coolant leak

[diymirage]

little update

last night i popped the one bolt out around which it seemed to be leaking and put some fresh sealant on it
double checked all the other bolts and all seemed well

this morning i fired her up and let her idle for a little while, while i did some stuff around the yard
it was dry untill the thermostat opened up

then i went to pull the plow from the truck (oh happy day) and that took about another 20 minutes to get cleaned up and put away

all things considered, she idled for about half an hour, at which point the thermostat opened and didnt loose a drop

im really hoping it was that bolt, but i wont know for sure untill i put some test miles back on her

 

[Kendog 170]

Nice. Hopefully it's it.

 

[Tooljunkie]

And when you're all done and the leaks are fixed, don't use tap water in your cooling system. Use distilled water along with a good quality antifreeze in a 50/50 mix.

Distilled/de-mineralized water.

 

[tonysrt]

You'll know for sure after you shut it down and the pressure builds up.

 

[diymirage]

You'll know for sure after you shut it down and the pressure builds up.

well, the first heat cycle it remained completely dry

radiator was cool to the touch, but still hissed when i popped the cap

added a little coolant to it (about a quart or so to get it back up above the fins in the radiator)

went for a 6 mile round trip and there are 2 or 3 drops running down

shes cooling down now
still waiting to see what it all means

 

[dibbons]

I am sure this does not pertain to this case, but my '65 273 bracket racer used to leave a little coolant sprayed around under the hood sometimes at the drag strip, but the source could never be found until a rebuild. We found a hairline crack in one of the cylinder heads.

 

[diymirage]

well, took her out to church last nite
that was 2 more 6 mile trips, and 2 complete heat cycles
everything still looks dry, so im guessing we nipped this one in the bud

 

[CRUZE 418]

Reverse osmosis is your best water. I don't believe that your flat tappet camshaft liked idling for 30 minutes. Or does it have a roller cam?

 

[diymirage]

No, it's a flat tappet

Why wouldn't it like it?
Relatively low oil pressure?

I can't imagine idling would put more stress on the valve train then wringing it out would

 

[CRUZE 418]

This has been argued before. Your cam lobes get most of their lubrication from the crankshaft. Yes, from other places too, there's a lot of oil flying around, but not so much at 700 rpm. There's a reason why you break a camshaft in at 2000 rpm. Obviously, it can take idling, but I do not believe for extended periods of time. Some will argue, my 2 cents worth.