I SWEAR IM SO FRUSTRATED..help...lol...

[southcarolina803]

so yesterday im checkn all my hoses to see how hard they are b/c i had replaced 2 of them bc they were crackd on the ends and one of the hose going to the pcv valve well i squeezed it while the engine was running and it made this noise, so i looked under the car and see spots of oil so ok, then i shut the car off and ALL THE RADIATOR FLUID LEAKS OUT!!, so i get off work today and run the car for about 15 minutes and slowly but surely the oil leaks, then i shut the car off and the remainder of the radiator fluid just pours out, both new problems....wow.....i dont even know what to do ... BUT.. im ok, i can deal with it.......whos with me....

[Olds64]

When it rains it pours!

Sounds like you might want to replace your radiator hoses and the hose clamps. Then replace the lines going to and from the heater core. Finally, you can get a flush kit and flush the radiator with your garden hose (better than nothing). They are only about $10 at the auto parts store.

[southcarolina803]

yea i just recently did a flush..........

also every time somthing goes wrong i google the problem...man...i can just see the money pilling up,,,,, so you would say get the hoses replaced? thats what i will do....but yesterday i loosened up the bottom hose after it POURED OUT and moved the fitting as close to the end off the hose and tightened it bac up so i just dont see how its the hose, i also here wait for the engine to b cool and start it with the cap off and look for bubbles...and if its small bubbles i may can get some CRC but if its big bubbles i may have aproblem....ugh ugh ugh ugh.....

what about the oil? the is leaking so slow....i cant really tell where its comin from bc i cant get under the car buti do have a piece of cardboard under there to get a better idea.....was that from me squeezing the pcv hose?

[J-(Chicago)]

Originally Posted by southcarolina803

what about the oil? the is leaking so slow....i cant really tell where its comin from bc i cant get under the car buti do have a piece of cardboard under there to get a better idea.....was that from me squeezing the pcv hose?

I'll bet it's an oil pan seal. Every Olds I've ever had leaks from the pan.

[southcarolina803]

tomarrow i will try to go buy some ramps to drive on and get under it better.......nobody has really said its the radiator, any reason you guys arent shooting on that? i mean i dont want to replace it im just curious your being optimistic and im pestimistic ALL THE TIME...

[southcarolina803]

BTW, the radiator looks to b leaking on the left side where you fill it up around that bottom hose....cant really do any more research undr the engine until tomarrow...

[BILL DEMMER]

when you pinch-off the pcv hose, the valve may oscillate-that is normal.

you need to get under the car and find out where the coolant is leaking from. be careful-hot coolant can severely burn you.

after you install new hoses and run the car for a while, you will probably need to re-tighten some/all of the hose clamps. you're using a minimum of 50% anti-freeze/coolant, right? your radiator cap is functioning properly(holding pressure)?

[BILL DEMMER]

when you removed the old hose from the lower radiator, you didn't break the joint at the radiator, by moving the old hose from side-to-side, did you?

[southcarolina803]

i dont think i broke the joint but i cant really say for sure b/c i have no idea what you are talkng about.........BUT, i will look tomarrow, so basically what am i looking for to b broke if did break it, and yes i did move it from side to side to get the hose off when i drained it....and yes i am runing pre diluted antifreeze

[Allan R]

Hey south carolina,
Sorry to hear.
Ok, when you took off the lower rad hose it might have been on for a long time and not wanted to come off right away. Most guys figure that moving the hose back and forth on the lower radiator outlet will bust it loose. Sometimes it does. Sometimes what you end up doing is wrecking the lower rad outlet. It's only brazed on after the tank is built and can get broken pretty easy if you use a lot of force on it. I think that's what Bill was getting at. Also, if you really torked on the clamp that was holding the hose on, you could also crush the lower rad outlet out of shape and create your own leak. In my experience with a stubborn hose that I'm gonna replace anyway, use a sharp knife and gently cut through the end enough to split the hose. Then gently twist it in a circular pattern. If it doesn't want to go, shoot a little WD40 in there to help dissolve and lube the hose that's coming off. If you did bust the lower rad hose brazing, you need to take the rad out and take it to the shop for a repair. Shouldn't cost much - maybe 20-40 bucks??

One more thing, and I know it may sound dumb. So you changed the coolant. Did you tighten up the valvecock on the drain?

Allan R

[southcarolina803]

instead of waiting hours for the radiator fluuid to drain, my neighbor, who is showing me how to work on the car says " jus pull the bottom hose off"....so i did....and after i flushed it , it didnt leak do right away, maybe a wk later. is the radiator pretty hard to take out, and if that IS what i have to do, any tips? but first, should i replace the hoses first ? so many options not enough knowledge....well theres my new quote

[Oldsguy]

I think you should stop listening to your neighbor. It seems to me he is passing on back yard mechanic tips that sometimes work and sometimes don't and if not done correctly can cause problems as Allan mentioned. I can understand that any help would be welcome but sometimes help can be a hindrance in the long run.

[Lady72nRob71]

One other thing to check on that radiator...
Does it have a screwed-in plug on the top of the tank below the filler cap and above the tranny cooler lines? It is sometimes there in case you have a coolant sensor to install. However it is not on all radiators.
See if it leaking from there. Only a rubber washer is used and they can fail. Mine did at a recent car show - I thought it was the lower hose but it was that plug gasket. When I replaced it, there was a glob of solder on the sealing surface that destroyed the gasket very soon. I removed the glob and changed the gasket.

If not this, the lower hose nipple may be broke away from the tank as mentioned earlier in this post. Radiator removal on these cars is straightforward, just make sure you do not damage the tranny cooler lines (do not bend, use line wrenches, and thread them in by hand several turns before wrenching on them). The hose nipple can be resoldered by a good radiator shop and they can pressure test it also. This happened on my '86 - it failed about a week after the DEALER changed the hoses before I bought it.
And to repeat what has already been said, never move a hose back and forth to break it free. I would cut the hose off with a knife before damaging the radiator. (Some hoses can even be reused after being cut off, as they are often longer than needed...)

To test everything after repairs, use just water for a while to check for leaks. When confident it is fixed, use 50-50 antifreeze and distilled water.

[joe_padavano]

I would consider running a pressure test on the cooling system before taking anything apart.

[projectheaven]

Originally Posted by southcarolina803

BTW, the radiator looks to b leaking on the left side where you fill it up around that bottom hose....cant really do any more research undr the engine until tomarrow...

I had the same problem but I cracked a few fins on my radiator when I did a cam change.Water kept appearing at the bottom near the lower hose and i thought it was the housing.Someone mentioned you should get a pressure check.Good idea.

[Olds64]

I think you can take the car by a radiator shop and they will test it for you. If you decide to replace the hoses you should replace the hose clamps as well. It is only a few dollars more.

[southcarolina803]

thanks for the input i will be working on that this weekend, hopefully i will not have to take the radiator out, and if i do....hmm....anyone live around the gulfport area of mississippi..?

[southcarolina803]

Originally Posted by Lady72nRob71

One other thing to check on that radiator...
Does it have a screwed-in plug on the top of the tank below the filler cap and above the tranny cooler lines? It is sometimes there in case you have a coolant sensor to install. However it is not on all radiators.
See if it leaking from there. Only a rubber washer is used and they can fail. Mine did at a recent car show - I thought it was the lower hose but it was that plug gasket. When I replaced it, there was a glob of solder on the sealing surface that destroyed the gasket very soon. I removed the glob and changed the gasket.

If not this, the lower hose nipple may be broke away from the tank as mentioned earlier in this post. Radiator removal on these cars is straightforward, just make sure you do not damage the tranny cooler lines (do not bend, use line wrenches, and thread them in by hand several turns before wrenching on them). The hose nipple can be resoldered by a good radiator shop and they can pressure test it also. This happened on my '86 - it failed about a week after the DEALER changed the hoses before I bought it.
And to repeat what has already been said, never move a hose back and forth to break it free. I would cut the hose off with a knife before damaging the radiator. (Some hoses can even be reused after being cut off, as they are often longer than needed...)

To test everything after repairs, use just water for a while to check for leaks. When confident it is fixed, use 50-50 antifreeze and distilled water.

im positive its leaking on near the bottom hose

[southcarolina803]

OK SO I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP CUT IT OFF IT DIDNT LEAK RAN A PRESSURE TEST ITS FINE...ITS POSSIBLE I HAD ABOUT A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH FLUID IN IT....HA ..HA .....SO TODAY I WILL TRY TO SEE WHERE THIS OIL LEAK IS COMING FROM....

[Oldsguy]

Re-reading your posts lead me to ask this, did the fluid leak out the fill tube on the top when the cap was off or on? I don't see how there can be too much coolant in the radiator, it may seem like too much if the cap is off and it starts to boil (atmospheric pressure instead of the 12 to 15 lbs the cap provides) at 112 degrees, then boils over and out the fill tube on the top. If this occured when the cap was on, are you using an overflow tank? If you aren't, it is possible the system burped out some fluid, it ran out the overflow and down the side of the radiator, dripping at the outlet tube on the bottom.

[Redog]

Best tip for removing hoses.

If they don't come off easy, take a box cutter or some other kind of razor and cut the hose along the outlet, then cut the hose around the base of the outlet. Yeah it makes the hose usless, but better a $20 hose than a $200 raditor

[rocketraider]

If the car doesn't have coolant recovery tank, it is very easy to put too much coolant in the radiator and have it puke out the overflow tube. I think a 72 has the overflow same side as the bottom hose so it could look like leaking from somewhere else.

Most radiators without overflow jugs have a "Fill Cold" mark embossed in the tank, usually 2-3 inches below filler neck. If you fill one of these radiators to the filler neck, when engine gets up to operating temperature coolant expands and has nowhere to go except out the overflow.

This is actually one of the most common mistakes I see people make on an old car.

Cackalack, does your base have any kind of mechanic training available? or is there a community college nearby that offers a basic auto mechanics and maintenance class?

I want you to learn, but I also hate to see you get in over your head right off the bat. You have to remember you're dealing with a 36 year old car and can expect anything to fail or do something weird at any time.

Instead of attacking this car piecemeal, try developing a plan as to what you want or need to do for it. Odds are at 36 yrs old, a lot needs attention. Some from wearing out, some from old age, and some to fix what previous owners have boogered up.

From safety angle, you need to make sure brakes, steering and suspension are right before anything else. Then go after the drivetrain needs- tune-up; coolant flush; engine, transmission and rear axle oil change. Rent a pressure washer and clean all the accumulated grease and gunk off- it will run cooler and better, and be a lot easier to work on.

Plus you go to messing with changing intake and carb without all the right parts in place, you're asking for aggravation. It's more complicated than just throwing on another intake and carb- there's trans kickdown cable, throttle cable, fuel line and other things to consider and all different between 2 and 4 barrel cars.

Keep us posted, and keep that enthusiasm up.