-=DanK=-

Well for the last week I have been dedicated to fixing my 84 GS that got beat up by a telephone pole and its friends, throughout the process of replacing all suspension peices and various bent rims I did a series of road tests, one of them worries me a little... I flooded the engine due to a broken steering column issue... I pushed it back into place (sort of) and was able to start it and it smoked like hell of course, but after a few minutes of running I noticed that it wasnt the burning gas smell anymore but it was a thick white plume of coolant, I test drove it anyway and it handled very poorly as I expected but after driving it a little the engine ran just fine no smoke or other smells. I spent another day or so fixing the suspension and steering column and gearbox and started it, ran just fine, a little bit of blue smoke but that was normal for my car but my coolant level was down enough for the light to come on, this worries me as I was hoping to use this as my daily driver, Ive always been under the impression that once it starts drinking coolant it doesnt stop, not being what seems to be temporary, was it related to the flooding? I have searched and was not able to find an answer for my situation.

Also for any of those of you that care, I think Ive finally replaced enough damn parts to make my car drive straight again! its almost alive again! but I do have one last problem... I was going to go on hopefully my final road test after I got all my wheels straight and in line and drove the car from my shop to my house so I could grab my cell phone incase I got jumped by another telephone pole, and I turned the key, elated that I finally might be done wrenching on her for awhile, and all the dash lights turn on, my antenna raises, I engage the ignition and BAM! it dies, NOTHING! now I get nothing, no matter what position the key is in. I think its a fuseable link or something, I can probably find this by searching but since I started a new thread I might as well ask here. Thanks for reading.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

Check all your battery cables and terminals. Replace them if you can. I had that happen to me when my positive terminal started melting. For the coolant issue, fill the radiator back up and warm the car up(after you've fixed other problem) without the radiator cap on and look for bubbles. If you see bubbles it's rebuild time. You can also check your oil to see if it is foamy

-=DanK=-

I just got back from searching and have already decided to change all my battery cables, lol
I will look for bubbles, I have read about doing that before but it slipped my mind, thanks. But wouldnt it still burn coolant when I started it after that? It ran for at least 10 mins before I drove it and the coolant level is still topped off..... Luckily I have another 12a I could put in there if worst comes to worst. Although Im not too sure how good it is after I abused it a little running it with only an exhaust manifold on it... I loved that sound heh-heh.

bliffle

Before springing for a rebuild there are two things worth trying: (1) mending leaks with colloidally suspended copper (I think Paul Yaw started this process, which I've employed successfully on 3 cars, look here: http://rotaryresurrection.com/coolantfix.html and here http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/cooling.html), then (2) pull the intake manifold and replace the two Orings that seal the coolant flow there.

Lots of guys have done these things to solve the problem.

Replace the snaky heater hose that goes under the oil beehive before it rots out from oil and dumps all your coolant on the street thus causing your 12A to overheat and fry it's seals.

-=DanK=-

Well I got her running... I replaced the older battery I had in it as a temporary and put an optima in it and it started right up, the weird thing is the old battery registered 12.3v which should be fine enough and was enough to start the car a few times.... Optima is only 12.6, maybe it is the amps in the battery? I dont have anything that can measure stored amps.
Anyways, I took my road test and it drove straight on pavement but did not feel as solid as it should, and would crank hard to the left when I was off road in my field getting it to my work area.... Any ideas why this would be? Maybe I should just go to les shwab and have them align it and see what they say...
As for the coolant thing, I drove my car for about a mile and about 40 feet the radiator cap started leaking coolant, by the time I returned home it was so bad I had to have my windshield wipers on (after removing the hood several times I said screw it and left it off until Im happy with the car) and when I started the car the exhaust did seem like there was a little coolant burning, but saw no bubbles when I looked in the radiator.
Oh well... just more **** to do.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

You may want to replace your radiator cap and it does sound like the o rings could be failing. Try Lucas Oil Stabilizer in the gas tank, I've heard that will help loads with resealing the o rings

-=DanK=-

Yeah the radiator cap was stolen off my parts car as well so no leaks, Ive ran it for probably 30 minutes all together and the fluid level is the same. Ive pretty much decided Im going to just block the coolant flow through the intake manifold all together, I dont care if it takes an extra minute to warm up.
I just hope I can get done with cosmetic repairs soon and can get it road worthy, driving my old chevy get expensive with gas the way it is.
Thanks again for the help, Im sure I will have more dumb questions in the near future =)

BTW Thank you very much bliffle for mentioning the heater hose, I am adament about preventive maintainence. I hate fixing things that break down and cause more problems.

bliffle

I've had 2 of those @$$% radiator hoses rot through and bust loose. Now I carry a spare in the bin.

I also get rad caps and thermostats from mazdatrix.com rather than the bubble packs at the autostore.

3rd and final 7

iTrader: (9)

i can vouch for this prossess also!