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Tale of 2 coolant leaks 200 1989

posted by CalW on Sat Jun 6 16:10 CST 2009
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last visit: Sat Sep 3 15:39 CST 2011

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Hello all. Scanned the faq and not seeing my pair of problems exactly. I replaced thermostat gaskets on both cars today and it didn't help either one.

245 auto 260k:
A week ago, stuck in rush hour highway traffic, car started spewing steam. pulled over and saw coolant shooting from a hole in the upper radiator hose like a geyser. it did not overheat though was getting close. I moved the clamp over the hole, got home and replaced the hose and thermostat (but not the gasket until today). Thought I was back in shape, but I'm still losing coolant at rate of maybe a gallon a day, enough to knock out the heat. can't tell from where except seems the drivers side. radiator and water pump look fine. coolant dripping under engine when running. any thoughts on how to track this down? oil on the stick looks normal.

740 auto 250k:
coolant has been seeping from thermo housing (or very near it) for a long time. I finally scraped away the alien gunk that looks like it came out of a bat cave, and replaced gasket. no better. maybe even worse. I cleaned the mating surfaces. should I replace the housing? is there sealant/liquid gasket in a tube for the mating surfaces? I've got those nuts cinched very tight.

Sorry to go on so long....this is a 2-in-1 deal. Thank you in advance for any tips.

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks 200 1989

posted by trichard on Sun Jun 7 01:17 CST 2009
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 05:52 CST 2014

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i am never inclined to use sealant on cooling leaks if you have any doubt about the quality of the metal you need to seal.

thermostat housings are easy enough to find in junkyard and not costly to buy new, so why harbor doubts?

have you looked with a mirror at the weep hole underside normally on your water pump.......just in back underside of the fan?

they have been known to leak like a sieve from worn bearings and no where else. you could easily lose a gallon out of that tiny hole and the fan would disperse it.

clean up your splash pan well and reinstall then look for tell tale signs

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks 200 1989

posted by CalW on Sat Jun 13 05:08 CST 2009
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last visit: Sat Sep 3 15:39 CST 2011

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a judicious amount of gasket sealant/dressing seemed to take care of the 740 leak. didn't know whether replacing thermo housing would do the job, since the pitting might be on the head.

the 240 leak is frustrating. seems to be too much spray up front and high to be heater hose issue. it's all on the driver side and everything under/around water pump looks dry. suspecting the radiator. there's plenty of coolant spray dripping off of things when I raise the hood, but I can't see it escaping anywhere when I run the motor and look for it. ehhh. I'll keep nosing around and post back. Thanks for the replies.

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks 200 1989

posted by rstarkie on Sat Jun 13 06:53 CST 2009
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 10:14 CST 2014

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You should not have to run the engine to locate the leak.

Once you bring it up to operating temerature and shut it off the pressure in the system usually goes up because you are no longer circulating coolant.

I always have my best luck looking for coolant leaks five minutes after turning the car off.

Randy

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks--updated 200 1989

posted by CalW on Tue Jun 30 05:34 CST 2009
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last visit: Sat Sep 3 15:39 CST 2011

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Previous suggestions were gratefully received but I'm still in hot water (coolant). I ended up taking it to the local Caddy dealer, b/c mechanic there loves old bricks and I got a healthy discount since my son worked there until about a week ago.

They did a pressure test and diagnosed the thermo housing, plus a small head gasket leak that I was told not to worry about.

However, the new thermo housing did not make a difference, I realized after bringing the car home. expansion tank empties and the heat stops working after maybe an hour of operation. Coolant drips from AMM and nearby parts in the front of the drivers side under the hood. (which is why I doubt the heater hoses). I can't see it leaking under operation, revving engine, or checking after engine turned off. But it's coming out.

So I fear the head gasket is worse than diagnosed but wanted to check with you all once more before I take the car back and see if there's anything I can try. upper radiator hose has been replaced along with thermo housing and gasket. this daily commuter (280K) has been a real trooper but not sure how much is worth spending on it at this point. Thanks in advance for any further thoughts.

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks--updated 200 1989

posted by joekidd on Tue Jun 30 06:09 CST 2009
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 10:54 CST 2014

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Thermo housing and where it mounts need to be sanded smooth of all pits for a proper seal,aluminum gets pitted. Overtightening those nuts is only going to cause you a bigger problem when they snap off. I always use antiseize and sand heavily no runs no drips no errors.
Good Luck

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks--updated 200 1989

posted by rstarkie on Tue Jun 30 06:09 CST 2009
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 10:14 CST 2014

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I am sorry to hear of your continuing problems.

At the site of the housing placement on the head is completely free of corrosion and buildup? Can you see any obvious loss of the surface that would seal with the gasket?

Do you feel that the pressure in the system is not excessive?

If I was dealing with your problem I would remove the thermostat and make the area around the opening on the head pristine clean and dry- pure aluminum staring me in the face. I would then add a layer of RTV silicone in the area that the gasket sets against the head. Making sure the housing and (new)gasket are clean and dry I would install them on the light bed of RTV, allowing it to set up overnight before adding hose and coolant.

Don't overtighten the nuts on the housing- they are not very large and snapping one off will only ruin your day.

Good luck

Randy

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks--updated 200 1989

posted by CalW on Tue Jun 30 06:35 CST 2009
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last visit: Sat Sep 3 15:39 CST 2011

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Thanks to you and Joe.

I just wish I knew it was coming from the housing. I had similar problem at same time with the 740, and did clean the head and apply sealant to both cars. 740 is ok now. I cleaned but did not sand both, noticed some crap but not obvious pitting, and may or may not have applied the proper bed of sealant...I didn't use much. Since then, the mechanic replaced the 240 housing. I don't know what care he took cleaning the head etc. It was obvious on the 740 that the housing was leaking; not so much on the 240, since there is spray everywhere in the area and not the familiar dribble.

I'll take another run at it before submitting to the caddy dealer again, and post results.

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks--updated 200 1989

posted by benski on Wed Jul 1 20:01 CST 2009
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last visit: Wed Oct 22 12:07 CST 2014

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As a last ditch effort, you might try some radiator/ block seal. Heck, at 280k, threre isn't too much to lose.

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks 200 1989

posted by mcduck on Sat Jun 6 16:34 CST 2009
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last visit: Sun Sep 9 11:47 CST 2012

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The 240 problem sounds like the heater hoses; the 740/940 are the same, so see the FAQ.

Any kind of RTV silicone rubber will work for the thermostat housing; don't get carried away, though.

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Tale of 2 coolant leaks 200 1989

posted by CalW on Sat Jun 6 17:28 CST 2009
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last visit: Sat Sep 3 15:39 CST 2011

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Yes, thank you, now it's coming back to me...daughter's 240 was spraying from heater hose. decided then it was too tight back there, inclined to tackle it this time.

didn't know silicone could take the heat, good to know.

I'll post results, as always.

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