FreakingGomer Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 So i pull into my driveway ohh, 10 minutes ago and i am listening to a song, so i leave the car running, I look at the dash and notice my car is a little over 200* and then i notice it keeps going up, mind you at this point I had turned the heater on full blast, you know to cool the engine I guess. then it keeps going so i shut the car off, open the hood, and there is smoke coming from the side of the engine where all the pulleys are, and i notice i don't have an ounce of coolent left it is all/has streamed out of my car into the driveway. moral of the story? What the hell happened? I need to go to work tomorrow at 9am and unless I can fix whats wrong its gonna be a 4-5 mile walk and I am a large man. btw its a 3.1L in a 1993 cutty coupe, automatic tranny if that makes a difference. also, today was the first day I have used my a/c in a few months and it is also the first time I have driven more than 15 miles in about a month (new job working 12 hrs a day 6 days a week, leaves no time for driving) Any help is appreciated and if this is in the wrong section mods feel free to move it to the proper one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoStudd Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 Fill the system back up and start the motor. Look underhood to see if you can find any obvious signs of leakage. Look at the radiator and see if you can see anything spraying out. Shut off the motor and check the condition of all the hoses (upper and lower radiator hoses, heater hoses) Check the fittings where the heater hoses connect also. Make sure your radiator cap is tight, cause that could cause coolant to dump out, and also rush into the overflow tank. Look around the perimiter of the water pump to see if the gasket might be leaking. Also if the WP is on its way out, it will "weep" out a hole on the bottom (but it won't dump coolant out at such a high rate.) If you can't spot any of these areas, then you have bigger problems. I'm talking head gasket failure or intake gasket failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakingGomer Posted January 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 i filled it back up, put it up on ramps and shut it off and watched as all the coolant/water I had put in came pooring out, its coming from the passenger side back of the engine but I cannot see where exactly it is coming from, it all just leaked out. I am going to have one of my friends come over and take some pictures either tonight or tomorrow depending on when I can get off of work/he gets home from school. its coming from the back of the engine, it looks like there is a hose there but I cannot tell if the hose is leaking or what, the engine has 88k on it so I didn't think it would be a head gasket but I do not know a ton about cars so who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCutlassGuru Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 i would check the metal heater hoses going down by the inside right fenderwell into the firewall and also the heater core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 i would check the metal heater hoses going down by the inside right fenderwell into the firewall and also the heater core. Yep those LOVE to rust out and ruin your day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru2Chevy Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 i would check the metal heater hoses going down by the inside right fenderwell into the firewall and also the heater core. Yep those LOVE to rust out and ruin your day Yup, I just cut mine off and replaced with 5/8" (I think) heater hose. If you do this, make sure that your clamps are seated well and tightened. - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89GPSE Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 i would check the metal heater hoses going down by the inside right fenderwell into the firewall and also the heater core. Yep those LOVE to rust out and ruin your day Agreed happen to me too. :dammit: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89GPSE Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 Yup, I just cut mine off and replaced with 5/8" (I think) heater hose. If you do this, make sure that your clamps are seated well and tightened. - Justin Thats what I did too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakingGomer Posted January 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 yea, so he dealership said it was most likely the intake gasket and quoted me $600 to fix. I didn't have them look at it seeing as how I didn't want to pay for a tow for the car if I didn't have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossman429 Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 I don't think that the intake is as much of a possibility on a 93 3.1. I've only seen them seeping slowly. 94 and up 3100s on the other hand can start leaking very badly out of the intake, maybe a steady drip, but if you are losing all of your coolant I would suspect those heater hoses, because as everyone else has said so far, they loooove to rust and leak. My step dad's 92 Euro had one leaking several years ago. They aren't very expensive from the dealer, maybe $30 or $40, I think at the most. BTW we had an 83 El Camino in the shop several weeks ago with an intake leak on a 350 that was actually bubbling coolant out as the engine was running. That was the first time I've seen an intake leaking that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakingGomer Posted January 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 hmm...I guess I'll have to take it to the dealer and just tell them to fix whatever the hell it is. Damn I wish I had the time or at least could look at it in daylight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldsmoBeast Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 mind you at this point I had turned the heater on full blast, Definitely a heater pipe. IIRC: On my old 91' 3.1L I bought the pipe for $80 Canadian, and it took me like 3 hours with like barely any experience whatsoever (I was 16 or 17) and minimal tools.... So hopefully you dont' get screwed by the dealer. YK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru2Chevy Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Do not take it to a dealer without checking that heater pipe first. It should be a metal pipe running from waterpump housing, down under the coolant reservoir, back up just under the cowl, and then across the top of the firewall where it enters the heater core near the throttle body. IIRC, this is all one large pipe. It has 4 tabs welded to it, two under the reservoir, and two along the firewall. the two under the reservoir are both prone to rusting and leaking, so pop out the reservoir and take a good look at the pipe. Let us know what you find. - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89GPSE Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 The dealer is going to get you, it's got to be the pipe. don't pay them an arm and a leg for such an easy job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted January 29, 2005 Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 i'd bet that its the pipe, they all tend to rust out in time just find where its bad chop it off, then replace that section with some heater hose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakingGomer Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Something different entirely from all of the above. I finaly just got sick of not having a car of my own so I took it to the dealership, its the timing chain cover gasket thats leaking, and the reason its leaking is the freeze plug under the timing chain cover is split and no longer holding back the coolant. $665.00 parts and labor for that. Then they call me and tell me they broke a wheel lug off while removing a front tire, and that is going to be more plus the freeze plug was not figured into the initially estimate so the grand total right now is $731.00 and I dropped it off at 9am and its now 5pm and they say it will not be done until Friday, Thursday night at the earliest. Thanks for your guy's ideas, they helped give me an area to look, and I actually figured it was a freeze plug under the timing chain cover that had gone, from all my looking and fiddling under the engine thats what my best guess was, but I ever knew it was gonig to be something like that I was hoping for the hose BUt thanks for the help, just thought you might enjoy an update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryk2003 Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 well, that kinda sux....and, IMO if THEY broke the stud off...THEY should fix that for free...but, i guess that's not how Stealerships work...anywayz, good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreakingGomer Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 yea, I am going to have to talk to them about the stud, its making me angry, so I figured it wouldn't be a good plan to talk to them while I was angry and they were still working on my car. I am ust going to deal with it when I go to pick up my car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.