Afraid of the answer.....

[robdelorenzo]

Got the car back from the mechanic. New alternator pulley and clutch, new belt, fixed hose leak. He told me he brought it up to temperature and it didn't leak or overheat.
He even told me that he drove it. I drove it for maybe an hour and there didn't seem to be any problems. I thought that I had dodged a bullet. The temp gauge never got above 195 the whole time, even when I got home.

Then as soon as I got home and pulled into the garage and stopped the motor, I heard a hissing sound and coolant leaking out onto the floor by the passenger rear wheel. The inside of the trunk was dry, as well.

Not a whole lot of coolant leaked out, but it doesn't look good, does it?
What would the symptoms of a blown head gasket be?
Isn't there a coolant overflow back there? Am I deluding myself thinking that it just may have been spitting out some overflow?
I can't call the mechanic until the morning, but what should I look for in the mean time?

edit: I just looked again, the oil is clean the coolant is pink and there does not appear to be any intermix.
Is it possible it's just burping out air or am I delusional?

[nicecar]

there is an overflow tube located by passenger rear wheel. I think that there might be air trapped in the system and it has to be bled. Wait for the experts to chime in. In the meantime do search air trapped and how to use the bleeder valve on top of coolant tank. Again I could be totally wrong but I have been down that road. How much coolant?They say to drive thru a couple heat cycles with valve open. My solution was to back up on ramps and run to purge....worked great. Good Luck and I am sure you will be fine soon!

[Lew]

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

Got the car back from the mechanic. New alternator pulley and clutch, new belt, fixed hose leak. He told me he brought it up to temperature and it didn't leak or overheat.
He even told me that he drove it. I drove it for maybe an hour and there didn't seem to be any problems. I thought that I had dodged a bullet. The temp gauge never got above 195 the whole time, even when I got home.

Then as soon as I got home and pulled into the garage and stopped the motor, I heard a hissing sound and coolant leaking out onto the floor by the passenger rear wheel. The inside of the trunk was dry, as well.

Not a whole lot of coolant leaked out, but it doesn't look good, does it?
What would the symptoms of a blown head gasket be?
Isn't there a coolant overflow back there? Am I deluding myself thinking that it just may have been spitting out some overflow?
I can't call the mechanic until the morning, but what should I look for in the mean time?


edit: I just looked again, the oil is clean the coolant is pink and there does not appear to be any intermix.
Is it possible it's just burping out air or am I delusional?

The Mechanic said he drove it.....strange he didn't hear the hissing and see coolant on the shop floor Something is not right.....How much collant leaked on the floor?

[robdelorenzo]

Maybe a 1/2 cup of coolant. Enough to be noticeable. The hissing sound is what caught my attention.
The mechanic is Rob Wessels at Dutch Treat here in LA. He's supposed to be very good and seems like a decent guy, so I don't think that's an issue.

I'm really disappointed and concerned.
I don't know what's going on now.
I'm a recent cancer survivor, I was laid off during treatment and I bought this car as a celebratory gift and project to bring myself (and the car) back to life.
At this point do I sell it as is and get out from under it? Keep a close eye on things, try driving it locally a bit more tomorrow and try to see what's going on?
Would a failing head gasket do this? Did the overheating it kill it and it's dying a slow death? Or is it just in need of more burping?
It ran fine, no loss of power or any issues, didn't budge the temp gauge, just started pissing a bit when I got home.
What do I do?

[itsnotanova]

Watch your oil and coolant for intermixing and watch for excessive coolant and oil usage. If everything seems normal over the next few weeks, you're probably in the clear. You seem very quick to want to label the motor as being blown. Don't throw in the towel just yet. While driving a car with blinking lights for 20-30 minutes is very very bad, you more than likely dodged a bullet. I'm guessing you still have air in the system. Find the steepest hill you can find, park your car nose down and open the bleed valve.

[Lew]

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

Maybe a 1/2 cup of coolant. Enough to be noticeable. The hissing sound is what caught my attention.
The mechanic is Rob Wessels at Dutch Treat here in LA. He's supposed to be very good and seems like a decent guy, so I don't think that's an issue.

Have you contacted the mechanic about your problem? If it were me I would take the car back to him and let him check out the problem. Remember he said it didn't overheat or leak......

[911monty]

I'm with the possible air still in the system camp. However is the coolant expansion tank cap the one that was on during the overheating event? If so it could be weak, I'd replace.

[robdelorenzo]

Yes, that is the original cap that was on during the meltdown. I removed all of the carpet from the trunk before I took the car in to the mechanic. I had the tank replaced by him about a month ago. I left the carpet out. When it was spewing yesterday the trunk was dry. I wondered if the meltdown had cracked the bottle or not. If the cap were the culprit, wouldn't the trunk have coolant in it?
Yesterday the coolant was definitely coming from above the passenger rear wheel somewhere. I just looked again after letting the car cool overnight and very little coolant came out. The level in the bottle is a bit low, but not drained or even well below the min mark. I started the car briefly and it started right up and seemed ok.
I know that the mechanic's shop is in a very flat area and I drove it up hills yesterday, which is where I live. He gets in shortly, I'm going to call him. The biggest thing is of course it's a 3 day weekend, he's closed Monday and so is Pelican (local to me)

[911monty]

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

Yes, that is the original cap that was on during the meltdown. I removed all of the carpet from the trunk before I took the car in to the mechanic. I had the tank replaced by him about a month ago. I left the carpet out. When it was spewing yesterday the trunk was dry. I wondered if the meltdown had cracked the bottle or not. If the cap were the culprit, wouldn't the trunk have coolant in it?
Yesterday the coolant was definitely coming from above the passenger rear wheel somewhere. I just looked again after letting the car cool overnight and very little coolant came out. The level in the bottle is a bit low, but not drained or even well below the min mark. I started the car briefly and it started right up and seemed ok.
I know that the mechanic's shop is in a very flat area and I drove it up hills yesterday, which is where I live. He gets in shortly, I'm going to call him. The biggest thing is of course it's a 3 day weekend, he's closed Monday and so is Pelican (local to me)

If the cap leaks the coolant collects and runs down the overflow tube behind the pass tire, as you reported seeing, you may also see condensation on the trunk lid above the tank. When the tank leaks coolant collects in the trunk.

[p3230]

I'm a recent cancer survivor, I was laid off during treatment and I bought this car as a celebratory gift and project to bring myself (and the car) back to life.
At this point do I sell it as is and get out from under it? Keep a close eye on things, try driving it locally a bit more tomorrow and try to see what's going on?

Hey I'm also a cancer survivor and bought this car after 3 years of being free from that disease. The thing is do like itsnotanova said and give that a try before giving up I also had my share of problems with mine. Don't forget you didn't give up on life so don't give up on the car.

[robdelorenzo]

Good encouragement!
Thank you.

[seningen]

Originally Posted by Lew

The Mechanic said he drove it.....strange he didn't hear the hissing and see coolant on the shop floor Something is not right.....How much collant leaked on the floor?

I know this may sound over simple -- but I had this happen to me coming off of the track one time.

I was double checking everything before I went on track -- even undid the water cap and screwed it back on.

As I came off track -- temperature started to rise -- and it was peeing all over the paddock, right in front of the right rear tire.

I thought my weekend was shot. Water pump for sure. NOPE -- dummy me I had cross threaded the screw on cap.

Found a jug, filled it with water. Opened the pressure vent, and carefully put the cap back on. Went out and ran the next session, took it a little easy -- no issues ever again.

Don't give up on things... Just be diligent and work through some of the kinks...

Mike

[911monty]

There is a possibility the residue in the tank is from the previous water pump. Did you see the removed pump? I don't think your WP saw high enough temps to melt or cause the impeller to fail since they are designed to operate in conditions to 220 deg. Once the system lost pressure steam is only ~212 deg. Yes the cylinders no doubt saw much higher temps but with no coolant transferring that heat, the entire block would have to be heated to the failure point of the impeller. If that had happened I don't think your engine would be running now. The caveat to this is, was there collateral damage to the pump when the alternator failed? Since the car appears to not be overheating while driving then the simplest step is bleed and drive again.
However if this was my car, in order to have any confidence in it, I'd pull the WP and check it's condition. if good, a new gasket and a new thermostat and you can have some confidence that your coolant circulating system is at least functional. If bad then the next steps can be considered to find the parts.