Sometimes it slowly drips... sometimes nothing at all... the other night it leaked sooo bad while parked, it took almost 2 full 1 gallon antifreeze containers to fill her back up.

Now I have it jacked up looking for the leak and nothing again...

Once the header cools off I'm going to take the inspection plate off the trannsmission to look around... in the meantime I figured I'd see what ideas I could get here...

 

Several possible causes. Freeze plug in the rear iron could be leaking, iron could be cracked, or the intake could be leaking, and just running off the rear of the intake.
If it were me, I'd bet on the last one. Especially if the intake hasn't been off the engine.

Could also be a leaking water hose, dripping onto the engine.

 

thats where id start too.........the intake o-rings. if they havnt been replaced by you then id replace them to eliminate a variable. get a mirror and flashlight and look around the intake.

 

Simple solution! Clean the engine entirely. Then get a hold of a coolant pressure tester. This way "you" control the pressure and can easily spot the leak...

 

It's definatly not the intake or any hoses... Not a drop anywhere from those areas.

I have the inspection plate off the side of the trannsmission and that really doesn't help me see a daaarn thing.

Pressure tester on the way.

Thanks for the input...

 

Oye... definatly from btwn the motor and tranns...

Mission drop transmission in full effect...

 

Smart money now on a freeze plug.

 

Pressure test will show the leak

 

It looks like it has been leaking down the bell. Don't rule out heater core. And if it was a freeze plug it would do it with it running or not SO is it?

 

Bad Freeze Out Plug...

The motor is a 74'...


$hitty pic but you can see the hole with the light behind it...

 

This is the type of follow-up I like to see. Getting a new freeze plug for it? Or another plate?

 

Well... I went to the parts store and they don't stock new plugs... and they can't get them. So, I took a old 12A plate I been saving, picked the cleanest looking plug and gently fanaggel'd it out.

Under advice given to me by a friend of mine who's a real mechanic (unlike myself. Me = a backyard mechanic) I took a little dab of JB Weld and VERY lightly put a coat around the part that's going to sit in the plate and put her in...

Transmission, clutch, pp, etc... is all going in tonite...

Jeff... why would I need a back plate...? All else seemed well.

 

Nevermind. Looks like you got it figured out.

 

Hey Devil,
Just to let you know, you can get those freeze plugs online at PineappleRacing.com
We carry them in stock. Priority mail gets them there in three to four days.

 

Yeah, that's do it.

At least the hole should have made getting it out easier.

 

Be sure to check the rest of the plugs, seldom, is it just one plug that rusts/fails, unless that particular plug didn't have a proper rust preventitive/zinc/chrome coating. Clean/flush the cooling system after plug replacent. Plug failure is usually an indication of poor cooling system maintinance. Replacing the thermostat/waterpump and having the radiator boiled will help prevent future cooling system failures. Fun part is checking the front freeze plugs. That entails removing the fan, waterpump and front cover. Since you will have the tranny out, it'simpler to remove engine, to access the front freeze plugs. Carb, intake/efi and rat's nest can remain for this task.

I strongly recommend against changing the front freeze plugs with the engine in the car. Even experienced mechanics can bugger the torrington bbearings. All it take is a weak master, clutch or slave cylinder hose. If any of those fail, resuklts won't show until the car has been driven for a while, unless one checks e-shaft free play.