espop125

I have a 1986 and I have been noticing coolant puddling on the passenger side top of the intake. I looked everywhere and do not see anything leaking. The radiator was replaced as well as the upper and lower radiator hoses. The only thing that I see that would coolant in it is the hose that comes from the heater core to the to of the intake. Any help I lost.

Total Recall

Hi,
Have u got a pic of where it`s pooling?

Just that I had this on mine (was an early 86) - but not sure if where I`m thinking is the same place. Mine was at the base of the intake manifold and from what people said its a fairly common thing.

At first I thought it was the little pipe that comes out of the manifold in the same area but mine did turn out to be the intake gasket in the end.

Not the end of the world - gave me an excuse to do the valve stem seals and replace the injectors. I didin`t have to take the cylinder heads off or anything.

Check everything in the area first but like I say I think the passenger side in that area is where they often leak from. Mine was like it for a few months with no problems - but decided to do it before it got bad and started leaking internally like into oil and stuff which wouldn`t be good.

Good luck!

Dom.

HOWIE123Y

Check the cooling hose going to the throttle body

rodj

After a hot run , listen for hissing around the intake when engine off.
Had 2 of my original engines leak out of the intake gasket at the front coolant crossover.
Also check intake bolts; have found many where the front and rear bolts are not fully tight.

Total Recall

Hi, just posting the pic from espop125 so others can see where the leak is (this is the passenger side)



L8r,
Dom

engle1147

Use some paper towels to clean it up then do the above test...get it up to operating temp and watch for leaks.

John A. Marker

I helped a young Forum member with his 86 a couple of years back. Seems to me that there is a very small screw in fitting in the manifold in this area. clean off the manifold and bring it up to temp with hood up and watch for coolant or hissing sound.

beerme

I posted a thread the other day about a coolant problem I was having, it turns out I have the hissing sound on my 87 but it sounds like it is coming from back of the block on the drivers side by the distributor.

Does the hissing sound indicate an intake manifold gasket problem? If so, is this a complex problem to fix? I haven't torn into the top of an FI motor before and don't want to get in over my head.

muzy67

My '86 had the same problem. My intake manifold bolts loosened and caused the leak. Found it using a radiator leak tester/pump that you can use for free at some auto parts stores, Autozone in particular. Recomend using one to pin point the leak/leaks.

As far as the job difficulty, everything you see on top of the manifold including it will be coming off(distibutor, alt, a/c pump).You will then have access to your timing chain to replace.
If you don't normally do this, you may be down for a while.

redrose

when my 86 was new, it leaked in the same spot...could have gone back to the dealer but decided to "take a stab" first...tightened the manifold-to-head bolts in that area that were accessible without removing anything else...no more "green seep"

i WAS lucky, maybe you can be too.

espop125

Thanks everyone for you tips. I am gonna try evry tip until I pin point it. I don't really hear any hissing but I think it might be coming from the front bolt. As soon as i get to your suggestions i let you know how it went. Again thanks everyone.

espop125

Ok everyone i did everything you suggested and i hear no hissing coming from anywhere in the motor and also cleaned all the coolant off the intake and ran the car for about 30 minutes and nothing re appeared. What do i do next i don't wanna pull the intake if i don't need to. Several months ago i changed the radiator and t-stat could this coolant still be there from when i did this or would it have evaporated by now?

RandyJ75

When my water pump when bad, I replaced it w/ a high flow model. I also replaced all of the hoses, and found one hose had a slight leak, a cut on the underside you could not see. Make sure your hoses are all ok, and drive the car a bit to make sure there are no leaks.

espop125

ai replaced all the hoses when i did the radiator but i think the lower hose wasn't tight enough so i'll try that, but that doesn't explain the coolant on the intake. The only thing i can think of is it was spilled on the intake when i changed that stuff and has evaporated yet but that was like 7 months ago.

M.J.L.

Intake manifold gasket. Mine leaked as well and smelled of coolant. Also my upper radiator hose had a small leak. Simple green will clean it up with lots of paper towels. It may take awhile for the smell to burn off once the issue has been addressed.

ArmyBoyATC

Intake