icecadavers
Training Wheels
So it's been a while since I posted here. I'm happy to report that the problems mentioned in my last topic have been solved! It turned out the problem was a faulty pickup coil the entire time :quest: an unusual problem from what I can tell but I should have looked there way sooner than I did. In any case, finally got her out on the road again, and though the carbs need some fine-tuning, the valves may have never once been adjusted and my mismatched mufflers mean the compression is doomed to be off, I've since logged a few hundred miles without problems. Now I have a new problem I was sitting at a light, digging through my pocket, and when I looked up there was thick white steam billowing out from below my gas tank. The temp gauge was at maximum and then I noticed the small puddles of coolant at my feet. Luckily I was not too far from home, and when I was moving the air kept the engine cool enough to make it back. tl;dr most of the coolant exited the system in under a minute, either by extreme pressure buildup or by a failed seal. The tiny amount that remained in the overflow tank appears ok, not discolored or anything. Also, the fan and fan switch both work OK. That's what I know so far. What I'm wondering is, what possible causes are there for this situation? My understanding of the cooling system is rather basic; I am not sure what the different purposes of the temp gauge, temp sensor, fan switch and t-stat are, or how their (mal)function can cause what happened with me. Could the water pump be the culprit? I plan on testing the t-stat and temp sensor tomorrow, as well as refilling the coolant to see if I can recreate the problem (and if so, where the coolant is coming from.) For all I know it could be that the seal on the filler cap failed (it doesn't <i>look</i> bad, but...) or even a hose that finally gave up and cracked open somewhere. Meanwhile, I appreciate any advice and insight this community can provide - I'd have given up on my connie a dozen times over without you guys. I'll keep you posted.