crx378

yeah i would pressure test it as well, but looks like you may be changing out your water pump none the less.

Luke_in_SD

You just turned off the engine, now the water in not circulating around anymore, so now its absorbing all the engine heat and getter hotter. After a while it will cool off. But basically water expands and builds pressure as it gets hotter. Think about it

turbohye

i just noticed a puddle under my car again today. I walked out and sure as hell, a giant puddle with most of my coolant gone. Looks like its coming from the firewall area but i cant visibly see or feel any leaks around the hoses.

Bean

iTrader: (1)

Might be the rear hose coming out of the back of the head. Mine burst once and began leaking fluid.

19psi

well, get it hot again witha bout 30 minutes of driving, then park it and watch for where the coolant leaks out. it should start leaking pretty quickly, as pressure will build as soon as you turn off the engine.

turbohye

thanks 19, i have yet to get my entire hands in the engine since it has been so F'in cold outside lately. This week's temperature seems to be a bit more forgiving so i plan on trying that. Im going to remove the entire skidplate and get my head in there. Its hard for me to really squeeze in there since i have big arms. Alot of other SC guys talk about leaks from the AC drain hose....is this a possibility too 19, and if so do you know where this hose is?
thanks.

19psi

hmmm... the ac drain hose should be dripping only condensation from the evaporator. that must be what they're talking about. of course there may be something else going on with the sc's taht i'm not familiar with; coolant somehow leaking from teh heater core onto the evap then out the drain hose?
that hose is going to come out from the trans tunnel underneath though if i remember right. it's about a 5/8" black rubber hose just dangling from teh sheetmetal.
you may be able to spot your leak from the top; i'd start there witha good flashlight. better than crawling around on your back and getting a coolant money shot in the eye!

turbohye

Ok here's a long update. After working on the car and removing the PIA skid plate.

A: I immediately noticed instead leakage from around the radiator drain plug area. OK try to understand me on this now. When going under the car and looking at the bottom of the radiator, at the far left is a drain plug that IF you unscrew, then coolant will drain. WELL there is something that is immediately to the RIGHT of that about 2 inches or so that looks to be another drain of some sort (correct me if im wrong). DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THAT IS?? i had gone ahead and ordered another drain cap from Advance Auto parts because it basically looks like one. It was leaking at a steady one drop per second (which would almost explain the 1 quart of missing coolant per night) Now it had already been broken off from what it looks but there were crumbled pieces all of which i pulled out and from what it seems, looks to be a white, threaded piece of plastic resembling a drain plug. Someone please help me out on this.....
p.s. look at the attached image. Thats an sc300 radiator from a website i borrowed.

BTW the drain cap i ordered was 4 bucks and i was wondering if that would fit as it appears to be the same size. Do you guys know what that thing is and its reason for being on the radiator? is it another drain tube? It sure as hell is leaking all my coolant thats for sure. Need you guys on this one.

Blk97SC300

iTrader: (4)

radiator cap
thermostat

water pump

when was water pump changed last?

turbohye

those have all been changed BLK97. Actually this week. This hole i am mentioning is draining my coolant.

19psi

those are ports for a trans fluid cooler. they are apparently unused in your car. they run through the radiator and cool the fluid using hte coolant to absorb the heat. over time, they disintigrate/crumble/crack and will leak. you need a new radiator. is that the original or aftermarket? i don't remember the oe rad's. having those unused nipples.
edit: i just saw you have a 5 speed. that's why those ports are unused;they are for the auto. cars.
you still need a radiator.

turbohye

Thanks 19. Question. Do you think i could get away with some JBWELD on that. Also, is it even possible to just replace that nipple and fix it that way or is that not an option? Anyone know a good cheap OE radiator online? thanks
Is there even any measurement for this like possibly a thread size or plug that i could get from Lowes or Home Depot to fix this. Its a dinky hole that is barely worthy of being called expensive. If so correct me please.
thanks

DIrEctQL

OMG. Two pages of post and nobody even suggested it. Do a search. Most likely it's a problem with your heater core. Are you using green coolant? ... and the reason you don't see the fluid leaking all the time is because the VSV valve is closing the bypass to the heater core. Where is the puddle of coolant? Under the radiator or closer to the passager seat? Does steem come out of your vents?

turbohye

Um, have you lost your mind. If you read the last parts of my post, you will see that i found my leak.

DIrEctQL

You said the leak seemed higher up in the car. Hopefully that really is your leak. Heatercore is very common to leak especially since people put green coolant which is not the right one. I have a OE radiator left after my swap.