Coolant leak from somewhere....

Big Dawg

Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2020
Hey guys been sometime since I posted......today I seen a small puddle of Coolant on the garage floor.....seems to be above the starter area......I'm thinking it could be one of the heater core hoses. But not 100% sure. I just don't want to start removing more than I need too. I don't think it's from head gasket or anything as the oil and Coolant is still pretty clean.

I also notice some Coolant dripped from under the thermostat housing.....I am definitely going to replace the gasket there. Could the Coolant from there work its way back to the rear of passenger side of block?

Also do you guys just use the thermostat/waterpump permatex gasket adhesive? Or both permatex and the gasket?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks guys

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here are a couple of pics of the area....I seen some drops of Coolant on the bellhousing.
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Also what is this orange pigtail thingy for? Something to do with Coolant? Does this ever need to get changed? Is it prone to leak?

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Unless the head gasket has failed horribly, the only thing in that area that could leak coolant is the heater hose complex.

Given the age and the way you wrote the post, I'm going to guess you haven't messed with those in a while. Yank it all out and replace it all. New heater valve, new hoses, new clamps, new fluid.

Just do it.
 
Unless the head gasket has failed horribly, the only thing in that area that could leak coolant is the heater hose complex.

Given the age and the way you wrote the post, I'm going to guess you haven't messed with those in a while. Yank it all out and replace it all. New heater valve, new hoses, new clamps, new fluid.

Just do it.
I never messed with those hoses......before I got the car in 2020...it had been parked for almost 20 yrs.

Where is the heater valve?

I am going to use a scope around the heads tmrw and see if I can see any Coolant leaking from gasket. Also take a peek in the cylinders as well.

Thanks

Thanks
 
Figured out the orange connector picture...that is block heater....forgot most cars up north BC have them.....lol
 
I decided I am going to replace the head gaskets.....a couple reasons, first is a peace of mind knowing that the gasket is new and there are no weak points that may leak/blowout in the future and I won't need to worry about ripping the heads apart to fix it. Secondly, because once I have it open I can put some more updated parts in, ARP stud bolts, and cosmetics head gasket.

Seems easy enough to do, just need to find myself some literature and a step by step to do list...torque sequences etc....

I replaced the head gaskets in my 2013 f150 5.0 modular motor over a couple weeks in the garage and if I can do that I should be able to replace them on a 3.8l 231 motor.


What would you recommend to me in replacement parts, head gaskets, head bolts, timing chains, intake bolts and gaskets valley pans etc, while I have top end apart.

Thanks Am
 
I would put some UV dye in the coolant and pinpoint the leak with a black light. Both are cheap on Amazon.
 
Heater valve is up top on the passengers side. Change all the hoses out as others have mentioned. Leave the head gaskets intact. You don't wanna go there if you don't need to. Cometics require a mirror smooth finish to the block and heads. If this car's been sitting for 20 years then slap a new fuel pump in it, or you will be changing head gaskets.
 
I agree with Scooby, I'd leave the head gaskets alone unless you know there is an issue there. There are methods to checking for a bad head gasket that require a lot less work than replacing them out of preventive maintenance. Depending on who you talk to, sticking a MLS gasket on a stock head and block surface may not seal. They do require a specific roughness average (RA) to properly seal, which requires machine work. Plus it seems the stock head gaskets are quite durable, I'm pushing mine very hard on my 86, so far no issues. Unless there has been an instance of overheating or knock that damaged the head gaskets I would do some testing before removing them.

Liquid from a leak at the front of the engine can definitely migrate to the rear of the engine while driving. For example recently on my 86 I started getting excessive oil under the car when parking it after a drive. Looking at the bottom of the engine it appeared to be coming from the rear of the engine specifically the rear main, but it wasn't. It turned out the copper line for my aftermarket mechanical oil pressure gauge at the "T" on the front of the block was leaking slightly. Got that fixed and now nearly zero leakage, but it was deceiving at first when looking at the oil and were it was migrating to.
 
I would put some UV dye in the coolant and pinpoint the leak with a black light. Both are cheap on Amazon.
The only thing is I have the headers and the crossover disconnected right now as I was in the middle of taking care of some exhaust leaks and welding up some cracks on the headers. Thank you for the info I will order one from amazon here shortly.
 
Heater valve is up top on the passengers side. Change all the hoses out as others have mentioned. Leave the head gaskets intact. You don't wanna go there if you don't need to. Cometics require a mirror smooth finish to the block and heads. If this car's been sitting for 20 years then slap a new fuel pump in it, or you will be changing head gaskets.
Thanks Scooby-Doo, I will leave the head gaskets for now and change out all the hoses. Also I changed the fuel pump last year when I got the hot wore kit and bigger injectors and TT chip from Eric.

Thanks
 
I agree with Scooby, I'd leave the head gaskets alone unless you know there is an issue there. There are methods to checking for a bad head gasket that require a lot less work than replacing them out of preventive maintenance. Depending on who you talk to, sticking a MLS gasket on a stock head and block surface may not seal. They do require a specific roughness average (RA) to properly seal, which requires machine work. Plus it seems the stock head gaskets are quite durable, I'm pushing mine very hard on my 86, so far no issues. Unless there has been an instance of overheating or knock that damaged the head gaskets I would do some testing before removing them.

Liquid from a leak at the front of the engine can definitely migrate to the rear of the engine while driving. For example recently on my 86 I started getting excessive oil under the car when parking it after a drive. Looking at the bottom of the engine it appeared to be coming from the rear of the engine specifically the rear main, but it wasn't. It turned out the copper line for my aftermarket mechanical oil pressure gauge at the "T" on the front of the block was leaking slightly. Got that fixed and now nearly zero leakage, but it was deceiving at first when looking at the oil and were it was migrating to.

Okay I will tackle the hoses and the thermostat housing gasket first. WHT do most of theTurbo buick owners do, permatex only or both gasket and permatex?
 
What happens when you pressurized the radiator ? Isn't that always the first step?

Heater valve is up top on the passengers side. Change all the hoses out as others have mentioned. Leave the head gaskets intact. You don't wanna go there if you don't need to. Cometics require a mirror smooth finish to the block and heads. If this car's been sitting for 20 years then slap a new fuel pump in it, or you will be changing i

Thanks Scooby-Doo, I will leave the head gaskets for now and change out all the hoses. Also I changed the fuel pump last year when I got the hot wore kit and bigger injectors and TT chip from Eric.

Thanks
Is the heater valve on the same side on a hot air 85?
 
Thank you, I ordered the HV-1022C universal Heater Control valve that was also mentioned on the site.

Thank you
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What happens when you pressurized the radiator ? Isn't that always the first step?
I pressure tested the radiator today.....would only get to about 10psi and than start losing pressure. The coolant was leaking from the both of the hoses coming from the heater core on the firewall. I have the hose and heater check valve on order should be here any day, also I took the thermostat housing off and cleaned it up and have it ready to go back on when the permatex comes in with the rest of the stuff. I have a question right now there is a 180° thermostat in there, I was thinking should go with the 160° ? While I have it all apart.

Are there pre bent hoses for the replacements or do I just cut to fit the 5/8 hose I ordered. One of the coolant hoses that is coming out of the heater core pipe has a big bend.I just don't know if the pipe I ordered will get a kink in it......we will wait and see what happens.

Do you guys run a gasket only or permatex or both on the thermostat housing? I have a 180 fan switch setup for the electric fans, if I switch the thermostat should I switch out the temp switch to 160 as well?

Thank you for all tour help guys.
 
and cosmetics head gasket.
Bad idea unless you intend a rebuild including the heads and block being resurfaced.
Maybe clean the engine up, so you don't have to hunt thru the grease/dirt/dead animal carcasses, etc, to find the leaks.
Then, a pressure test with some UV dye and a black light, before you start pulling things off.
 
Bad idea unless you intend a rebuild including the heads and block being resurfaced.
Maybe clean the engine up, so you don't have to hunt thru the grease/dirt/dead animal carcasses, etc, to find the leaks.
Then, a pressure test with some UV dye and a black light, before you start pulling things off.
The post before this post I said I found the leak, so no head gasket replacement.

The engine bay is pretty clean, no dead carcasses here.

Thanks
 
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