Well i went to some hangouts about a few hours ago and the car was running fine. On the way home though i got the smell of coolant, when i look at my temp gauge the needle is between the 210 and the third line. I keep driving a bit so i can pull into a parking lot nearby, at that point i see the needle climb little by little to the third line. I go into the parking lot and into the first space i see, soon as the car stops and i pull the e-brake the needle just drops in less than .5 seconds back down to 210. I pop the hood theres no smoke, or anything looking wrong in the engine bay. But i look under the car in front of the front passenger side tire and see a pool of liquid, when i touch it and smell it i can tell its a bit of coolant. Not a huge puddle but something that caught my eye. I turned off the car soon as i stopped and let it sit for maybe 5 minutes. I turn it back on and drive home with the heater on and using the Diablo Sport to check my temp. The needle stayed centered on 210 and the diablo was reading aroung 210-215 while driving. When i got home i let the car sit for a while idling and the temp went up to 221 then sat there for a bit then went to 224 than after another while made its way to 226. It did jump to 228 after another while but that was before i turned off the car. I thought maybe my t-stat was stuck and thats what was causing the overheating, but it seemed normal on the drive home. Im going to check it out tomorrow morning, any of you guys got any tips or hints to check out?
-Joel

 

well first whats leaking?? maybe waterpump is going

 

The leak looked like it was coming from the overflow tank like maybe it got so hot it spilled abit from the top. But it was nothing insane, the last time that happened was after i installed my cam when i put my battery back into the car i pinched one of the small hoses that goes under the battery in the middle of the rack. I lifted up the battery this time and there was no sound or any smoke like i relieved the pressure, but then again the car stayed at a steady temp the whole way home (well from what the temp gauge was saying, and from i have read they aren't very accurate). When i tuned my car the tuner lowered my fan temp and told me to get a 160* t-stat. Do they sell those at an auto parts store, or would i have to order it from a sponsor?
-Joel
-Joel

 

the overflow is most likely from the overflow bottle, or the radiator cap if the hose from the neck to the overflow is not that secure. so the puddle is normal when the car gets really hot, the expansion of coolant has to go somewhere and the overflow bottle can only hold so much. If it was water pump you would be losing coolant and notice coolant under the car often.
you might need a new radiator cap, if the cap doesn't seal and keep the system under pressure, you will overheat and your temp will fluctuate. Radiator caps are cheap, I would start there especially if your current one has any crud on the seal or the spring is looking a little coroded.

At idle not moving, the coolant temp will get to 220F, that is normal. The system relies on forward movement of the car for air to flow through the radiator, at a standstill it's the electric radiator fans that move the air and the PCM turns them on low speed at 226F and on high speed at 234F, according to my 2002 service manual. Those temp numbers are from memory so I might be off a couple degrees but they are correct for the most part. Also check and make sure your radiator fans are coming on, you can check them by turning on the AC when the car is hot and you are not moving, both fans should spin. If they both spin, high or low speed, they are working properly. I think you would also get a check eng light if they didn't. Also make sure the front of your radiator is clean and free of leaves, plastic bags, etc.
Getting a colder thermostat, such as a 160 vs your oem 190, won't keep your car cooler necessarily. Like I said, you need to be doing 30+ mph for sufficient air to pass through the radiator to cool the coolant. When not moving or in stop and go traffic, until the fans come on any temp thermostat will let the coolant get up to 220F till the fans kick on. On the highway is a different story, I don't know if parts stores carry the LS1 style thermostat.

 

Well the area around the opening of the overflow tank neck had little spots of coolant like it overflowed from there. I guess i'll check out the cap, thanks.
-Joel

 

I just went outside and messed with the car abit to see if i can find the problem. I took off the cap and noticed no coolant, i had about half a bottle of dex-cool so i started pouring. It took what was left in the bottle to fill it up to the top. I turned on the car with the a/c on temp got to around 190 idling. I revved it up a bit when the temp got around 195 i believe the fans kicked in. Temp then rose to around 197 till it dropped back below 195. Im not sure if the problem was low coolant, but before i drive it im going to buy another bottle of coolant, and also another rad. cap since mine looked pretty disgusting.
-Joel

 

Well i went to the auto parts store bought another bottle of coolant and a vented radiator cap. I came home put the new cap on, noticed i needed a bit more coolant so i topped it off. I drove around the block a few times, diablo sport reading was around 194* driving and 195*-197* at idle. Came home parked it and let it idle for a while and it stayed in the 1954*-195* range. Im going to let it cool down a bit and check the coolant again, to make sure its all good.
-Joel

 

I thought our cooling systems need to be sealed, so wouldn't a vented cap be a bad idea?