92 RR cooling leak?

[JLT77]

My cooling light keeps coming on because I am loosing fluid somewhere. When I open the holding tank the water level is low. Here is what I know.
I have inspected all the hoses for leaks and everything is clean and dry.
The motor runs very good so I do not think I am leaking fluid into the motor.
When I inspect the oil level on the dip stick the oil is not all foamy looking so I don't think there is water in my oil.
I used to be able to top the tank off and have it last for a week before I had to do it again. Now I get about a day out of it.
Does anyone have any trouble shooting ideas?
I am thinking the cap is not sealing right but it holds pressure.
Could a small pin hole in radiator leak fluid slow enough that it evaporates leaving no trace behind?

Thanks everyone.

Jeff Thomas
92 RR County

[Les Parker]

Have you looked at the plugs to see if you are burning off the coolant?
If you have a white crust on the plugs, this would indicate a coolant loss internally, ie head gasket.
Another likely place is the inlet manifold, check around for any traces of coolant/staining ot he front and rear of the engine.

Keep us informed.......

[JLT77]

I will check it out this weekend.
I pray that is not the problem though as I do not want to have to change the head gasket. I will follow up with my findings.
Thanks again.

Jeff Thomas
92 RR County

[JLT77]

I pulled every spark plug and while I was at it I put new ones in along with cables. All the plugs had carbon build up but no white residue. My number one plug had some oil present but it was dry. I tightened all the clamps I could. I drove all day today and the light did not come on. Hopefully it doesn't just stop without understanding where the fluid was going.
I will post again if the light comes back on. In the meantime any other ideas would be usefull.

Thanks everyone


Jeff Thomas
92 RR County

[joshua.mcguoirk]

My cooling light keeps coming on because I am loosing fluid somewhere. When I open the holding tank the water level is low. Here is what I know.
I have inspected all the hoses for leaks and everything is clean and dry.
The motor runs very good so I do not think I am leaking fluid into the motor.
When I inspect the oil level on the dip stick the oil is not all foamy looking so I don't think there is water in my oil.
I used to be able to top the tank off and have it last for a week before I had to do it again. Now I get about a day out of it.
Does anyone have any trouble shooting ideas?
I am thinking the cap is not sealing right but it holds pressure.
Could a small pin hole in radiator leak fluid slow enough that it evaporates leaving no trace behind?

Thanks everyone.

Jeff Thomas
92 RR County

Check the interior RHS footwell for dampness. You may have a leak at the heater matrix either from a bad connection or a bad matrix. Although you should be able to smell it when the vehicle comes up to temp.

Also check the valley pan gasket located under the plenum. I've heard other cases and experienced this first hand on an '89 RRC. It was burning off until one day the gasket took a crap. I was able to limp home and order a head gasket kit with new composites and stretch bolts from RN. Took the weekend to finish. I re-lapped the valves while the heads were off for good measure.

[donkshophorse]

i had some issues with coolant loss recently too. turned out there are two small hoses the sit at front of the engine and go over the valley gasket. both had perished and were seeping fluid slowly that showed as moisture on the casing of the water pump underneath. a swap out of them both fixed the issue. but be warned they are not easy to get at! having said all of that it sounds like you may have fixed it anyway!

1990 vogue se 3.9 auto with lpg

[JLT77]

OPened the hood the other day and the top of the hood was wet, so I bought a new cap and sensor for the resevour. Not the problem, 105 bucks down the drain. Look closer and the bracket hodling the tank is wet. Ordered new tank from Rovers North. Will confirm once the install is complete.

Cheers to all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jeff Thomas
92 RR County