Loosing radiator fluid ?
Level in radiator drops 1" to 1 1/2" in 8 hours.
Under what conditions? 8 hours of steady driving, then checked at the end of the trip? Or 8 hours of sitting while it cools down and fluid contracts? Or...?
If it's actually losing coolant as you drive, you're right to be concerned. To be truly sure that it's not burning coolant through a cylinder head leak (or other malady you mentioned), the only way I know of is using a block tester attached to the radiator neck. The presence of any combustion gasses bubbling through the blue fluid will turn it yellow. If it stays blue for several minutes, you can relax.
This test is incredibly sensitive-- will pick up on any problems even in their infancy. By the time it gets bad enough to see smoke out the tailpipe, you'll be losing a lot more than just 1" in 8 hours of driving.
Can't say I've ever needed to check a Mopar, though. ;)
- Erik
64 Valiant, 170 3-spd
82 Volvo wagon, 5.0 5-spd
