After making some required repairs this has been the first week I have been driving my 68 Cutlass Supreme 4dr. Not knowing much of the mechanical history of the car, I drive it with caution to see if any problems arise. It drives very smooth but I noticed yesterday I had a good amount of collant leaking in the area behind the front passenger tire. I looked under and see it dripping from the right fender area. The radiator is full but the reservoir went down around 3 inches down to "ADD" line from what it was a couple days ago.

Does this sound like a bad water pump? I remember someone telling me that if these cars sit for a while and then get used regularly, the waterpump tends to go out. I also noticed that the car started to 'knock' for a couple seconds after I turned off the ignition. It is almost as if it is idling a bit high when in park. Is this a timing issue? I have stopped driving the car until I figure out how to fix the leak issue. Any advice is appreciated.

 

If it is leading behind the right front tire, I would say you have a leaking heater core. You can bypass it by connecting the heater hose from the water pump to the intake manifold. If your lead disappears then the heater core is your problem. I can't imagine it being anything else. A water pump would be leaking at the front of the engine. Good luck.

 

In that area, I would suspect a leaking heater hose connection, or worse, the heater core itself.
If connections are dry, use a short hose to bypass the heater core. If the leak stops, expect to have to change the core.

The waterpump is at the front of the engine and would be dripping there if bad.

Sounds like the idle speed is too high. Timing could be off, as well as idle mixture and speed. Make sure it is not stuck on the second fast idle cam by a sticky linkage at the carb.

 

Geez, Red - we were typing the same thing at once but you beat me to it!

 

I notice this problem started happening after I had the valve cover gaskets changed. Could it be that the heater was reconnected incorrectly? It almost looked like it was dripping from a hose in the right fender but I didnt have much time to look closely. I haven't attempted to run the heater although it does work.

 

With the "engine knock", probably an ignition timing issue, or running hot, which might make sense with your a coolant loss.

 

the closest that coolant gets to the r/f wheel is the heater hoses, maybe lower hose, but coolant flows down hill so it could be coming from up front and dripping / traveling.
If the water pump was bad, you would see it but maybe only while the engine is running
It seems I have nothing but cooling system issues, but in my cars, in S Fla, with A/C on it's a full time job keeping these girls running normal temps. A lot of hit and miss, trial and error. I have replaced almost everything in all 3 cars' cooling systems. All is well but you never know, rubber hoses + heat = trouble brewing. And Olds 350 waterpumps are not as easy to get as I thought, learned last year on the way home from the Nationals. Made it to Pittsburgh from Miami no problem, on the way back the waterpump went on the PA turnpike. Luckily the top was down and I smelled it as I stopped for a toll, musta just happened because the bottle and rad were still full.
Best of luck.

 

Good info to know.

Check the heater valve / connection at rear of engine. If those are bumped right, they can crack.

Maybe the hoses need a reseating (if not on all the way.) or a tightening.
If they feel gorilla tight, it is possible the fittings were deistorted from too much pressure.

Also, applying force on the heater core fittings when putting the hoses on can cause a weak core to crack.

Time to get out there with a good flashlight and track that nasty leak down!

 

I think it's not the heater core, but if the carpet is wet on the right front floor, then that is a tell-tale sign of a bad heater core. I have 2 of mine bypassed (Florida but we did need it this year and mine are bypassed) actually the conv has heat which I actually used 2 weeks ago on a trip but I digress.

In the last few years between the 3 of them I have done 2 water pumps, 3 radiators, hoses on the wagon, bypassed (possibly leaking, possibly not) 2 heater cores, and oh yeah one of those caps that goes on the extra water pump port went. No matter what goes, the leak is the same. Wet.

I hate cooling system problems.

 

Anyone suggest a bad freeze plug yet?

 

You make a good point about the heater core leaking inside the car. You get that bad odor. Since the valve cover gaskets were changed, I think the first thing I would check would be to see all the hose clamps were tight. They may have pulled a heater hose off to replace the gaskets and forgot to tighten it. How many times have we all done that. You could also have a pin hole in one of the hoses. How old are they?

 

I took a closer look earlier today focusing on the heater core. You guys were right. The reservoir has gone down considerably and there is coolant seeping into the passenger floor from the inside. It is getting hot here in California so I think I will have the hose bypassed until I come back around to replacing the heater core.

How much of a risk would it be to attempt to drive around 11 miles with the problem I am facing? I do not want to risk the engine overheating. Thanks.

coolantleakinside.jpg

 

you should be ok top it off 1st and keep moving. before you cap it off at the firewall after you bypass it, rinse it out with fresh water and blow it out with air and cap it with those rubber caps, no hose clamps needed