Cooling issue....pump?

[mhinchley]

Hmm, I am a little miffed by this. And to be honest I have not looked at it much or really tried to diagnose the problem. I am finishing up some work on my Caddy first. I just bought the car, 94 Mark 8, 68k on car. On the drive home (384 miles) the low coolant alarm came on a couple of times and I reset it. No biggie..........figured maybe it was low or had a small leak somewhere. Never got hot or anything. When I got home I filled it, as it was low..................then the coolant resivoir overflowed. I thought.......well maybe I overfilled it. Today, I went to the part store, and it overflowed again.............although it did heat up to the L on the normal, then went right back down to the O within a minute or so. When I got home, it again appears to be low. So why do you think it heated up and overflowed, and lost too much coolant? Again, the coolant low alarm is showing up. Heater works fine, so don't think it is a clog. Maybe water pump going out?

 

[98LSC32V]

Well look underneath the car, is there a coolant leak coming below the water pump?

 

[Staffamerica74]

if its not leaking its possible you could have air in the system. Try and bleed the air out of the cross over tube.

 

[Frat-man-du]

Hopefeully it is just air in the system.

Might be head gasket..check the oil to see if is milky.

 

[mhinchley]

I am gonna take a serious look at it Monday......as I will be finished with the Caddy tomorrow. Like I said it is weird. It is not like it overheated and it lost too much coolant. It is like it lost coolant and then overheated...........but it lost coolant because the resivoir was backing up. I did not see any other leaks or coolant in oil........but I have not looked very closely. That is why I was thinking the pump may be going out. Air in the system is a possibility too. It better not be the headgasket........lol. Actually that may be good as I bought a warranty through paypal and they would have to fix the engine, if it were that. Update on Monday once I get a chance to thoroughly examine. If I do not find nothing, I will drain the system, flush, refill, and bleed the system.................and see what happens.

 

[mhinchley]

Well I removed the air from the system, and is much better. However, I still notice a couple of drips over a one hour idling period in the driveway under the radiator on the ground. I suspect possibly the radiator may have a small leak in the core or a crack in the housing. I 'suspect' because could be left over from filling the system. I wonder if I should add a sealant into the radiator hose..........or just buy a new radiator. The radiator does not look old (loks new with no corrosion and whatnot on the core......and the tank paint is black........no removal). I do not want to clog up the system (thermostat, heater core, etc). So I wonder if I should try a sealant with car running and heater on.........or just buy a new radiator and be done. Any experience with sealers that worked? I figure if it is not leaking, it will not hurt anything............and if it is..........hopefully will seal. Buy a new radiator is only $160.............so maybe just replace and not have the worry in my head......and peace of mind???? I cannot see a leak, but the fan and such clouds my view somewhat. No coolant in oil, so not that.

 

[JRMARK8]

It Could Be The T-stat

 

[Frat-man-du]

Well I removed the air from the system, and is much better. However, I still notice a couple of drips over a one hour idling period in the driveway under the radiator on the ground. I suspect possibly the radiator may have a small leak in the core or a crack in the housing. I 'suspect' because could be left over from filling the system. I wonder if I should add a sealant into the radiator hose..........or just buy a new radiator. The radiator does not look old (loks new with no corrosion and whatnot on the core......and the tank paint is black........no removal). I do not want to clog up the system (thermostat, heater core, etc). So I wonder if I should try a sealant with car running and heater on.........or just buy a new radiator and be done. Any experience with sealers that worked? I figure if it is not leaking, it will not hurt anything............and if it is..........hopefully will seal. Buy a new radiator is only $160.............so maybe just replace and not have the worry in my head......and peace of mind???? I cannot see a leak, but the fan and such clouds my view somewhat. No coolant in oil, so not that.

With Summer coming a new rad cant hurt. but before you waste the bucks carefully power wash the area and wait a day to see if the drip comes back.