Please Help!!!!!
 

I have a 79 shark that was running perfectly fine...until....I drove into the garage, turned off the car, got out, and ..... within 10 seconds all of the coolant gushes out onto the garage floor with no warning. I inspected both upper and lower radiator hoses -- no problem. I can't find any obvious signs of what caused this. It was not a little leak --- it seemed that something all of a sudden opened/burst and the coolant rapidly dumped out. Please help!!! Any suggestions of what/where to look are greatly appreciated!!!

I'll check it, but what is killing me is that I have looked from above and below the car with a flashlight, and can't find any source for the leak! And everything was 100% fine prior!

Fill it back up and see where it comes out. I'd use distilled water for testing, but plain old water might be fine as long as you plan to drain and refill.

I also figure once one hose goes, time to replace them all. Its the PRE in preventive maintenance. ;)

I have recently replaced all my coolant hoses as a preventive measure. My ca is 17 years old, and has 98k miles on the odo.

Since you have not been able to provide any information on where the coolant came from. I can only make a few suggestions on where and what to check:

1. Radiator side tanks - never happened to me, but apparently they like to separate from the aluminum radiator after some time. You can order the tanks separately, and have a radiator shop reinstall them, or get a new radiator ($$$)

2. Engine drain plug - did it fall out?

3. Since you say you can't see anything from above, I assume that the hoses on the front of the engine are probably fine. Check the "V" (between the cylinder banks) for fluid, though! Follow the visible radiator hoses again, as far as you can see and check for possible leaks.

4. Unlikely to make you lose all coolant, but not uncommon: Cracked expansion tank. That's a fun thing to replace, if you neeed it - at least on my 32-valve car it was. There is little room to manoever, so consider removing the washer filler neck (from the wheel side) to get better access.

5. Another unlikely to lose all coolant, but a possibility: Remove the air filter box and check the heater valve, as well as the short hose from engine to heater valve. The latter loves to give way as it ages; while you are in there consider replacing it and the heater valve as a preventive measure (OEM heater valve is around $20).

Hope this helps!

Nicole
www.hookedoncars.com

Thanks Nicole. I checked the engine drain plugs (which is what I was hoping it was), but no problem. Expansion tank is fine. I'm going to remove the air filter box and check the heater valve.....ah, the joys of Porsche ownership!

Burst hose on the bottom side is going to be hard to find dry, just put some water in and watch where it comes out. You don't even need to start the engine, get one of those pressure test things.