1930 model a leaking water

[samsonized]

i need some help i put a rebuilt h&h touring motor in last year. had radiator serviced and checked. all new hoses have a temp gauge running in the green.
leaks water from somewhere on the ground when the car is in the garage used to take about a half gallon after driving. no water in oil no smoke out of tailpipe. just got it out for the spring radiator empty looked everywhere i cannot find a leak. getting frustrated. any suggestions.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by samsonized

i need some help i put a rebuilt h&h touring motor in last year. had radiator serviced and checked. all new hoses have a temp gauge running in the green.
leaks water from somewhere on the ground when the car is in the garage used to take about a half gallon after driving. no water in oil no smoke out of tailpipe. just got it out for the spring radiator empty looked everywhere i cannot find a leak. getting frustrated. any suggestions.

Get some UV Leak Detection Dye for cooling systems and install in your radiator. Shine a fluorescent light to see where it is coming from. Available from most Auto parts stores.



Ensure you are not overfilling the radiator.

Slight leak in my radiator, the drips 'glow' under fluorescent light, making it easy to trace.

[Gary WA]

could your petcock on lower hose to radiator have a leak?

[Marshall V. Daut]

Did you re-install the engine splash pans? Besides functioning as part of the electrical and cooling systems, they can be helpful in tracing a coolant leak.
For example, if you can see fresh water stains or coolant tracks running down one (usually the driver's side), that will narrow down where to look. As suggested, it might be a faulty petcock, although to find as much water on the pavement the next morning as you describe, the petcock would really have to be bad. Water dripping from the water pump (cracked housing, bad gasket, faulty packing nut, worn packing, scored shaft) usually drips down the driver's side of the engine, running behind the generator and then along the engine block's rail before it drips onto the engine splash pan. You undoubtedly installed new hoses, which tend to incrementally compress like a head gasket, requiring re-tightening after a few heat and cool cycles until the rubber won't compress any further. Otherwise, coolant will seep past the hoses until the clamps are tightened again and again. The water return gooseneck's gasket on the side of the engine could be leaking or from between the cylinder head and engine block.
All of the pervious suggestions are on the left side of the engine. Coolant leaks don't usually happen on the right side of the engine, unless a head gasket blows out there or the block develops a crack in the water jacket. Since you have a new high quality engine block, we can rule out a cracked block.
Up top, check that water isn't leaking past a cylinder head stud. #8 stud that anchors the distributor cable is a prime source for leakage if the stud's threads hadn't been coated with sealant before screwing it into the block. #7 stud behind the upper gooseneck can also be a leaker, as I discovered on a engine when I left the nut off for the evening. A puddle beneath the car the next morning showed me that coolant had leaked past the "naked" #7 stud. Check that the upper gooseneck gasket is functional and that there is no crack in cast iron neck itself. I assume that you are vigilant about re-torquing the cylinder head nuts, following the proper sequence and torque values? Failure to do that will result in a blown head gasket or seepage between the head and block.
Feel inside the front crossmember trough for wetness. That will tell you if the lower hose is leaking or if there is a leak in the radiator. Feel underneath the crossmember where the front engine mount stud exits. Wetness there also points to a lower hose or radiator leak, that being the lowest place, which water always finds. Check the firewall for signs of splattering and water drops. That usually means a radiator or water pump leak that blows coolant backwards onto the firewall.
There are only so many places for the coolant to leak. Keep looking and eliminating suspects until you find the source.
Marshall

[samsonized]

thanks all for the responses

[captndan]

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If the temp stays in the green drive it and carry an extra gallon of water. Overfilling is common.

[tinkirk]

Put a small bottle of K Seal in it if it’s not coming out the over flow k seal will take. Care of what ever leak you may have it is great stuff little pricy but worth it


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[CT Jack]

If your radiator overflow tube is too short you could be pumping water out the overflow tube every time you take a drive.

[CT Jack]

Your radiator overflow tube might be too short. This could cause water to be pumped out the overflow every time you take a drive.

[nkaminar]

My coolant leaks are always from hose clamps that need tightening. Occurs after re installing the engine. After discovering the leaks I use a socket wrench on the hose clamps to tighten them. It provides more torque than a screwdriver.

As an aside, on a boat all hoses have two clamps as a way to prevent failures. Many years ago a hose clamp busted on my dad's boat causing it to sink at the dock.

[samsonized]

all good ideas thanks

[JayJay]

Somewhere along the line someone pushed my overflow tube down so it was about an inch above the baffle (I presume when they installed the MotoMeter). I like to fill my radiator so at rest I can see fluid above the baffle. So, each time I filled into the upper tank it ran out the overflow tube, and more so running. I reached down and bent (carefully) the overflow tube up and into the neck. This allowed me to fill into the tank. That problem solved.

Another coolant leak point - I noticed coolant on the ground underneath the front of the muffler! I found the muffler had rusted out, and coolant (presumably leaking into the exhaust from a breach in the head gasket) collected in the muffler and eventually leaked out the hole. Probably has been going on for some time, as the muffler is at least 35 years old. This also could explain the slight exhaust smell in the cabin. I will put some muffler patch goop on it and will replace the muffler after I replace the head gasket.

UPDATE: got the muffler off and the hole is obvious, about 1/4" x 3/4". However, rather than being rotted metal, it's clear that somewhere in its life (I've only had the car since last October 2022) something impacted the muffler and punctured it. The metal all around is good and solid. So instead of gooping it up I found some sheet metal and welded a patch on it (although nobody will ever confuse me with a real welder!). That should hold it indefinitely. Still gotta figure out how that coolant got into the muffler, but that's a different issue.

JayJay