooler?) in front of the main radiator. In fact, I could see water on both the front side and the back side of this "radiator".

Now, I thought that thing was the transmission cooler. Is it? If so, I thought that no water flowed through them. I thought the fluid flowed through them and was air cooled. Is this wrong? If that "radiator" is not the tranny cooler, what in the hell is it?

I'm sorry for asking an ignorant question, but I searched around and didn't find anything out about it. If anybody can lend a little insight, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks
Jon

 

I FOUND THE LEAK!!!

Ah ha!!! I think I just found the final remaining problem with this car. I finally was able to locate a pressure tester for the cooling system. As soon as I pressured it up, viola!! Water started streaming out of the front of the radiator. The leak is dead center of the core, so I guess I'll have to replace the whole thing. I'll get that done, then check everything out. I'm pretty sure that this will fix her, though.

Thanks for all of your help on this one, guys. I appreciate it.
Jon

P.S. Okay, I feel stupid for asking what the little "radiator" was in front of the main radiator. As soon as the first person told me that I was looking at the AC condensor, I felt like a dumbass. The coolant cycles through the radiator, and no water goes through the AC condensor. The leak in the radiator core was just squirting forward to the condensor. Mystery solved!!

 

Okay, guys. Sorry that I've been out of the loop for so long. I've been in the process of moving from San Diego back to Nebraska, and my computer has been packed up for two months. Done with grad school, so it's time to get on with the rest of my life. However, being computer-less has meant that my internet time has been very limited.

Anyway, I wanted to drop a line and let everybody know how my problem came out. Seems to me that I've fixed it. I bought the radiator, installed it, and a few days later, took the car on a cross-country journey. Over the course of a week, I drove over 2000 miles. I didn't have a single problem with the cooling system, so I'm going to assume that the problem is behind me. Hopefully we won't have anymore flare-ups with this animal. I want to thank all of you for your help. I don't know if I could've done it without your input.

By the way, I'm damned glad that I didn't tear into the head gasket like I'd originally intended to. I'd have been bummed to tear the engine apart only to find out that the culprit was the radiator.

So, we can close the books on this one. Now it's time for me to move onto the next problem. I'm having a hard start problem and I think it's a fuel pressure issue. I want some input on it, though. However, I'll save that for another post. This one is long enough!!!

Thanks again.
Jon

 

Okay, guys. Sorry that I've been out of the loop for so long. I've been in the process of moving from San Diego back to Nebraska, and my computer has been packed up for two months. Done with grad school, so it's time to get on with the rest of my life. However, being computer-less has meant that my internet time has been very limited.

Anyway, I wanted to drop a line and let everybody know how my problem came out. Seems to me that I've fixed it. I bought the radiator, installed it, and a few days later, took the car on a cross-country journey. Over the course of a week, I drove over 2000 miles. I didn't have a single problem with the cooling system, so I'm going to assume that the problem is behind me. Hopefully we won't have anymore flare-ups with this animal. I want to thank all of you for your help. I don't know if I could've done it without your input.

By the way, I'm damned glad that I didn't tear into the head gasket like I'd originally intended to. I'd have been bummed to tear the engine apart only to find out that the culprit was the radiator.

So, we can close the books on this one. Now it's time for me to move onto the next problem. I'm having a hard start problem and I think it's a fuel pressure issue. I want some input on it, though. However, I'll save that for another post. This one is long enough!!!

Thanks again.
Jon