Hey everyone, got a bit of a pickle situation...

Backstory

Had to replace the t-stat a couple weeks ago after it seized shut. Caught the overheat in time to not do any damage, I think. Replaced it in the parking lot of an AutoZone, and it drove fine (was 100+ miles from home and no overheating on that drive, or since).

Took it to British Auto Works in the Bronx afterwards...just needed an oil change but wanted their expert opinion on the car. Said it looked solid. Pressure test on the coolant system checked out.

Took it to HolyLand Auto in Gowanus the next day (in my neighborhood and generally stellar reviews) just to do a coolant flush. Figured, I had 2 different kinds of coolant and a bunch of tap water in there from the emergency t-stat repair. They flushed & topped w/ the green stuff.

Noticed the coolant level drop slightly after that over a couple days. Figured, I didn't drive it a ton, maybe it was still opening up and was just leveling off.

Fast forward to NOW

Drove 200+ miles to Lake George. Car ran like a beaut the whole time. No overheating, no exhaust smoke, no damp passenger footwell, etc.

Went out to check on it today just on a hunch, see a decent sized pool of coolant under middle/drivers side.

Check expansion tank: pretty much empty. Fill up with distilled water (brought 4 gallons...again, had a hunch).

Look under the car: coolant droplets all over the place. I start it up, sure enough it starts to drip, every second or so. Not gushing or streaming, but dripping pretty steadily.

I clean the area up with a rag, trying to find the leak. I took a video, which might not be a huge help.

Looks like it's coming from the area where the upper/left (closer to cabin) t-stat hose connects to the engine block.

Any ideas on what this might be? Head gaskets were recently done. Hoping it's just a hose problem. Is it OK to drive back to the city? As long as I continue to top coolant tank?

Should I take it to the local auto shop in town and see if they can diagnose? Anyone have any experience with repairs in this neck of the woods?

Any and all help is super appreciated!!

 

From the video, appears to be coming from the water pump if it's not wet above it. They leak through a tell-tale hole to let you know that the seal has failed. You should probably replace it before a long trip if you confirm that that's it. Another pressure test should help you find it definitively.

 

 

Ok, if it's new, it's probably OK, although parts these days are hit or miss with quality, so double check it. Unless you have an adapter or can find a shop with one, it'll be hard to pressure test the cooling system, maybe go around and tighten all the hoses incase one got missed. BTW, don't use stop-leak; it can cause more trouble than it's worth. There's a type of tape you can get at any auto parts store for a temporary fix on a hose or the pipe at the top of the block if you find a hole..

 

 

Lil update: the car made it back from Lake George to Brooklyn just fine. Felt great actually. Lost a bunch of coolant due to the slow drip but never overheated...stopped enough to make sure it was OK and topped up when needed. Gonna replace all the main coolant hoses. Any reason why I shouldn't use some place like partsgeek to get these hoses, rather than using the $300 kit from Atlantic British?

 

 

Might as well get a black or grey 180 degree thermostat while you are at it... Not available at AB...

 

I always hate to see people throw parts at a problem without full diagnosis. You can get a loaner cooling system pressure test kit from an auto parts store. Connect it to the cooling system by replacing the coolant reservoir cap with the correct adapter from the kit. Pump the system pressure up to 20 lb and look for leaks. The leak should be evident within the first several minutes. If no leak is evident but the pressure drops check the back of each head where it mates with the block. That's where external head gasket leaks occur most frequently.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the throttle body heater gasket as a possible source of the leak. They fail commonly. You may be able to see coolant or coolant residue under the throttle body heater. If so, replace the TBH gasket or remove the hoses from it and block them off by inserting an appropriate diameter short bolt into each hose, securing them with small hose clamps. It the TBH gasket was leaking, correct that problem and drive the truck again for a while to see if addressing that corrected the problem or if there is another leak.