OK, I just bought an 87 IROC with a 305. Don't know anything about the history of the car, but the price was right. I have noticed that when the car is shut off, coolant starts dripping from both sides of the engine, looks like in the area of the head gaskets above the motor mounts, but not sure. Any thoughts on what this might be? Not looking forward to pulling the heads if I can help it.

 

is your intake manifold tightened down really good?

 

Have the cooling system pressure tested to find the location of the coolant leak. It could be a simple fix or a more extensive or expensive one. My guess is head gasket.

 

if u have no oil in the water and no water in the oil im gona say check the soft plugs in the heads too. they get corroded if u dont use antifreeze or get pushed out if frozen. pressure test like 87 says should let u track it down easier.

 

Thanks for the tips. I borrowed a pressure tester from the local Autozone, and under 7 psi it looks like the drip is coming from directly above the engine mounts. It looks like there are freeze plugs there. Does that make sense?

 

yes there should be some soft plugs there. always the hard ones go. ull have to take the motor mounts lose and lift the motor a bit and change em. should be way cheaper than head gaskets. u can get rubber plugs that go in and u tighten them by srewing in a bolt. best to get brass or oem but it is tough to do them with limited space.