coolant leaking, overheating nightmare!

[lokizan]

Hello All,

I am having a serious coolant leak problem, the radiator is half empty before i go off to work everymorning, the car gets driven a grand total of like 6 miles a day!! It wasnt always like this at first i would have to fill the radiator about every week, then every three days, now its everyday. At first i couldnt tell where the leak was coming from, checked all the hoses, checked the radiator, couldnt see any telltale signs of leaking, then today, i saw massive amounts of coolant dripping from the engine to the ground. When i lifted the hood there was a whispering sounds, like vapors escaping, just before i pulled to the house the temp gauge was about to go to red then it went back to normal, as if the thermostat just opened, i felt the upper radiator hose and it was hot so the coolant definately came out, i'm guessing the due to the air trapped in the system due to coolant loss it took a while for the therm. to open, when the radiator is filled, it doesnt do this, it seems to cool normally and doesnt go to the red, its on the way back home when its had time to drain that it goes near red. I tried to shake the waterpump pulley but couldnt really feel any play in the shaft, my first guess is that its leaking from the waterpump but i'm not sure that have the radiator coolant can leak through the weep hole. I checked the oil and it didnt look choco milkshake like and when i start the car in the morning there is a good amount of white smoke but it stops after a block of driving and doesnt increase under acceleration.

i think that is about all i can say, sorry for being soo long winded in my post, just wanted to make sure i give as accurate a description as possible. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. and i have a 1993 t-bird lx 3.8L with 109k on the clock

[overl0rd]

Check the water pump, and get a mechanics mirror and take a peek at the freeze plugs in the side of the block.

[97Bird]

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately with a 3.8 and white smoke it sounds like a head gasket problem. Your mechanic should be able to test the coolant system for combustion gasses.

[lokizan]

Thanks, I put almost 2 liters of water in the radiator when i got home from work, drove it to my grandma's house, looked under the car and coolant was literally just falling to the ground, i just took it to a mechanic my dad goes to, i think this a problem beyond my limited knowledge of auto repair, i'll post what the mechanic says.

THanks

[lokizan]

ok so it ended up being the waterpump that was leaking coolant like crazy, i got it repaired but there is still a cooling problem. I drove the car aroud for about 30 mins and started overheating again. i popped the hood and noticed bubbles in the coolant overflow tank. and the level of coolant in the overflow tank was higher than it was when i got the car bacl from the shop from getting the water pump repaired. so i checked it this morning and the level of coolant in the overflow tank went down again. when im driving the coolant temp goes from almost at the red mark back to normal, it keep doing it but the car never smokes or anything, its like im having the same problems i had before but this time its not leaking coolant. i checked the oil, its looks normal. i dont know what to do, i sure hope it's not the head gasket.

[97Bird]

See my last post!!

[overl0rd]

Are you sure that the system was purged of air when the water pump was changed? The 3.8 has a bleeder on top of the motor to help do it. It sounds to me like that's what is happening.

[Mike75]

I agree with 97...blown head gasket. Sorry dude I've been through it myself, unfortunately), and as many of these guys in here will tell you, I lived in denial for quite some time, hoping that there was something else that I could do. Unfortunately, there wasn't. These engines are known for blowing head gaskets, especially if u had any reason for the car to overheat the way that yours was (water pump). Once again, I'm sorry...just want to be up front with you. My advice (if you want to stick with a thunderbird) is to get a 4.6L v8.

In the meantime, do what 97 said and get the cooling system checked for combustion gases.

Good luck

[dw5600]

Originally Posted by Mike75

I agree with 97...blown head gasket. Sorry dude I've been through it myself, unfortunately), and as many of these guys in here will tell you, I lived in denial for quite some time, hoping that there was something else that I could do. Unfortunately, there wasn't. These engines are known for blowing head gaskets, especially if u had any reason for the car to overheat the way that yours was (water pump). Once again, I'm sorry...just want to be up front with you. My advice (if you want to stick with a thunderbird) is to get a 4.6L v8.

In the meantime, do what 97 said and get the cooling system checked for combustion gases.

Good luck

Sounds like combustion in the antifreeze. Blown head gasket, probably rear pass. side cyl. It's almost the same on all. I've done 2 of these and they are not too hard to do. Just make sure when you tear it down to have the heads machined and checked for cracks. And I can almost guarantee you will need the tube from the egr to the exhaust manifold. They split as soon as they are touched. GOOD LUCK.