my stock 91 na is wanting me to add coolant in it every 2-3 days sometimes longer then 2-3 days but my main concern is why does it keep telling me to add coolant. can someone help me out? also is this a big problem or small?
thanks

 

If there are no obvious leaks, check the weep hole area under the water pump shaft...

Are you smoking at all?

 

first, u check for leaks...second, does it somoke when cold starting...third how many miles does it have.... if 2+3(high miles) are ture i would say coolent seal and rebuild time

 

no smoke at all and i have about 164xxx miles

 

Right about the mileage my OEM water pump went out, lol...

 

so i need a new water pump?

 

as wayne said look at the weep hole, find the leak before you rip things apart

 

what am i looking for in the weep hole because coolant dissapears pretty fast.

 

Yes, that's why I told you WHERE to look- if it's just a 2-3 day top off, it's not pissing much yet, and it's hard to stand back and see the weep hole leaking...

Get a mirror, look under the water pump...

 

would you say this is a big problem or a small problem?

 

Make sure that you check your air bleeder screw. Its a really shitty design, but its threaded into a plastic piece thats part of the rad.. Mine was stripped to hell and I didn't even know it, but once the engine heated up, coolant would slowly leak out the sides of the air bleeder screw becuase it was not securly in place anymore.. I took a zip tie and zipped it up nice and tight, looks ghetto, but it works.

The air bleeder screw is located on the top of the radiator, its right where the radiator pipe connects to the engine that leads to the thermostat housing..

 

Well if your loosing coolant, and you end up loosing too much, you could be very screwed, so yes.

 

Right now it's a small problem...The big problem being you don't know exactly when it's going to totally crap out...May be two days, may be two weeks, your first clue is going to be the increased amounts of coolant you'll need to add as the seals get worse...

This is all assuming it is in fact your water pump...

 

For water pump ( if u think it is ) get a friend cause water pumps mainly **** when u turn the car off when warm.. get a friend a flash light and a flexable mirror.. get car to opperating temp. turn the car off and look for the 1/4 hole directly below the pump shaft on the housing.. if u see trickling its bad.. ( for a cold engine check look for antifreeze remains going from the hole to bottom of engine )

 

Look at your overflow tank. Check the level in it. Mark the level of water in it. Go drive the car for a half hour or more. Look at it again a half hour later. It might have very well gone up a touch. Now go to sleep. Get up the next morning. Go check the level. Is the level the same as the first time you checked it .......or is it at a higher level than that? Higher? Then I suggest your hose that goes to the overflow tank from the filler neck is not air tight OR the radiator cap is needing replacement.

Or, If I'm feeling like Gloomy Gus, fill the radiator up. Go drive for a half hour or more. Leave the car in the driveway overnight. Go sleep. Get up the next morning. Pull the lower plugs out. Do they have traces of water on them and does water drain out the lower plug holes? Shot engine if either. You might hand turn the engine over to see if water comes out if you do this procedure.

A bad water pump shouldn't be that hard to detect. Drive for a half hour or more. Hard. Stop in the driveway and let it idle. STARE at the area at the bottom of the water pump. Water should be seen if its bad. Also look under the car for spots of water.

 

On the engine where the top hose meets the engine, the neck that connects the hose to the engine is prone to getting hairline cracks and it only leaks when the pressure is high enough to push through the crack.

 

"could" also be the housing seal that mates to the block. I just went through this. Started small and couldnt find the leak(just coolant smell and add coolant light). Then it started getting worse and could finally see it dripping a bit off engine. Tore front housing off this weekend and found that the previous "whoever" decided that RTV was good enough and didnt use a gasket. Dumb ***, a gasket is absolutely required here. Made a new gasket put her together and problem solved. A lot of work though for such a small gasket. Had to tear the front of the engine off.

 

...there Is nothing shitty about the Air Bleed Screw. It's obvious that yours has been overtightened.

 

I was just about to say that my bleeder screw was stipped and i was having mild overheating problems and slight loss of coolant and never thought coolant could escape from that screw because of how deep a whole it had to go into.