I have a former police vehicle that as you can imagine was probably not treated the greatest. It was running just fine, with the same consistant issues I see posted here, vanishing speedometer, non-operational fuel gage, fuel pump (replaced twice), banged up interior, leaky radiator (replaced), leaky coolant reservoir (replaced), 2 transmissions. But one issue that I dont see posted is that I have a mysterious coolant leak and it takes forever to warm up. By that I mean it spits and sputters when I step in the gas. Just recently started this. I just moved it from Colorado to Pennsylvania. Wondering if it is the emissions due to altitude or humidity, head gasket, fuel filter, injectors? Once it warms up I can step into it no problem.

Sounds like maybe just the thermostat has stuck open.

For the coolant leak, get a leak tester kit with dye. This will help find the leak plenty quick. One place to look would be the freeze plugs. I had the plug just above the starter fail. I would find small puddles of coolant under the car after driving it for an hour or more only. Couldn't see the leak at all until I got the starter off and found the very small pin hole in the freeze plug.

What do you mean by " mysterious coolant leak"? Please elaborate.
Has the car ever been overheated? If so what was the cause and correction?

by mysterious I mean I add a 1/4 gallon a week. The car gets driven about 200 miles a month if lucky. And yes I over heated once. Found that a header on the radiator cracked. Put in a new radiator and overflow tank. Now the only difference with the overflow tank was that the Chevy dealer that I went to said that they only make the tank with one nozzle rather than 2 that were sticking out the side of my original. So I checked the junk yards around, and found not a one that had my part. So I put in the new oem part. I had to splice two return hoses down to one nozzle vs 2.

Do you see drips on the floor or does it just seem to consume anti freeze? I am wondering if the two symptoms(coolant loss and driveability when cold) you report are related. Did they both start happening at about the same time? Possible that coolant is entering a combustion chamber when cold(causing coolant loss and poor performance)but when engine gets hot the leak seals up. How does the cooling system behave otherwise? Heat and gauge indications? Smoke out the tailpipe?

That is my concern....No drips. And even when the temp outside is warm and it should start up like normal it acts up. I can run it for an hour or two and then stop for 30 minutes and start back up with same issues. It takes a while to get "warmed up". I say warmed up because that is the way it acts. I dont think the gauges work. I cannot trust anything else on the instrument cluster, is gas gauge or speedometer. the trip-odometer is the only reliable gauge.

Any white steam out the tail pipe? I think I would test for combustion gases in the coolant. You may be able to buy a kit for this at your local autoparts store. Not sure of cost. Have you changed spark plugs recently and if so how did they look?

Sorry about all the questions but remember Q&A cost nothing but parts cost$$$$

The steam I am not sure about. I think from time to time I see it. But I take it in to a shop and they say they see nothing. The plugs have not been changed lately, I dont have much room to work on it where I am. I wish I did. I just cant break down to pay someone else to change plugs. Rains here too much to try to do it outside.:) I will try that next. Thanks for all the Q&A. Sometimes you just gotta ask cause you have beat your head against the wall too many times and dont think of the obvious. I should have checked the smoke my self.. lol thanks again

" Rains here too much to try to do it outside"
I live in Seattle so I feel your pain.

Reason I ask about the plugs is if coolant is entering a combustion chamber the corresponding spark plug will look different.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

You said "But I take it in to a shop and they say they see nothing". What did you tell them and what did they do and or check?

Well, here's a little update. I have limo tint on all windows, my g/f got pulled over the other day and told to get it removed in 15 days. So I went to get that appraised and what new tint would cost after I got it inspected and was heading home and steam started pouring out from under the hood....pulled over and a coupling cracked on the heater core return hose right above the exhaust manifold. MYSTERIOUS LEAK POSSIBLY LOCATED. (leaking and dripping on to the manifold thus no puddle, what do ya think.) $2.00 & a couple gallons of antifreeze later. But did find that the temp gauge works, shot through the roof when I ran outta coolant! lol. But I did see some white puff when I started up this morning. But after fixing the leak and started up again no warming up period.....

As to your question....told them what I posted and let them drive it. But of course they said seems like a sticky butterfly valve. I never did take their advise and clean the throttle body.

I think this weekends calling for clear skies so I just might pull the plugs and take a look-see.

" leaking and dripping on to the manifold thus no puddle, what do ya think" Makes sense to me. I would keep a close eye on the cooling system because it sounds like it has been put through quite a bit latley.

Thanks for the update.

Yea me too, what do you think would be the issue for that??? The guy I bought it from did not have good luck changing the spark plugs he said. Said he had to disconnect all sorts of stuff....dont know if he messed these things up. Do you have a caprice yourself?

Now tonight after that last post I started it up and asked my girlfriend if she saw any smoke and what color. She said she did and it was white. Well i asked her to rev it for me and I noticed white puffs in between the coughs and sputters, acting the same old way....like it is 10 below out. Think it might be the head gasket? I noticed drips on the exhaust, and noticed alot of water on my hand as she would rev it? \

I have only done one head gasket job and that was with my dad when I was 11 on a transverse dodge K-car. with a turbo and too many headache's to want me to think that I might actually have to do it to this beast!

"Do you have a caprice yourself?"
Well sort of. My wife owns a 94 9c1 lt1. I get to test drive and fix it. I make the most out of every test drive. When everything is working on these cars they are a lot of fun. Big, fast, and quite nimble for 2 plus tons.

"Think it might be the head gasket?"
It could be. I think at this point I would have the system tested to find all the external leaks and also check for head gasket failure.

What do you think CD?

Alright well thanks for all the help. i am really glad i stumbled upon this forum the other day. I have learned quite a bit. Do you have a tear-down manual or just work on yours from former experience? I dont have all my tools and shop equipment here. I had to leave it all in Colorado...I want to know exactly what I have to go buy b4 I start the tear down....I will get it checked out though. I know that I have a few oil leaks but they never make it to the concrete, so they're not that bad. I have had one mechanic say he thinks it is a head gasket though...but he doesn't do those in his shop. oh well, thanks again

" Do you have a tear-down manual or just work on yours from former experience? "

I always use a manual. I have the 2 factory service manuals for 94 b body line and Haynes. Our public library has alldata pro for free and a very good set of Mitchell manuals. I use them all and encourage you to do the same. Check your local library, you might be surprised at how much auto info they have. Krusty sez: Give a hoot, read a book.

"I have had one mechanic say he thinks it is a head gasket "
Did he test the cooling system?

No he didnt. I will look at the library, but the one here is pretty small. Thanks. and not that mechanic did not check the cooling sys. he just checked for leaks and hooked it up to the computer. but found nothing. he didnt do a dye check either...but just visually estimated.