where is my coolant going?

[malibujustin]

actually water absorbs heat much better than antifreeze. I ran distilled water and water wetter for years with no problems and I run my car 200 to 220 all the time. We used distilled water and water wetter in our circle track cars. Our sportsman in the Lucas Oil Series did 100 lap races and the engine's temperature never went below 230 degrees and we didn't lose any water....

I also use distilled water in my cars. Mixed with coolant. Most tracks I have ever been too don't allow coolant/antifreeze anyway. I personally want the corrosion protection that coolant gives for a street car. Never have tried the water wetter. How does it work? If you run your cars at 200-220 all the time then this young man really has no problem with the heat of the car by that statement. He has got to have a leak somewhere. A leak means his 16 psi cap means nothing to raising the boiling point of water. Holds no pressure. Water may absorb heat better but it takes it longer to get rid of heat that coolant does. Again I think all of you guys suggestions are good

 

[airboatgreg]

First first first check for a coolant leak. Pull back carpet on pass side to see if wet. Heater core?. Take a mirror and look at water pump weep hole on bottom. Check where intake manifold and heads meets on rear of engine to see if you see a leak. Does engine skip on cold or hot start? indicating an internal leak such as a head or intake gasket. Pressure check cooling system cold and hot. Swing by Saturday and I will look at it with you. I have a pressure checker and stuff🙂
Good advice on if you smell a sweet odor as that is usually anti-freeze. Does exhaust emit excessive white smoke on cold or hot start?

 

[airboatgreg]

On the radiator cap the rule of thumb is one degree of pressure raises the boiling point of water and coolant mix 3 degrees. Cooling fans usually turn on about 220 to 235 degrees...thus the need for a good radiator cap and a proper mix of ethylene glycol and H2O

 

[pontiacgp]

II personally want the corrosion protection that coolant gives for a street car. Never have tried the water wetter. How does it work?

it lowers the temperature, (they say up to 30 degrees but that is BS) and it has water pump lubrication, rust and corrosion protection

 

[malibujustin]

it lowers the temperature, (they say up to 30 degrees but that is BS) and it has water pump lubrication, rust and corrosion protection

Cool. No pun intended. I may have to try some. Thanks for the video.

 

[axisg]

so you now have 3 symptoms
- disappearing coolant
- overheating
- bubbles in coolant
- but will hold 16 lbs pressure for an extended amount of time

That's a head scratcher !

How did the rad cap test out ? Its pretty complex and as mentioned an often overlooked part. Holds pressure and releases the excess coolant to the overflow when hot. Collects coolant back from the overflow when the engine cools. It is a mechanical part that does wear out.

You could have a head gasket leaking into the cyl, or a cracked head.

 

[StreetStock#72]

In the race cars and metric trucks I ran Distilled, water wetter (it's pink😉) and a 22lb cap.

As stated .. my guess is Intake or head gasket leak, cracked manifold from overtightening or crack in the cyl head to port.

Put a fresh set of spark plugs in, look close at the porcelain on the ones you remove for tint of green .. run the new plugs for 100 or so miles keeping after the coolant level
Look for excessive 'steam out the pipes' and new rust in the tips.

My 2 cents worth .. FREE.

BTW, I'm dealing with the same friggin issue with my 305. You could try the new magic in a bottle $36.00 dollar"stop leak" forgot the name right now. Some swear by it, I swear at it.
Didn't work and it was a b*tch to get all that 'stuff' out of there. Fill, remove bottom hose, fill, Flush, repeat about 250 gallons 9or more) out of the garden hose over like 3 days. Back to clean, too damn old and lazy to take it apart, too damn cheap to pay someone to F it up and rush through the job. I can see green on 2 of the plugs.

ZZ4 on stand but the car totally stock and that has some value...

 

[330 uhc]

Kind of wondering if you're being literal...you keep adding "water"...you mean anti freeze?.. water carries less heat than anti freeze, and would leak out cleanly as steam if you have bad intake gaskets

 

[Ribbedroof]

.one thing I did notice was that I needed to add coolant and it was full of small bubbles .the coolant level was bouncing violently from very low to almost overfull constantly as I added coolant.

Bubbles in coolant and surging level.....I'm going to say head gasket.

 

[330 uhc]

Head gaskets, intake gaskets, cracked head or block can all manifest in an on and off manner...last time I ran into this situation it was intake gaskets, but have seen cracks act the same, depending on the heat cycle