Coolant level dropping fast

[Double Stack]

Just bangin my head against the wall over here...

My problem is as fallows, my coolant level is always dropping. I'd say I need to add about a half a gallon of water every other time I drive it. Or say every 40 to 50 miles. I've driven it hard, and then checked for leaks. I've had somebody watch me drive away as I get on it, as i've read on here that it could be coming from a freeze plug under load as I get on it. I've pressure tested the coolant system and there were no leaks. It also held 12 1/2 lbs of pressure for like five minutes. There's no coolant/water in the oil. I also dropped a surge tank in the truck to see if it was pushing water out it overflow and not a drop was collected.

Talked to a guy I know that's pretty smart, and the best he could come up with is if i'm running mostly or all water in my coolant system it could be cooking off fast. I told him it seemed to doing it back when i was filling it up with a good mix of coolant too, but i've been running straight water for awhile now.

Anybody feel like being a GENIUS!?!

[Lee H]

Full is about 3 inches down......where are you filling it to?
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[vectorit]

Check your heater box, and does the cab smell like coolant?
Put your hand up under the dash in the passenger area, feel the carpet for wetness and pull it up to see if the jute padding is soaked.
A pin hole in the heater core will leak off mostly vapor, causing the radiator coolant level to drop about as much as you are losing.

[Double Stack]

LeeH,
I fill it to about an inch under the overflow hole but it just about immediately comes to about two to three inches down. should be good i'm guessing. Thanks though.

Vectorit,
Good suggestions. I forgot to mention I pulled the heater box to inspect the heater core to find that the PO had installed a brand new copper core. I have since reinstalled it. Hoses are new too. There's no coolant smell, and the padding and mats are bone dry.

****
One other thing that I forgot, it will go dry and start to overheat the engine if I let it.

[vectorit]

What is the engine?
How do the spark plugs look?
Have you replaced the intake lately?
Have you inspected the water pump for a water stain - on a small block water pump there is a hole on the underside, and goes up to the pump shaft bearing. If it is showing a water stain or is wet, the pump bearing is going bad.
What kind of radiator cap are you using? If it is bad, it could be blowing steam through while you are driving.

I have had similar coolant loss issues in the past, and found that steam loss will cook off coolant pretty quick.

[Double Stack]

The engine is a rebuilt 69, 350, four bolt main.

The last time I checked the spark plugs was about 200 to 250 miles ago and they were good.

I haven't replaced the intake, but this is a fresh build. I picked it up with something like 6 miles on the new dash/engine.

I just checked out the water pump like you said, and if i'm looking at the correct hole everything looks good. See pic.

My radiator cap looks new, and I don't have the adapter to check just the cap. I guess I could buy a new one and cross my fingers.

I will say that I've been having this problem since the long drive home when I first bought the truck.

Thanks for all the ideas. I really appreciate it.

[biggestjohn]

It sounds like thermal expansion is opening up a leak when engine is hot. I think that I would hook up my pressure tester, then warm up the engine. You should be able then to keep pressure in the system while you search for the leak.

Don't forget the freeze plugs in the rear of block.

I would also check the torque on the water pump, manifold, and thermostat housing.

If that doesn't show where the leak is, you will have to check for cracks in the heads. Do a cylinder pressure test, or better yet hook up a cylinder leak down tester.

It has to be going somewhere, and being a sealed system, I don't buy the burning off theory. Straight water is a better cooler than a water\antifreeze mixture.

My 2 cents.

[ubtripn]

I am having a similar issue. I lose about half a gallon every tank of gas. It drips though after I have ran it and then parked. It is coming from behind my engine somewhere, all the other coolant components are new and sealed so a big bump from me. (I am hoping I don't have a cracked head.)

[tex_waco_usmc]

Originally Posted by ubtripn

I am having a similar issue. I lose about half a gallon every tank of gas. It drips though after I have ran it and then parked. It is coming from behind my engine somewhere, all the other coolant components are new and sealed so a big bump from me. (I am hoping I don't have a cracked head.)

For you there are two places I would check, both suck one just worse than the other!

1st -- Check behind the intake manifold if the gasket were installed incorrectly or were damaged somehow the water could flow out between the block and the intake and down your transmission...

2nd -- And I hate to say it but the one I would be leaning towards is one of the freeze plugs in the back of the block... To get to those you have to drop the tranny and remove the flywheel!

[ubtripn]

Thanks, now i know what i will be doing tomorrow. (always seems to be the hard stuff.) thx again though

[Double Stack]

BiggestJohn,
Thank you for the reply. I didn't even know you had put that up until now. I just got my truck back from paint and body, so obviously i went straight back to trying to find this leak. I can now say I found it... Its coming out my exhaust on both sides, but mainly on the drivers side. It must have been so miner before it was cooking off before exiting the pipes, but now it's spitting water. Obviously my head gasket.

Secondly, the yesterday morning when I pulled my truck out of the garage I noticed oil on the ground. This is new, so i tracked it down. Turns out oil is being pushed out my spark plugs. Well, most of them. It's definitely not the valve covers seeing as my engine is so clean it's plane as day where it's coming from. Pulled a plug and it's not great, but not wet with oil either.

I did some digging and found that most likely it's coming from bad valve seals or bad rings. Thoughts? I'm going to do a compressing test today to find out which it is.

That crappy part is that my engine only has 665 miles on it. The only thing i can think is that the guy who built this engine didn't know what the hell he was doing. Dicked up the head gasket from the word go, and didn't install the carb correctly (no spacer bracket so it was filling the crank case with fuel) which thinned the oil and fried my rings.

My question is, what all do you guy's think needs to be done to this engine to get it running correctly? At this point, it sounds like it needs to be completely rebuilt seeing as the original builder didn't know what he was doing.

[Classic Heartbeat]

This is why I do not buy "rebuilt" engines from private parties. Unless you know the builder personaly, you do not know the skill level of the person who rebuilt it. Many times you will get a freshly painted engine and thats it. I woud say that you should take it to a reputible builder that offers a warrantee and be done with it. Chasing fixes and trying to save a few bucks will cost you much more money over the long run that if you just addressed it now. A reputible builder will also magna-flex the parts befor intalling them. It is a commin problem for the 350ci engine to develope a small crack in the lifter valley. It is never a problem when the crack is developing because the normal sludge that your enging creates will keep it plugged up. However once the block is "deep tanked" and cleaned that sludge is cleaned out and becomes an internal leak. The block at that point should be thrown out or repaired. Around here it cost more to repair the block than they charge for the core. WES

[Lattimer]

I think you have a re-painted engine, not rebuilt.

[Classic Heartbeat]

I think you have a re-painted engine, not rebuilt.

I agree. WES

[Double Stack]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Classic heartbeat,
I'm with yea as far as not buying rebuilt from anyone but a shop at this point. As far as just repainted, I don't really think so. I've got just about every receipt for every dollar this guy spent along with the take off parts in boxes. This guy was spending his chicks cash, but even with an unlimited budget he obviously failed to grab up a book.

I'm sure that's really good advice about taking it to a shop, but honestly I don't have the cash for that. I was thinkin more along the lines of buying new heads to avoid a shop cost and going through the rest of the engine with my finger's crossed that I don't have to spend anymore.

As far as the lifter valleys... are you saying you think mine are bad, or are thinkin they most likely will be if cleaned?

I know a guy from a shop, where I take my truck if I can't figure something out, that's pretty damn smart that offered to swing by once I've got it all pulled apart. I'm feelin pretty good about that seeing as even if I miss something, he should be able to catch it.
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[Double Stack]

Double Post

[Double Stack]

Here's my cam card..

I'm thinking aluminium heads with 185cc intake runners, 64cc combustion chambers, and 2.02.02 intake valves.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
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[buckskins4ever]

DoubleStack: That really sucks we feel your pain. If you are on a budget and you have all the receipts from the prev builder......take your engine and the specs sheets you have to another reputable builder and get them to freshen up YOUR engine. If it still ran, it should be well off enough to tear down and rebuild. Best bet, you need new rings, hone the cylinders, clean it up real good, maybe even plane the heads. You should be good to go for a lot less than buying another one rebuilt.

[Double Stack]

Ahh! Damn man, this is not what I want to hear. I've been doin pretty good as far as staying positive, but that was all with the idea that I wouldn't have to be pulling the engine.

This is hell!
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[Double Stack]

So thinking about starting over with this engine after i made some calls around town to some shops. I can buy this engine, heads, and a cam for a lot cheaper than I can get this peicer worked on. I'll just sell it after i pull all my parts aside from the heads, cam, and crank.

Last question, does anybody know of a better price or starting point?

Engine-
http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Perf...67353/10002/-1

Cam-
http://www.jegs.com/i/Comp+Cams/249/12-235-2/10002/-1

Heads-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350684452199...84.m1423.l2649

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by Double Stack

So thinking about starting over with this engine after i made some calls around town to some shops. I can buy this engine, heads, and a cam for a lot cheaper than I can get this peicer worked on. I just sell it after i pull the carb and intake.

Last question, does anybody know of a better price or starting point?

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...OrderCalculate

Your link doesn't work.

[Double Stack]

Should work now...

[Lattimer]

I thought a lot about crate engines before I got lucky enough to get a truck with a good small block. If I had to replace what's in my truck, I would do this:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Perf...oductId=755609

Throw an intake, carb and distributor on it and call it a day.

If I understand correctly, once you open up a crate engine and change out the cam or heads or anything, you lose the warranty. Better to have a nice reliable mill with decent power than mess around.

[Double Stack]

I hear yea, and i've been looking at that engine and 330hp one. It's just a kick in the nuts to go from a 400+ horsepower engine to a 290 or even 330 for three years. The decision is killin me!

I also read up on YearOne crate engines, but I'm kinda leaning away from them. I also found a shop on ebay that sells a 410hp 355ci with Dart Iron Eagle SS heads for about the same price as the 330hp GM motor. They have 100% feedback with a two year warranty that includes local shop repair unless a catastrophic failure takes place. That's sounding pretty good.

Other than that... I found one guy on craigslist locally that says he has 35 years experience and will build me an engine with everything i really want for $2795. specs are aluminum heads 2.02, 64cc, 190 intake, comp cam. I haven't check out his shop yet though.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by Double Stack

I hear yea, and i've been looking at that engine and 330hp one. It's just a kick in the nuts to go from a 400+ horsepower engine to a 290 or even 330 for three years. The decision is killin me!

I also read up on YearOne crate engines, but I'm kinda leaning away from them. I also found a shop on ebay that sells a 410hp 355ci with Dart Iron Eagle SS heads for about the same price as the 330hp GM motor. They have 100% feedback with a two year warranty that includes local shop repair unless a catastrophic failure takes place. That's sounding pretty good.

Other than that... I found one guy on craigslist locally that says he has 35 years experience and will build me an engine with everything i really want for $2795. specs are aluminum heads 2.02, 64cc, 190 intake, comp cam. I haven't check out his shop yet though.

I'd be very leery of anybody advertising on CL unless you find others who have been happy with his work. Same thing with ebay......Unless you can find real info on the builder, steer clear. Just because they advertise all the great parts....might not be that great. Most people on ebay leave feedback as soon as something is received. You might never hear about the 7 out of 10 engines that were advertised at 410 hp and only made 310.

Most of the high HP claims I see out there are BS anyways unless your individual engine was checked out on a dyno. Even then dyno's vary all over the place.

Just my opinions.