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Leaking coolant????

683 views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  vnv727 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all. I hope someone can give me some advice regarding this issue. I bought a 1992 Saab 9000 turbo Griffin Edition 1 month ago. Yesterday, I drove to my office and parked on the street at a parking meter. I was sitting there for about 15 mins typing an email on my blackberry and all of a sudden I heard a "POP" and lot's of white steam was billowing from the windshield wiper ducts. I quickly opened the hood and couldn't see exactly the source of the steam, but I looked down at the curb and all of my Green coolant was forming a river. Of course, my coolant level and radiator indicator came on and the temp guage started towards high. Within mins, the steam dissipated and that was it. I opened the coolant container and it was dry. Now, I live about 8 miles away from my office and the mechanics shop. What could have happened. Just to let you know, my heat blows very good and gets hot as hell. did a hose pop off or burn out. When I heard the loud "pop" sound, I didn't know what was going on. Someone told me that the hose costs about $20 USD and that I can put it on. I checked where the hose is connected to the coolant tank and no signs of leaks. I also looked under the car and didn't see any leak spots either. However, by the fan there was a lil green drops behind the driver's headlight. What could be wrong?

Thanks for any info.

Malik
mthomas@talktimechicago.com
 
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#2 ·
If all the hoses look good, that really narrows it down. By your description of the 'pop', certainly my first guess would be a hose bursting or coming off. The plastic radiator end caps have been known to go bad, requiring replacement of the radiator. These can fail in such a way as to not leave any blatantly obvious signs of failure once the car has cooled down, other than coolant outside of the system. This theory would go along with coolant sprayed near the left headlight, as the radiator end cap which connects to the upper coolant hose is right there. The plastic gets brittle with age and cracks. Beyond those two possibilities, I'm not sure where else to look. I can't say I have really heard of 9000 coolant system failures beyond those possibilities. Water pumps go out, but they don't cause the symptoms you describe.

I would fill the system back up with water and start the car, then see if it's leaking anywhere. If not, you should be good for the trip to the shop or home.
 
#3 ·
It could easily be a split hose in a visually inaccessible place. It's only got to split while under pressure and then when the pressure has gone, the split will appear to close up.

I would also fill it up and run the car to see where it leaks from. The other way would be to pressurise the cooling system with air and see if you can find a hiss or alternatively dunk the whole car in a swimming pool and look for bubbles...

David.
 
#4 ·
An 87 would likely break the upper rad hose connection at the radiator end tank, the plastic neck cast into the end tank fails. If this cracked it might look fine from above but be cracked below where you cannot see it. My 86 failed like this right around the clamp.

The bad news is you'll need a new rad. the good news is these rads last 15 years or more.

Other coolant hoses rarely fail catastrophically but usually leak like crazy first before they break.
 
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