[Abomination]

I just got back into cali tonight at midnight. I drove from LA to Orange County (hour and a half drive) and I absolutely love my new car.

The problem is that it seems to leak anti-freeze after I stop from driving long distances. Going around town, nothing happens, but after an hour trip at 70 mph, it'll leak AF right as I stop. The car has fairly new radiator hoses and a new water pump. Anyone know what could be wrong? I haven't been able to inspect it in the light. I'm a total newbie so no matter how obvious the answer, I probably don't know it, let me know!

Also, for an update on a previous post, I'm gonna have my timing adjusted tomorrow and I'm gonna get my compression checked too, so I'll let everyone know if it's my engine that causes my car to only go 55 mph up hills and to have a hard time starting on flat ground. Other than that, I'm so glad to be re-united with my new car (had to go right when I bought it).

 

[supra_toy]

rad cap pressure check? pin holes in the rad? one of the never replaced hard to reach hoses? heater core junction?

I dono there are several places it could be leaking. where is the location of the leak?

will

 

[Abomination]

I'm not sure, it was really late both times I've seen this leak happen. Today, I'm gonna go on a one hour drive so I'll be sure to let you know and I'll try to locate it from the top and bottom. From what I remember, it was leaking right underneath the water pump. And it only happens on long distance trips. Today, I went 10 miles at about 50 mph and nothing was leaking.

Another thing is that my car is fairly hard to start when cold. Maybe this is just standard for old cars, but it takes about 20 seconds... not sure if that's normal. thnx for the concern tho, I really wanna keep this car for a long time and I wanna learn as much as possible about the car so I can do all my own engine work.

 

[Abomination]

Just for an update on my car's condition... I didn't get the timing done or the compression checked this weekend, but my car seems to run fine once it's warmed up. It doesn't leak coolant anymore. I've been on 3 one hour trips on the freeway and it hasn't leaked any antifreeze like it used to, so maybe it was just excess fluid from the newly installed water pump.
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Rx-7

 

[Square]

If your car just had it's water pump replaced, then you could have excess coolant leaving the system and that would explain the "leak". I have an 87' Ford van that does not have an overflow tank and it you fill the radiator up all the way it will push about a quart back out once it gets up to operating temp.

As for the car being hard to start when cold, I don't think age/milage has anything to do with it. My car has about 230K miles on it (unrebuilt)and is now 20 years old, and it still starts consistantly on the 2nd or 3rd rotation of the engine (i.e. about 2-3 seconds after the starter spins) cold or hot. Have you gone through the simple stuff yet (plugs, wires, rotor, cap)??

The ony time my car took a while to start was when the o-rings on the injectors finally hardened and started leaking. I would park the car in a garage and 10 minutes after I shut it off I could smell fresh gas in the garage. That gas smell was the main symptom. After I replaced the o-rngs (and grommets and insulators), she fired right up, just like new.

 

[Abomination]

I figured it was excess coolant. The mechanic who just did my tune up (plugs, wires, cap and rotor) told me that it could be excess fluid and it was totally normal for it to leak at first.

As for the gas thing, I think I have that same problem that your car might've had (I smell gas as I start up the car). My car takes about 20 seconds to start but once it's warm, it starts up instantly. When it's cold, I have to engage the starter as the engine goes from 0-400 rpms in about 30 seconds. At that point, I stop engaging the starter and it works fine, but I have to hold the starter in for a long time. I know I need to have my timing adjusted but I also know that that's not the problem hehe.
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KR ENGINE

 

[Junkie]

Hard start cold is usualy the cold start injector realy,in the thermostat housing.My Cressida was that way,crank forever it felt like,Changed the relay,wife has not comlained since.

 

[Square]

Junkie has a good point about the cold start injector relay.

I would think it may be normal to smell gas when trying to start a hard starting car. To see if your o-rings are leaking, see if you smell fresh gas a few minutes after you stop your car. The smell in the engine bay was quite distintive after I would stop my car.

Also, if you are unfamiliar with pulling the fuel rail, I documented the process and put it on my sad attempt at a web page. You can view it here:

http://sailfish.exis.net/~sfsound/supra_page/fuel_leak/fuel_leak.html

It is not hard, but it did take me a while. I have other cars, so there was no rush. I would stop and research things whenever I wasn't sure what to do next. I think I spent 3 weekends on it with about 10 hours total on the project. If I had to do it again, I could probably do it in about 4 hours. The biggest delay was that I had no idea how many gaskets and parts I would need, so I just ordered them and waited for them to come in.

 

[Abomination]

O awesome. Since I'm a total newbie and I have no mechanic "connections" I have absolutely no way of knowing what to do 99% of the time so this fuel rail site really helps (lotsa pictures = good for newbs). However, I do want to do an engine rebuild once I get my new car and I figure the best way to learn is to jump right in. My friend's dad has a garage with all the tools including a lift (he builds hot-rods there). I really wanna make this car brand new mechanically. Okay, so, replace the cold start injector relay and I should be okay. And if that doesn't work, it could be the injector O-rings? If that's the problem, I plan to add a turbo, so maybe I'll get new injectors and a new fuel pump too... might as well fix everything at once. Thanks for the info everyone, I'll keep everyone posted on my car.
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CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER SPECIFICATIONS