hi, i have a big problem with my 93 FD. There are no leaks in the coolant but i keep on having to put coolant into it. Also when I step on a the gas I makes a weird water noise(like when you shake up a bottle of water or when water is boiling). After running it, the engine gets really hot that you can see some smoke coming out. Does anyone have any clue what's wrong with my FD?

 

have you replaced your ast? did you check the actual plastic tank that the coolant goes into? my last thought would be your radiator, how old is it and does it leak? just a couple thoughts. nick

 

Uh oh. O-Rings.

Take the coolant cap off and see if you smell exhaust in there. Similarly, does the exhaust smell like anti-freeze right after you start it?

 

No leaks but you are loosing a lot of coolant?

Is your car smoking quite a bit at startup?

 

when I had stock cooling specifications, if I drove the car really hard then shut it off it woul spill over. it is okay, but you shoudl really get PFC do fan mod, keep parking lights on, etc. maybe you just haev too much coolant in overflow tank.

Where are you checking the level of coolant?

 

if there are no leaks yet u have to continue adding coolant, u may have a crack or other internal leak that is allowing coolant into the engine where is should not be... this seems to be the case when coolant "disappears" and there are no visible leaks... check to see if there is any coolant residue in your exhaust... otherwise i would not know the problem

 

Where is the smoke coming from?

Turbo side (oil smoke? this would be leaking oil lines to turbo, right?) Coolant smoke (smells sweet)? These might be the coolant lines to turbo.

Top of engine? Look to the thermostat housing (where the filler cap on the top of the engine is), especially the cap (replace 'em if you haven't yet) and even the burping pipe plugs (two of em, one just behind the filler neck, the other on the left side, down an inch or so)

Front of engine? Look to the radiator, again with the sweet smell indicating coolant leak.

If your system is in ANY way not holding its pressure (even a pinhole leak will cause this) you will be running hot (fans on all the time) and the coolant boiling temp is lowered significantly if not pressurized (16lbs originally, 13lbs with the recall). The water rushing sound is likely bubbles in the coolant moving through the heater core, methinks. Lastly, if you have a small leak in the system, when you shut the car off you will NOT be drawing coolant back into the system as it cools down, creating a bigger air pocket. If you are losing coolant, it's going somewhere. Pray you don't overheat the engine in its present condition, or you WILL warp the housings and you WILL have to get a rebuild. Last note, make sure the hose running from the AST to the overflow tank is getting a good seal at the AST. Erstewhile, you'll not be drawing back into the system from the overflow, even if the rest of the system is fine, which it sounds like you's might not be!

More: temp gauge comlpetely innacurate. If it moves upward, you are already very hot, and will soon be very screwed!

But then I'm new, so others should tell me where I am wrong...

 

thanks a lot for all you guy's information. I think is like what you guys said that there might be an internal leakage or whether the radiator is bad. The radiator is pretty old, I haven't change it since 93 but all the pipes have just been replaced a few months ago. I guess its time for me to bring it to the mechanics cuz she hasn't been there in awhile.

 

oh yeah, if my radiator is bad. What kind of radiator would you guys suggest buying? I notice that FD radiators can range from $300-$1,300. What are their differences? And of course what do you guys think I should buy?

 

I have heard nothing but good things about the Fluidyne aluminum rad - think it runs in the neighborhood of 450.00 if I can remember correctly.

Have you tried a pressure test on your coolant system to find the leak?

 

koyo or fluidyne are the top choices for radiators

 

what do you think of the M2 street competition aluminum radiator? Is it good? What are the differences between all radiators?

 

As long as it's all aluminum, anything after that really has to do with fitment issues. If you want one that has the least amount of effort for installation, pick up a Fluidyne:

http://www.absoluteradiator.com/

However, if you are still physically losing coolant and you don't see any drops on the ground, I doubt that a new radiator is going to fix it.