Coolant Leaking All Over the Front, Geeze yet another problem with the 95

rickbtbird

Registered User
I was in the 95 5 speed coming back home from a short trip. I was cursing down I84 about 80-85 mph and my exit came up. I down shifted through the gears and had to slow down to 2nd gear to let a car pass at the yield sign. Once he passed I accelerated through 2nd and 3rd gear and dropped it in 4th until I approached a stop sign. Once stopped white smoke started coming up through the hood seams. The temperature gage was at the “M”. I was less then ¼ mile from home thank God. So I limed another ¼ mile and parked it in the driveway and popped the hood. There was coolant splashed all over the front of the motor and the fan was soaked. I could see coolant dripping from the passenger side of the radiator. The car is still hot so I won’t have a chance to investigate until tomorrow. I didn’t see anything coming out of any hoses. I could squeeze the top hose with my hand and it felt like it had no resistance.

Yesterday I had swapped the thermostat out with a 195 degree Duralast from AutoZone because that one that came with the car was making her run hot. Then new one worked perfectly all day yesterday and was keeping the engine cooler after several runs of approximately 60 miles. There were no leaks.
 
Thermostat housing cracked?

I'll check that tomorrow but I cleaned both mounting points to the metal, centered the thermostat, installed a new gasket with tacky cement, and insured the torque down was within specifications. I filled the radiator with the fill plug on the housing unscrewed. Sipping on a cold brewski, I started the motor and let it run for 20 minutes while I watched it. There wasn’t a drop of coolant on the cardboard under the car. It also didn't leak for over 60 miles yesterday, why would it suddenly crack? Shouldn’t I see coolant squirting out of a crack because I don’t?
 
Labor Day of Labor

im guessing just out of bad luck you had a hose bust on you...

I hope that's the case because a new radiator is $350.00+ :eek:

Not to make the day worse but my freezer relay went out and won't kick on the compressor anymore. The unit is pre 1992. It's one of those relays that's part of the compressor so it can't be purchased separately. Yea, Sears does it to me again (got stories about the snow blower and garage door opener too).

It was almost 90 here today. We had to relocate $600.00 worth of groceries right in the middle of me putting up peg board in the garage. I had to move all that stuff I just moved out of the way to get to the two large coolers I didn't think I would ever use today :(.

I tell the wife to pick out a new freezer two weeks ago because I could hear the dang thing straining to kick on. Soooo, she goes out and buys a new Cook Top Stove and matching Frig. Man I should have chosen a gay relationship :p.. She tells me she's waiting for her credit card points to come in to get the freezer. That's two week away.. The stove and frig work just fine.. Sooo, $600.00 later new freezer to be delivered tomorrow. :mad:

Then I go out to vacuum the pool and the fitting to the skimmer is missing. Who last used it... wasn't me or the cat... :rolleyes:

Good thing we got a swimming pool to cool off in or I would have blow a fuze all over that dam cat of hers that I keep tripping over .

I think I'm gonna soak in the hot tub for a while and release some stress.
 
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I pulled the fan off and put a water hose on the inlet. Water is coming out of the radiator from two different places within the core! Now I got to ask myself what caused that to happen. Did my new thermostat malfunction can cause the radiator to blow or did the core just wear about the same time I put the new thermostat in? I would have expected a host to blow before the radiator blew, if it was of any quality. Whatever the case maybe, it looks like I’m in for at least $320.00 for a radiator. While I’m at it I think I’m going to go with another thermostat and some hoses.
 
I feel your pain, the top tank on my 95 SC radiator sprung a leak last week on the way home. The radiator is all metal and came with a lifetime warranty!

The only thing they *didn't* tell me is the lifetime warranty is next to impossible to use, you have to take the radiator to the radiator shop, they ship it back to the MFG (1 week); the mfg inspects (another week) and finally the MFG ships back your original unit repaired or a new unit, which also takes... that's right, a week!

So, they get you to pay $100 to repair the radiator with the lifetime warranty so you don't have to have the car down for a month.

Then, came out this morning to a car that wouldn't start - because I left the headlights on last night accidentally. The optima yellow top isn't taking a charge real well either :( Afraid I may have killed it.
 
Either something hit the radiator, or the stuff used to seal the tubes came loose.

I'm going with the stuff that sealed the tube came loose in two spots. How did I get this thing back from Florida this way :)eek:)! So I ordered a new radiator and I'm searching around for a new fan/motor/shroud or something after market. Might as well do all the hoses too... maybe slam it into a brick wall in the next few week if it barfs again :eek:. I'll be driving the 90 for the reset of the summer. At least I know I got all the bugs out of it.
 
If its the plastic tank rad and its comming from the end tanks thats a problem with the design. Ive seen it happen. Of course something coud have hit it or it could have just been on its last legs. Regardless they arent worth fixing.

Good luck with it and make sure the new one is for your car as the earlier SC ones have different mounting points.
 
Radiator Installed

I got the radiator installed :). It almost looks like the original except it has the automatic transmission inlets and outlets and the drivers side fan attachment is "built in". Now I got an extra clip :rolleyes:. I capped off the A/T holes with brass plugs. I would have complained to Radiator Express about no plugs coming with the unit but I got a $20.00 SCCOA discount. (George, I used the savings to pay my yearly dues yesterday) :D.

Once it was installed and I flushed out the motor I put in a brand new mixture of 50/50 with the drain plug removed. Once it was full I installed the plug and ran it without the fan for about 10 minutes while I waited for the thermostat to open up so I could continue to refill. Then I capped it off and filled the overflow tank. I installed the fan and ran it for another 5 minutes. No leaks, no sign of extra heat. The new radiator smelled a little funning at first but I guess that's the black radiator paint job saying ouch.

I ran it around town for about 10 minutes and the gage said "N" for most of the way. Once I turned on the A/C it jumped into the "N" "O" region and stayed there. I got on the highway and ran it up to 90 a few times. After about 3 miles it ran up to the "M" and stayed around there for most of the drive. If I turned off the A/C it fell just below the "M". Once I got off the highway it went back to "N" "O" and stayed there.

It was 90 degrees today so I’m going to let it cool over night and recheck the cooling system and give it another run tomorrow.
 
No different today. It's still running hot. The cooling system checks out okay. I don’t have coolant in my oil or oil in my coolant. There’s no smoke anywhere. Exhaust is clean and dry. There’s a low tone thumping (heartbeat helicopter noise) when I accelerate under load that doesn’t occur when I rev it sitting in the drivers seat. If I get under the hood, at low idle I can hear a drone sort of like a leak coming from around the EGR area. Some people thing it’s the exhaust manifold and others think it’s a bad EGR tube going to the exhaust. Could that cause a hot condition?

Just grasping here, what if I had a clogged cat?

Besides removing all the plugs, is there another way to determine if the head gaskets are bad?

I've had this pile of metal for a year and haven't put more then 4500 miles on it. There's most likely something else wrong under the hood. Likely I need to tear it down this winter and do the head gaskets and inspect more of the motor, exhaust and emission system. I’d rather not just throw some parts at it and come with a plan of attack.

So I guess my next steps are:
  • Free up some space in back of the motor by removing the cowl cover, cowl, and wiper motor.
  • Remove the intake system and move the A/C bracket out of the way
  • Inspect all the EGR connections. Remove tube and inspect.
  • Compression test. (again).
  • Inspect the driver’s side exhaust manifold. Check for low torque and warped manifolds.
  • Install exhaust manifold gaskets.
  • Install the SPC exhaust. As soon as I get the wrong parts Bill sent me resolved.
 
Are you considering "M" as a running hot point?
Also did you check the bleeder again? Any trapped air will hamper the cooling systems performance

Not that the factory gague is correct but I never experienced overheating at M
 
Are you considering "M" as a running hot point?
Also did you check the bleeder again? Any trapped air will hamper the cooling systems performance

Not that the factory gague is correct but I never experienced overheating at M

I'll check the bleeder again. Compaired to my 90 which rarely goes above between "N" "O", "M" is too hot for me. Did the 94/95 run hotter then the 89-93? I've got a 195* stat and it's brand new and a new radiator.

So here's a thought, my old radiator blew after I refilled it with 50/50. Could the cooling system have been full of stop leak and maybe clogged some channels in the system?
 
Car has been running cooler over the past two days. Yeah!!! :)

Three days ago I got the low coolant light indicator. When I checked it the overflow was low, below the cold mark and the engine was hot, slightly above the "M" where I consider too hot for someone driving in the Northeast.

As was suggested, there was likely a air pocket in the system that worked itself out.

When it was cold, I opened up the engine bleeder and let it sit for 10 minutes but the radiator was still topped out. I filled the overflow to the proper level. It's been good for two days now and it has been running from "N" "O" ever since. No low coolant indication.

Slowing I’m getting this car up to speed. A few more things and it will be a quality ride again.. :D
 
Good deal!..My 94 has a Griffin in it and runs at the N however I had a few other SC's that ran at the M with no issues.

Glad to see its workin out. Probably wouldnt off been a bad idea to flush the system after the stop leak though .

Also try some redline water wetter. I notice a drop in temp when using it
 
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