Coolant Leak and other woes

Frapp · 12-07-03, 04:36

My 97 Chevy Cavalier is currently experiencing a coolant leak (just in the middle of New England's first big snow storm this season too). I was just wondering about how much it might cost to fix this..

Also, is there any websites that would list, or can anyone tell me what I can expect from my Cavalier in terms of future problems. It just rolled over 70K miles last week, and I've owned it for at almost 3 years now. (got it at 45K miles).

Thanks a lot
Frapp

4DSC · 12-07-03, 11:13

It depends on where the coolant leak is coming from....

- hose
- radiator
- water pump
- somewhere inside the engine (

)

Could be expensive or could be cheap.

Personally I don't have that good an opinion of the Cavs so I shouldn't say.

Once you fix a coolant leak though, it shouldn't recur or cause any future headache.

Guess My Name · 12-08-03, 11:51

More info....please....

Big question is what is leaking?

Have pressure test donw to be sure....could be anything from cracked block, head gasket, hose, hose clamp, radiator, heater core, etc etc etc

Frapp · 12-08-03, 12:21

I just got the car checked out today. Apparently it's not the coolant.

Here's the whole story: New England's 1st major snowing of the season happened. Yesterday, my dad finds a greenish splotch of something underneath my car, in the snow. I took it to my mechanic, only to find that GM cars use red coolant.

Is there anything in a GM car (or specifically mine) that would be leaking green? I'm all sorts of confused trying to figure this out..and not knowing how many kinds of fluids a car has is frustrating.

4DSC · 12-08-03, 07:55

A few synthetic oils are green (when NEW).... some brands of windshield washer fluid are also green, but I don't know if I would mistake it for coolant.

I don't know what else other than coolant it could be. Brake fluid is clear, ATF is red, PS fluid is often ATF....

jonbeling · 12-08-03, 10:53

it is possible that it might be your ac refridgerant. I know they sell

red colored refridgerant to check and see if you have a leak, but

im not too sure about green. See if your a/c works, but make

sure that your car is completly warmed up and only keep it on for

a very short period of time because if it is your a/c then keeping it

on can mess up your compressor

Guess My Name · 12-10-03, 09:55

Maybe The Grinch was nearby and had to go....hehehehe

TOGWT · 12-10-03, 10:12

~One man’s opinion~

I think you’ll find that some refrigerants are green (and so are some anti-freeze solutions) but you’d lose pressure very quickly. Suggest you turn the a/c on (dream about sunny days when you need a/c) and see if it still works. This would probably be the least expensive leak to fix than engine blocks, etc.

~Hope this is of some help~

Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/

~ justadumbarchitect ~so I question everything ~

paco · 12-10-03, 10:28

I have a 97 cavalier. You had better hope it's not the water pump. Due to it's location and access issue, it ends up running you big bucks!!! It's over 700 CDN to repair mainly a result of the 7+ hours it takes to complete the task. My cousin is a mechanic and it I got it completed for cheaper but he did say it was a royal pain to do and he hopes he doesn't have another one come through the shop.

GMs Dexcool is red/pink in colour. The problem is if the previous owner changed the coolant not knowing that you have to use Dexcool or GM compatible coolant. If they use the wrong coolant and you've run it for over 30K miles, you could be facing some serious issue's with the engine in the not to distant future.

I'd run an oil analysis (~$20) and confirm that you don't have a coolant leak into the engine as that could spell a lot of trouble for you. It'll also provide you with iron, lead etc. that will help you determine if you there's a problem on your hands.

Check the opaque reservoir on the left hand side of the engine and see what color it is. Hopefully pink.

Green - Can't think of anything else it might be... grease of some sort????

Motor Oil: Castrol SLX 0W30 or 0W30 (Made in Germnay) is green in colour... but it's rare in N.America so I doubt that is where is it coming from.

4DSC · 12-10-03, 11:12

Quote:

Originally posted by paco
Motor Oil: Castrol SLX 0W30 or 0W30 (Made in Germnay) is green in colour... but it's rare in N.America so I doubt that is where is it coming from.

That's what I'm running right now, and yes, it IS green out of the bottle.

I heard there were a couple other green motor oils out there too, but they are even less available than the Castrol 0w30....