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Just checked the fluid level in the radiator, and it's pretty dang low. Checked the overflow and it's almost bone dry. Admittedly it's been quite a while since I last checked (like 6+ months) but in the entirety of the time I've owned the car I've never seen it change.
I haven't been seeing and puddles underneath the car, and I'm worried a headgasket has let go.
Is there a way for me to tell if the headgasket went without having to pull the heads?
Edit: Pulled the dipstick, nothing on there (not even condensation) but I pulled the fill cap and there is a ton of white/brown **** on that. I've had mild issues with condensation milking up the oil, but never this much.
Last edited by HappySalesman; Dec 27, 2015 at 05:36 PM.
You may still have a leak which only occurs at certain points in the warm-up/cool-down cycle that may not leave a puddle in your typical parking spot. I wouldn't be too worried about some milky residue under the fill cap at this time of year, especially if you do a lot of short trips and you live in a cool weather part of the country. This is the highest point of the system so any moisture will collect there. If the oil level isn't too high and it doesn't look like a milkshake then I wouldn't be immediately alarmed, I'd just fill the coolant back to the proper level and start watching daily for evidence of a leak and for how quickly the level is dropping. If the coolant is disappearing but the oil level isn't getting any higher, then you need to look elsewhere for the leak. The power steering cooler is known to leak on these cars, allowing coolant and PS fluid to mix, but if you've lost that much coolant then by now I'm sure you'd be seeing some leakage from under the PS fill cap and/or be having issues with the PS pump. Still doesn't hurt to check for cross-contamination in the PS system though.
I had checked my ps fluid since I know it has a leak (from one of the fittings, not the cooler) and saw no contamination there.
Rented a coolant pressure tester and it holds pressure, but very slowly bleeds down.like 1 psi every six minutes or so. Cap gave mixed results. I was gonna replace the cap since their so cheap and see what happens.
Being a Newbie , I may be wrong but if you pull the spark plugs and look at them that may tell you if the head gasket is gone , I think that if one or more plugs are cleaner than the rest that it may be a head gasket. Would a cylinder leak down tester help ? I am old school but if you see bubbles when you pull off the rad cap that points to a bad head gasket.
If your coolant looks like milkshake and you still have the stock PS cooler I'd bet the cooler leaked into your coolant system. It may not b your only problem, but it's a problem needing to be fixed nonetheless.
I took my PS cooler out and replaced it with a solid upper hose. Then i ran a trans cooler under the radiator as a replacement. It runs so much cooler than the stock unit and only cost about $30 to complete.
If your coolant looks like milkshake and you still have the stock PS cooler I'd bet the cooler leaked into your coolant system. It may not b your only problem, but it's a problem needing to be fixed nonetheless.
I took my PS cooler out and replaced it with a solid upper hose. Then i ran a trans cooler under the radiator as a replacement. It runs so much cooler than the stock unit and only cost about $30 to complete.
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Got a write up on that? I mean I'm sure it's pretty straightforward but regardless...
Also, the only thing I've ever found in my coolant is in the overflow tank, and it's just some brown gunky ****. Not milky or anything.
So it definitely wasn't an issue with the PS cooler. Coolant is clean and clear, aside from some gunk that I imagine is just old coolant. PS fluid was brown and smelt a bit burnt, but otherwise no milkyness or metal bits.
Rad hoses aren't leaking, which leaves either a head gasket, water pump/gasket, or the heater hoses. I'm actually hoping it's a head gasket over the heater hoses cause... **** I don't wanna replace those lol.
So it definitely wasn't an issue with the PS cooler. Coolant is clean and clear, aside from some gunk that I imagine is just old coolant. PS fluid was brown and smelt a bit burnt, but otherwise no milkyness or metal bits.
Rad hoses aren't leaking, which leaves either a head gasket, water pump/gasket, or the heater hoses. I'm actually hoping it's a head gasket over the heater hoses cause... **** I don't wanna replace those lol.
So then I take it you're still experiencing coolant loss? What is the rate of loss? And are your seeing an increase in oil level on the dipstick? If it's a tiny head gasket leak then perhaps the coolant is mostly being burned off, but if the rate of loss is significant then I imagine you'd see some evidence of coolant intrusion in the oil.
It may still be weeping from the water pump or WP gasket at odd times. You might need to inspect it hot, and also during warm-up and cool-down. I would do every check possible before pulling the heads, unless you just wanted to do a head swap anyway. You could also send an oil sample out for analysis, that would expose even small amounts of coolant if present.
Well I just did the swap yesterday so we'll see if it was leaking, but I figured I'd be seeing evidence of it somewhere in the coolant/ps fluid.
Not entirely sure how to check at the water pump while the engine is warming up/cooling down, there's so much stuff crammed in there I can't hardly see anything. I don't see any drips from the bottom of the car.
The rate of loss is pretty small. Since I started this thread nearly a month ago it's barely dropped below the cold line on the reservoir dipstick.
Oil isn't filling up or seeming any higher either, I've had a small leak since I bought the car that I think is either the timing cover to oil pan, or the front seal. Never been serious and the car's never been more than half a quart low, and I usually check that weekly.
I guess for the moment I'll just keep an eye on the coolant level for a week or two, and go from there.
Wish GM gave us a more accurate way of checking the fluid level lol.
I doesn't sound like a major loss then, so I wouldn't jump to pull the heads at all. I'd probably try another radiator cap (if you didn't already) and maybe rent another tester just to see if it agrees with the pressure loss seen on the first tester. I'd also order an oil sample test kit and get a UOA done (used oil analysis) to see if there is any trace of coolant. I'd also get the area around the water pump extremely clean and park the car on ramps, then watch from underneath while the engine warms up, then when hot (after some driving), and again during cool down. Pulling the heads wouldn't be on the table yet, if it were mine.
I did try another rad cap, but the one I got felt really loose on the rad. Swapped it for another and it was teh same thing. I'll order the UOA and see what that says and go from there.
Hopefully someday I'll be able to afford newer heads lol.
Just a FYI, I thought I was losing coolant at one time. The radiator seemed to be a tad low from what it was. The only thin I changed was a radiator cap. My stock one started leaking so I bought a stant. The stant cap was the problem. If you compare the stant vs stock you can see how much further down the stant protrudes into the radiator neck. What I'm trying to say is the stant takes up more space and doesn't allow coolant to fill the radiator to the top. I bought a stock cap from GM and its good. Also, when I was losing my mind over that mess I found out its best to check coolant levels the next day as opposed to waiting a couple hrs.
Not sure what you got for a cap or exactly how your checking levels but thought I'd throw that out to you.
Just a FYI, I thought I was losing coolant at one time. The radiator seemed to be a tad low from what it was. The only thin I changed was a radiator cap. My stock one started leaking so I bought a stant. The stant cap was the problem. If you compare the stant vs stock you can see how much further down the stant protrudes into the radiator neck. What I'm trying to say is the stant takes up more space and doesn't allow coolant to fill the radiator to the top. I bought a stock cap from GM and its good. Also, when I was losing my mind over that mess I found out its best to check coolant levels the next day as opposed to waiting a couple hrs.
Not sure what you got for a cap or exactly how your checking levels but thought I'd throw that out to you.
You know, I'm not sure. I thought it was the stock cap, but I tried looking those up and it looks like the stockers actually had writing on them, whereas mine doesn't. But looking in pictures I'm seeing a mixture between writing and none... h-uh. I'll assume it's a stock cap though. Maybe order one from hawks since the one Oreilly's gave me fit like garbage.
As for checking my coolant level, I do check the rad, though the level in that doesn't seem to change. Otherwise I'm just checking the fluid on the dipstick in the resovoir.
between water pump and block, those oem gaskets leaked on me and i never knew until it left an orange stain on my garage floor. the leak was so small that i never had a wet puddle in garage, but a stain.... i eventually got to a 1/4 ounce puddle on the garage floor when i decided to change water pump. if your oil analysis comes back with no evidence of glycol in oil, i would replace those water pump gaskets they are less than $10.
other thing that would be a good idea (easy and free to do) is pull your battery, and then pull out the plastic coolant reservoir. clean it out, make sure it is not cracked and leaking out anywhere. make sure there's no evidence of coolant leakage below the resevoir
You know, I'm not sure. I thought it was the stock cap, but I tried looking those up and it looks like the stockers actually had writing on them, whereas mine doesn't. But looking in pictures I'm seeing a mixture between writing and none... h-uh. I'll assume it's a stock cap though. Maybe order one from hawks since the one Oreilly's gave me fit like garbage.
As for checking my coolant level, I do check the rad, though the level in that doesn't seem to change. Otherwise I'm just checking the fluid on the dipstick in the resovoir.
The writing on the plastic outer shell sometimes wears off with age. But originally they all had writing on them, '98-'02.
Originally Posted by 1 FMF
between water pump and block, those oem gaskets leaked on me and i never knew until it left an orange stain on my garage floor. the leak was so small that i never had a wet puddle in garage, but a stain.... i eventually got to a 1/4 ounce puddle on the garage floor when i decided to change water pump. if your oil analysis comes back with no evidence of glycol in oil, i would replace those water pump gaskets they are less than $10.
other thing that would be a good idea (easy and free to do) is pull your battery, and then pull out the plastic coolant reservoir. clean it out, make sure it is not cracked and leaking out anywhere. make sure there's no evidence of coolant leakage below the resevoir
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low coolant? 
