Oh man, I got out of the car to help my wife park, and a LOT of coolant just suddenly spilled out from the driver-side rear of the car - the flow basically looked like a bottle of coolant just spilled from the trunk. It didn't seem very hot, and the temp guage was reading less then 215.

It's an 85 GT. We recently had the coolant tubes (near the gas tank) replaced, as well as the metal tube that sits underneath the dogbone. is there a rubber tube that is underneath the air canister and air filter part of the car? It's dark out now, and it is hard to see where the leak came from.
There wasn't any sound, just a LOT of white smoke, that ugly "coolant's leaking" smell, and then the flow of coolant to the curb.

what should I do? Do you think that I could drive it about a mile to get it checked out tomorrow? I live in NY, and it's about 32 degrees outside...

On a side note, what should I do about the coolant? any way to clean it up, or make it so the kitties won't lap it out?

-FieroRumor

I wouldn't try to drive it with coolant pouring out of it. There are tubes under the driver's side of the car and under the passenger side of the car. There is a tube that runs in front of the engine that connects to the coolant tube on the driver side via a molded rubber hose. It is not hard to replace. You will need a new molded rubber hose(about $7 american) and 2 hose clamps( about $2 for a pack of 2) the fix time is about 20 minutes.

[This message has been edited by beelizard (edited 01-12-2003).]

You've either ruptured a hose, or the coolant fill cap is off/loose.

By white smoke, I hope you mean from the site of the leak?

sounds to me like you just blew a hose or loose hose clamp popped off. The water pump would leak right over the right rear wheel too. but usually thats a slow drip or run. By 'gushing' id look for a busted hose.

You can soak it up with sawdust, kitty litter, or wash it down good with hose and some dishwater soap.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 01-12-2003).]

There is a steel (not stainless) tube that is under the front manifold. Goes from the right side of the car (front of the engine) to the left side of the car, slightly to the left and in front of the transaxle. There is a rubber hose (yes - kind of under the air filter canister) that connects between this tube and the stainless one, under the left door.
I'm guessing that either that hose has split, or the steel crossover tube has rusted through. Or the clamps are loose.
Also look at the last foot of the stainless tube, under the door. There is a small hex plug that can be removed to drain the coolant. Yours may have vibrated out.

Rodney sells stainless replacements for the crossover tube, but they're not a lot of fun to replace.

If you want to drive it, just top it up with antifreeze. If it takes more than a gallon, keep alternating between antifreeze and water. It only holds about 14 quarts.

Unless it all runs out as fast as you pour it in, you should be able to drive it for a short distance. Try to park it with the nose pointed downhill, when you fill it. That will help to get air out of the system.

Before you do all that, look for obvious leaks. Might be something you can fix without a lot of trouble.

You definitely want to wash the coolant away, or do something else to keep the kitties away from it. It tastes good to them, but is very poisonous.

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Raydar

88 3.4 coupe. In progress.

Out of my mind. Back in 30 minutes.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 01-12-2003).]

Raydar is right. For some reason coolant tastes very sweet which is why so many animals and even children die from anti-freeze poisoning. It also only takes a very little amount to be fatal. Keep those cats in the house until that mess is thoroughly cleaned up. The manufacturers of this stuff really should be forced to put some kind of flavor deterent in coolant to keep animals from drinking it....the same way they put additives in NOS to keep people from getting high off it.

hey fiero GTT, just curious--how did you find out about the additives in NOS?

Are you being sarcastic and implying that I sniffed it and found out the hard way?

I used to have N2O in my Iroc-Z. While researching it I came across a bunch of info on it such as that. Pure N2O is illegal and used for medical use only (anesthesia). To be legal for automotive use a mandatory additve (Sulfer Dioxide maybe...I don't remember) must be present to prevent drug abuse.

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