Chevrolet :: 1988 Van - Radiator Fluid Fast Consumption
Sep 8, 2011
Our 1988 full size Chevy van (Beauville) with TBI & 357 cubic inch motor has 72,000 original miles - used mostly for 2-6 mile trips - has always been garaged; body in great shape; runs well but lately have had to add radiator fluid: 1 qt. every 100 miles - no leak, but clear fluid coming out of tailpipe which doesn't look or taste like antifreeze - oil doesn't foam or show signs of water.
What it might be, cost of fixing and what might happen if I just keep adding fluid and don't do anything about it.
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I have serious drain now on the left side of the vehicle, and it appears to come from the radiator itself. Coolant consumption is approaching fuel consumption. Replace the radiator in a 2006- W12? Looking for some info on similar leaks and found them not originating from the radiator?
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My girlfriend each week has to add at least a quart of tranny fluid. There are no apparent spots on the garage floor. The problem started last week when the engine light came on and she found herself sitting on the side of the road with her daughters in Nevada's 100+ heat.
I don't understand where the fluid could be going unless it leaks out when she is driving... but you would think that when she parks it, some would still drip off onto the floor and this is not the case.
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Working on a 88 Ranger 2.9L 5-speed ext cab. The fuel pressure drops off fairly fast when turned off and I'm pretty sure that the check valve is bad. My question is, which pump has the check valve? It is a single mid tank set-up and has a pump in the tank and on the frame.
Pressure is fine while running. about 30psi @ idle and 40psi with no vacuum on the regulator. The pressure drops off within a couple of minutes which causes it to have to crank over for a bit to rebuild pressure and start.
It looks like the frame pump is readily available while the in take pump is special order. I just need to know which one has a check valve. I'm thinking the in tank pump, but I hate to waste money for the wrong pump.
Pressure drop rate
30 psi @ shut off
25 psi @ 1:05 min
20PSI @ 2:30 min
15psi @ 4:45 min
still dropping
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I have a 1988 accord LX with 225K miles. 2 or 3 days ago I noticed a very large puddle of tranny fluid under the car. Upon inspection, the fluid is coming out of the tranny case above the shift cable. The spot looks almost like something has punched through from the inside, but the car drives ok...
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I took the 88 out yesterday (3.0 with rebuilt transmission).. it looks like there is transmission fluid on the back (spots all over it).. I can only assume it's transmission fluid... I tried to wipe it off... but it was kind of a mist.. I assume the modulator should be checked? I'm not sure where it is or what it looks like though...
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88 s10 2wd 2.5 litre will not run with the f terminal of the alternator connected. Had alternator tested showed good but needle jumped around some, so went ahead and bought a reman. Put it on same issue. No codes. Unplug the f terminal vehicle will run. This is circuit 39goes to ign/gauge fuse 20A, which ties into the instrument cluster so i unplug the cluster no change.same fuse and circuit 39 go to ses lamp which should have been eliminated as a possible cause by unplugging the ipc. Other places circuit 39 goes is ac cutout relay, shift lamp, vss buffer.
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My F250 has had transmission problems since I bought it cheap from a friend last year. I knew it needed a new seal as it was loosing a quart of fluid every month or so. Also, when the truck was not warmed up the transmission had a hard time going from 1st to 2nd. Recently, the same problem popped up with the change from 2nd to 3rd. Today, backing up a hill the transmission slipped, refused to engage, and the engine was revving out of control. The body and engine are still in good shape.
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Coming out the piece right behind the oil reservoir out a little hole whats this leak coming from...
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1988 ranger, its a automatic 4x4 v6 and is leaking tranny fluid real bad. Truck barley moves because fluid comes straight out...
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i have a 1988 2.4L 185,000+ miles chevy s10 pu. the check gauges light has been coming on for some time. the gauge bounces up and down a lot. but settles to 20psi at driving speeds. there is no tapping or noises from the engine and has good power and oil. what should i have check
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I bought me a 1993 Ford Ranger with 3.0L and 123K miles a few months ago to save on some Fuel. My F-250 was killing me. The Ranger Runs Great! Lately My Check oil Light has been coming on. So I have Checked the oil and it was slightly below the Full line each time the light came on, so I added each time. I have been wondering where the oil has been going cause it has not leaked anything on the ground. Thought it might just be burning a little oil. Well I come out today and on the front right side I see a small area of leaking Fluid. Of course it being Green I knew it was Rad. Fluid. So I Checked Fluid at the Rad Cap and it was Clean and not that low. Then I go and Check the Rad. Overflow Res. and it is Brown. and I can see where it was overflowing a little out into the engine Compartment. So that Kinda of explains where my oil has been going. I am aware the trans Fluid Cooler is in the Rad. and I am 99% sure its oil since I have been having to add oil. I have also Checked my Oil and no Rad. Fluid is getting in the oil at all.
Anyways I have done a little Research and I have seen Blown Head Gasket and Cracked head a lot in my research. So I am guessing I am looking at one of these two issues? Or is there more possible issues that it might be? As little as I paid for the Truck I dont think it would be worth fixing if It was one of those two things.
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When I turn on my left blinker it blinks real fast and the front blinker doesn't work. I have changed the bulb and it still doesn't work what is wrong?
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1999 Honda CRV. Took it in for an oil change last month, then next day took a long road trip. After the first half of the trip, I opened the hood and saw colored fluid sprayed all over the front of the engine. It seemed to be coming from the top of the radiator. I assumed the common failure mode of these radiators, ie that the joint between the plastic top piece and the aluminum radiator body was beginning to fail. The overflow tank was empty, but the radiator was still full.
But before I drove the return trip home, I replaced the radiator cap with a new one just in case. When I got home, I checked the engine compartment again. No more coolant spray. So I thought the new radiator cap had solved the problem.
So I added fluid to the overflow reservoir, up to the "minimum" line. A few days later after some local driving, checked again. Again, coolant sprayed around, seemed to be coming from around the cap, overflow reservoir empty, but radiator still full.
Now I just leave the reservoir empty, instead of filled to the "minimum" line. The radiator is not leaking, because I've checked the level several times since and coolant is always near the top of the neck. The only problem is when I add fluid to the "minimum" line in the reservoir, which results in coolant being sprayed out (apparently through the radiator cap, both the old cap and the new one). Now I suspect the oil change mechanic also checked my fluid levels and added coolant to the overflow reservoir, which resulted in the original "spray" episode during my highway trip.
So the question is, why is this happening all of a sudden? Never did this before. Now I just leave the reservoir empty and check radiator level occasionally. But I would like to know why any fluid added to the reservoir when cold causes the radiator cap (apparently) to blow out the excess coolant (it is NOT leaking from the overflow reservoir).
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92 Honda Civic, it has been steaming under the hood when i drive it and it's going into the overflow tank. When I pull the cap off after it's cooled down and then refill it. I watch to see if it's flowing and it's not. My initial thought was maybe a bad water pump, however I spoke with someone today that said it could very well be the head gasket. I am tending to lean this way now as well, as there is fluid on the ground after I park it. I put down some cardboard so the next time I drive it, I can see where it's coming from... Before I spend any money I want to exhaust the basics. I know I can get a combustion leak test kit to ultimately determine it.
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When we open the radiator cap it seems like there is no fluid but once the car gets a like bit hot and we open the cap there is fluid. The fluid reservoir sometimes gets empty quickly but not often. We have no lights in dash board telling us that there is something wrong. What do we do?
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I recently bought this cavalier about a week ago its and 88 automatic trans with 1.8 4 cylinder I thing not that it matters much. I noticed the exhaust had a smaller pipe from the manifold and the rest was strung with a bit bigger pipe and was attempted to crimp the pipes togather it was loud so I crimped thhe pipes better and used exhaust glue to patch the holes it runs better now to a point. but when I start the car it revs up a fair im guessing 3 grand since I have no rpm gauge but then it dies down to a low idle to the point were the car shakes a little bit.
with the exhaust fixed I can get it up to 20 kilometres an hour with my foot off the gas when I turn fully it wants to lurch ahead/backwards. when I took it out for a highway drive today I came to a stop sign so I slowed and stoped and the car stalled out. started no problem. but I also tried later putting it in neutral and it doesn't stall as I role to a stop it doesn't shake in neutral. I would like to have this fixed but I need some pointers as of were to look. im not sure if this means anything but when I got the car it had a bad enough radiator fluid leak at the hose meeting the heating car on the engine side of the fire wall I repaired that and no longer leaks.
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I had a radiator leak, it lost all fluid in a matter of meters so fortunate I was half a block from my driveway.
I wonder where is the cap since I touched the bottom right from above and noticed there's a little hole, maybe the flushing cap is there? I don't know.
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Have noticed some pink fluid seeping around top of radiator, which has created a bit of a mess in the engine bay. Is this indicative of a radiator leak? I don't see any visible cracks, however not much of the radiator is viewable. If replacement is necessary, what OEM alternates are recommended? car is running fine and not overheating. It's an '02 sc430 with 171K miles.
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About a month ago, I smelled a very faint smell of radiator fluid inside the car while the air was on. This happened twice, once on the highway when RPM's were running fairly high/engine temp was slightly higher than usual, and once on sidestreets when I was driving at high RPM's/in lower gears than normal (manual transmission). When I stopped the car it cooled down to normal level immediately and smell went away. I added coolant to the reservoir.Then I noticed nothing for about a month, so I figured everything was OK.Last week, my engine was running hot (usually is at 50% on the temp gauge, it was at 75%, where 100% is red zone), driving at low speeds.
About 5 minutes before that, I had the heat on but noticed the air blowing in the car was not heated even though the engine was warmed up (I assume due to lack of radiator fluid flow through the engine). The car did not overheat, because I pulled over and added water, and later added some coolant. During that incident I did not notice any smell inside the car. At the end of the week, I noticed the car running slightly hot and checked the reservoir. It was low--most of the coolant I added had disappeared in just one week.
Usual things to check:-radiator and all hoses are new-no leaks under the car-no white exhaust/smoke or smell outside
Other things about my car: It is a 1997 Honda Civic. Has never had any major problems, and it's running smoothly, but it does burn oil. The first time I noticed the smell, it was just after I had driven on the highway with slightly low oil level (still on the dipstick, but slightly below the bottom dot. Not too far on the highway--about 20 minutes). Not sure if that could be related.
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99 Toyota Avalon, 3.6 L engine, 160k milesThe engine sends radiator fluid to the overflow reservoir but doesn't suck it back into the engine when it cools.My mechanic replaced the radiator, cap, and hoses...no change. So. he put a chemical in the radiator fluid that is supposed to form a plug to stop a leak. After ~5 months of waiting, still no plug...no change. Tomorrow, I'm bring it back to him. If he says it needs a new head gasket, do you agree? If so, what would be a reasonable cost? Also, this timing belt has 68,000 miles on, do you think I should have him replace it, too (since he is doing work on the engine)?Do you think I am foolish to put the cost of repairs into this vehicle? The rest of the vehicle is good. We've had it since 2000 and have kept up with maintenance and services.
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