I may well be in the wrong place, but I have a question about cooling issues. Yes I'm in PA and it's 7 degrees out today. My 3.8 Cutlass Supreme does something funny. Not really HAHA funny but strange. I'll describe it to you then give my ideas and see if anyone else has any other ideas.
82 Cutlass Supreme, 3.8. Bone Stock. 58K on the clock. When the thermostat opens, the top radiator hose starts sucking in. If I race the engine it sucks almost flat. My first thought was that the hose is worn out and just cant handle the pressure anymore. Then I noticed a pretty big puddle of water on the ground under it over the last few days. The sucking means there's more negative pressure in the hose due to the water pump drawing from the radiator and positive pressure on the other side of the pump theoretically all the way back to the radiator. The pump is obviously doing its job if it's sucking water in, but a leak somewhere from the water pump back should explain the changes in pressure, correct? I guess the best solution is to get under it and find the leak.
I would like to start simple and not have to do a waterpump gasket, but since I'll have to replace the top hose anyway, I might as well do the thermostat and think about doing the pump gasket since all that stuff is jammed into a tiny little space between the cylinder banks and I dont want to go in there twice if I dont have to. Any other suggestions?
82 Cutlass Supreme, 3.8. Bone Stock. 58K on the clock. When the thermostat opens, the top radiator hose starts sucking in. If I race the engine it sucks almost flat. My first thought was that the hose is worn out and just cant handle the pressure anymore. Then I noticed a pretty big puddle of water on the ground under it over the last few days. The sucking means there's more negative pressure in the hose due to the water pump drawing from the radiator and positive pressure on the other side of the pump theoretically all the way back to the radiator. The pump is obviously doing its job if it's sucking water in, but a leak somewhere from the water pump back should explain the changes in pressure, correct? I guess the best solution is to get under it and find the leak.
I would like to start simple and not have to do a waterpump gasket, but since I'll have to replace the top hose anyway, I might as well do the thermostat and think about doing the pump gasket since all that stuff is jammed into a tiny little space between the cylinder banks and I dont want to go in there twice if I dont have to. Any other suggestions?