65 Riv coolant leak

[Ron Luchene]

We have had some nice days here in the Carolina's so it seemed like a good time to get the Riv back on the road. I noticed that I had some coolant underneath the car but all of the hose connections and water pump appear to be dry. I looked in the manual and noticed that there are a couple of drain plugs on the block so I guess it is possible that the leak is coming from this area. I will climb under the car tomorrow to inspect these.

The one thing I found disturbing in the manual was the casual mention of seepage and the use of stop leak. I always thought Stop Leak was what you used as a last resort to buy you some time until you could make the correct repair. Am I missing something here? Are others experiencing any kind of seepage on a regular basis? Maybe I am being a little over zealous but I prefer a dry floor of all fluids! I hate to think Stop Leak is the answer.

[jimtash]

Stop leak is a temporary last resort like you're broke down in the middle of nowhere kind of way. And unless you want to risk clogging up your heater core, stay far, far away from it.

My '63's head gaskets were leaking but into the combustion chamber. They've been replaced but I did come to find out the gaskets are made out of metal so that could be where you are getting your seepage from. This especially applies when the engine isn't run up to temp very often. There is no sealant used to seal them either so that makes it even much more likely they'll develop a leak sometime down the road.

[JZRIV]

Ron,

If I'm not mistaken I believe Dennis Manner (a respected retired Buick engine engineer) recommends using GM sealer pellets in our old cars and I agree. For years I'd fight small <span style="font-style: italic">phantom</span> or <span style="font-style: italic">nuisance</span> coolant leaks thinking it was taboo to add some stop leak but eventually I became wiser, not just older. The use of these pellets are widely accepted by GM. I have heard but not confirmed personally that the GM Pellets are made by the Bars Leak Company and Bars Leak is essentialy the same only may be in liquid form.

Having said that, there is some common sense one must apply when considering a sealer. If you have an old system that is in poor condition, the addition of stop leak may not help and could cause more problems. Thats more in line with what jimtash was referring to. I always thought if a radiator or engine passages are already corroded to the point where stopleak will completely close off the openings, the stop leak was not the problem, it only served to reveal the real root cause.

If a system is generally well maintained, using the pellets is a great preventive maintenance idea.

It is a good idea to try and track down the source of the leak or at least where it "<span style="font-style: italic">isn't</span>" coming from. My biggest concern would be if a freeze plug is leaking. Obviously you'll want to have it replaced if thats the problem.

I've been using the pellets/Bars Leak for several years with no problems.....or nuisance leaks.

[Ron Luchene]

Jim/Jason - Thanks for your responses. I had hoped to get under the car today but ran out of time. I will narrow down the leak by this weekend.

My Riv has been sitting for about a year. Life got busy and the car took a back seat for awhile. I started and let it run until warm about every 8 weeks or so but just didn't have a chance to get it on the road. The engine was rebuilt about 10K miles ago and I have never noticed a leak until now. Hopefully it's a minor event!