Hey Team.... thanks in advance!

my 99 classic is using a lot of coolant at the moment.

i notice there was water spilling out from the radiator cap, so I replaced that and it’s tight as a tiger now.

I thought this would be the issue, but it’s used a decent amount in the last two days since the cap was replaced.

Question - how much coolant should be in the overflow when cold (1/4, 1/2 etc)?

And, if that’s too full will it cause what looks like a lot of use?
(as in, if it’s too full the car will expel the excess to bring it to the correct level)

Cheers!

 

Well, that ain't good. That's a classic symptom of a blown head gasket or cracked head. The coolant goes into the engine and out the exhaust. Time to start looking for evidence of coolant in your oil, and for oil in your coolant. Best is to get an exhaust gas test kit. It's the most reliable test.

Some people just pull the dipstick, see no problem, and assume they are good. Nope. Drain a quart or so of engine oil into a clear container, let it settle. and see if there is an coolant at the bottom.

 

I usually keep my coolant overflow bottle at the full line when the engine is cold. It may be possible that your system lost a good amount of coolant from the bad radiator cap and is slowly refilling from the overflow bottle. I had a slow coolant "leak" where my overflow bottle would be completely empty in about 3 weeks with no visual leaks. I pulled my head and the head gasket was blown between cylinder 3 and 4 causing the coolant to disappear. I had no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil but my engine would misfire. since replacing my head gasket the coolant overflow bottle stays full and no more misfires.

 

You should loose zero coolant, check the oil cap to see if it looks creamy, if not pressurise your radiator..shows up coolant leaks quickly and cheaply

 

With the radiator pressure test, I've always gone 2 lbs over cap blowoff pressure, such as a 16 lb system should test good at 18 lb. This will show pinhole leaks if there are any. If you have the complete test kit, there should be an adapter to test the cap as well. If the pressure drops slowly when doing the rad test and there aren't any apparent leaks, it may be leaking into a cylinder.

 

I thought I would reply to all the above..... First off, thanks for the info team, much appreciated.

I went out this morning and noticed a big wet patch under the old girl. The liquid on the ground was clear, but I did notice some green liquid on pitman arm. There was also a couple of drips as I was looking, but couldn't see where it come from.
With this, I am thinking I have a leak (captain obvious....ha). Soooo, I am thinking I take her for a drive until warm and then get under and trace the leak..... thoughts???

On a side note, there is no white on the exhaust, nothing creamy under the oil cap and the old girl has never overheated (only ever gets to 175).

Again, thanks for the help!

UPDATE - the coolant level (After the car has run) is pretty close to where it was a few days ago when I filled it.
I can’t remember if I filled the coolant cold or hot, so will check it again when the car is cold.

 

175 degrees is not warm enough. Should run around 195.

There is a green liquid on the leaf spring as in it leaked out of the tailpipe? That is entirely possible if it's actually leaking coolant into the cylinder then blowing it out when you start the engine. My old truck dis the same thing.

Just do the pressure test.

 

Sorry, the drip was on the pitman arm, not the leaf (not sure why I wrote that).

I’ll have to take her on a decent drive to check the temp. Main point was it never goes over the 200 mark.

Cheers

 

Ok that makes alot more sense lol

 

This self isolation is getting to me...LOL

 

I found the leak, it is coming from the lower radiator hose.... It is coming right from the join/connection (see image)

I was thinking I might try cut a small length off the hose and reattach it. Any advise on this would be great.

Cheers!

 

Are you sure its the hose, and not the waterpump leaking? The pump is clearly wet just above the hose.

 

Bugger mate, I think you are right. The water is coming from higher than that lower hose connection.
I will double check it tomorrow - dry all of it off and see if I can see the water flow from above the connection. (is this the best way to check?)

If it is the water pump, am I looking at a whole pump or the gasket?
Or, any sneaky tricks to seal this?
She never overheats and it is a pretty slow drip.

I really didn't want to go as deep as a pump/gasket.... bugger!

Cheers!

 

Okay, that's actually good news. A bad water pump is a lot nicer than a blown head!

Time for a new thermostat while you are in there. Might not hurt to replace some hoses, too.

 

Yeah mate, it is a heap easier.... but still can't be fricked dealing with it...HA
I will need to get on YouTube and get some instructions.

Couple more questions:
Should I get silicone for the gasket?
Is a 195 degree thermostat suitable?

Cheers!