Hi all, just wondering if anyone can help. I have a 67 lesabre, that has been losing water, I think only when the car is running. On initial study, the top and bottom hose seem ok, but there is coolant all over the front of the engine and suspension. On inspection the bottom hose seems to have something in it, i.e when I squeeze it, it doesn't compress like the top hose. I am in the uk so not at all familiar with american cars of this age, any help would be appreciated. Also it has developed a misfire. I will investigate this weekend, just wondered if anybody had any ideas...many thanks
The object in the bottom hose might be a spring; it’s put there to prevent the hose from collapsing. If you’ve looked at your water pump and it’s not leaking from the weep hole, I’d suggest taking a look at areas where any of the water carrying parts mate to the block, heads and manifold and seeing if there’s a bad gasket somewhere. It can get pretty expensive if you don’t find any culprits in those areas.
Don't forget there are 3 smaller hoses -- 2 go to the heater core (they will run to some pipes on the firewall - across the passenger side of the engine) and one is a shorter bypass hose that goes back towards the center of the engine (maybe 8 inches long). I suspect that one of the 3 of these is split/leaking and spraying coolant on the plug wires or distributor. (creating the miss) If you look -- these come off the water pump up front so I would check around the clamps for a damaged hose. They are not expensive, so if you need to replace one -- do them all at once (the others will fail soon). One word of advice -- if you need to replace these hoses that go to the heater core be careful removing them from the pipes coming thru the firewall as these pipes are soldered connections inside the car. Don't yank and tug -- you could break the soldered connection -- remove the clamps and slice the old hose with a razor blade to split it -- you can then peel it off as needed. This will assure you don't end up with a bigger issue than a low-cost hose.
many thanks bostoncat, will have a good look... am hoping it is something minor as the car is sidelined at the moment and can only work on it at the weekend... top advice, many thanks
Had that happen to my Skylark. radiator fluid sprayed all over the suspension, front of engine and underside of hood. Ended up being a wornout water pump at the pully. Pretty much the main culprit any time a waterpump goes. Replaced and all was well.
Bottom radiator hose normally has a spring inside to keep it open against the suction of the water pump. Pressure-testing is the best way to find the leak, but if you have old coolant in the engine (more than 1-1/2 years old), you may have leaks in multiple areas. Water pump is likely worn out & will need replacing, but old coolant turns acidic after prolonged exposure to air and can cause leaks at the radiator, heater core, thermostat housing, and even the intake/head gaskets.
I guess LeSabre is no different than my 67 Special. Please be aware that it is not a closed colling system as it is in modern cars. i.e. if you fill the radiator to the top (cold, obviously) the warm coolant will increase in volume and drip out of the overflow hole (usually there is a hose attached to that hole leading to nowhere. I am writing this as I repeatedly filled my radiator to the top and wondered where the leak is......
many many thanks for all your advice everyone it is much appreciated that you have taken the time to write...shall investigate and hopefully cure
