Losing coolant.....somewhere.....

[andymac0035]

Over the course of several weeks (a month I think) I lost about the amount of coolant the overflow resiviour holds. Now at first I thought nothing of it as I had the radiator/cooling system flushed last month. I figured there would be air working it's way out of the system.

Well.....About 2 weeks ago I smell anti-freeze. It's faint, but I smell it.
But not inside the car (thankfully).
I smell it when I get out of the car. So I pop the hood, yep, that's where the smell is. Seems to be from the passenger side, towards the front.

I check all the usual culprits......no wet spots anywhere.
-No white smoke out back
-hoses are good
-intake is dry
-not in the oil (I just changed it)

While I had it up on ramps (to change the oil) I had it up to operating temp and was looking all around for leaks. I figure gravity is on my side and it has to come out somewhere....but nope.

Then tuesday I check when the car is cold from sitting all night/morning. I see just a bit of wetness/dampness collected in the lower passenger corner of the radiator. That's the best I have to go on, but this could also have been condensation too.

So, I drive to work and check that spot again when I get there.
Nothing.....bone dry.

I'm suspecting the radiator is going to need replacing.......but it's not leaking under pressure....so I'm not certain about this. I suppose the leak could be so small that it is evaporating from the heat?

[hav24wheel]

Did u cheak all the hose clamps to see it they are tight? my car had a slow leak due to loose clamps....

[andymac0035]

I haven't actually tried tighnening them, but there is no wetness around the ends either.

I actually just went out to look. The lower corners of the radiator are damp/wet.....but It poored out last night and the car hasn't been driven today.
So that could very well be rain water.

[hav24wheel]

It is possable the tanks are leaking. Right where they seal up to the core.

[gadget73]

Might want to pressure test the system. Could be a very small leak that only happens under pressure, but since its hot the coolant just steams off instead of collecting. Pressure testing it cold might show the leak.

[ironstealth]

my resevoir has a tiny crack at the bottom of it. And the epoxy on radiator is cracked. it will leak in cold weather,but by winter i'll be getting a solid aluminum one. Passenger side?check the heater core,mine went out 2 weeks ago.

[GM_Guy]

Do you have some white crusty buildup where the tanks meet the rad where/near it is damp? If you do, you have leaking seams.

Alex.

[Lincolnmania]

prob the radiator......could be a loose petcock........i would fill the radiator and pressure test the system......you should be able to rent a pressure tester for free from autozone

[85MercPark]

Also, check that T on the heater hose, was my problem. It dripped on the hot manifold, so never saw a puddle...

[andymac0035]

Thanks thanks for all the suggestions.

The wet spot is indeed right were the tank meets the core. I don't believe there was any white crusty builup there though. It is a bit rusty looking.......but my color vision ain't the greatest for greens and yellows......and that could be dried up spilled coolant too.

Interesting about that "T", but wouldn't I see steam if something was burning off?
.....If I was right there looking and listening for it? It would be really nice if this was a cheap fix.

If not for that big AC condensor I'd be able to see things a lot better.....but I'm not ditching my AC just yet. I need to pull the fan shroud off and look at those lower corners a little better. As well as have a pressure check.

As for the heater core, wouldn't I have the typical puddle inside the car, as well as smell it inside the car?

Drove the car about 50 miles this afternoon. When I got back all the wetness had gone like usual. I check it again right before it got dark out and it was still dry.... It was still warm under the hood though.

[ironstealth]

my heater core just blew smoke out the vents,there was no puddle.(bypassed it for now) My '88 grand marquis' core just opened up like a grenade while driving!(that car is another story...) Defiantely pressure test it.

[85MercPark]

Interesting about that "T", but wouldn't I see steam if something was burning off?
.....If I was right there looking and listening for it? It would be really nice if this was a cheap fix.

Mine was a slow drip hard to notice.

[351m]

Mine is at the right tank on the lower corner of the rad. Every now and again you can see it drip. Seems fairly common.

[andymac0035]

Well, looks like it's the seams. Makes sense....as it heats up they swell shut.

So Now I need to replace the radiator.
Looks straight forward enough...2 hoses and 2 tranny lines.

Do they make a larger/thicker 2 core direct fit radiator for my car?
All I see listed are stock replacements with no mention of a larger tow package model.

I know when the motor swap was done on my 81' they put a tow-package radiator on it and that was a lot thicker than what came out....(there were 3 listed for that car).....of course that car also took FOREVER to throw heat in the winter afterwards...But I think it had a 180 t-stat.

[gadget73]

3 core radiator exists for an 85 police car. It needs one of the upper brackets modded a bit, and some of the rubber shaved on the lower support blocks but its not a big deal to install it. If you go with one of those, you need the 85 police upper radiator hose, its slightly different.