If they are giving him a quote they know where the leak is. I assume he is taking the car back to see "IF" the engine destroyer (opps I mean coolant sealer) worked.

A professional should have a pressure tester and lift. With those two things tracking down a coolant leak should be pretty easy. The hardest ones I have done I had to let the car cool all the way down, then pressure test. Even a tiny leak will gush cold under pressure. Keep in mind those are the "I loose a quart of coolant in a month kind of leaks."

 

yes thats one way of doing it sounds like he went from one guy to another who is using dye to find the leak ,that's exactly what happen with mine ,5 minutes cold geyser with my radiator cap off ,after they could not see any dye ,yes pressure test ,mabey that comes next

 

now that i think back on it, the mechanic who 1st looked at it, and put a gauge / meter into the radiator, and told me it's leaking from somewhere and depending on his current-then schedule, he would need me to leave my car there for 1 full day and return the next day, and who didn't add any k-seal or other sealant, is probably the more qualified one. What is the purpose of sealant being added by this reputable 2nd experienced mechanic? it's not to diagnose, but to see if I'm fooled into thinking that in 3 days the problem is totally solved? i mean the sealant is not a dye to detect coolant leaks, right? im pretty sure it's not. he also told me that it's absolutely ok to drive the car until i see him tomorrow. makes me wonder. the 1st mechanic was way younger and reputed as an all-star cracker jack young mechanic doing side jobs at a major repair shop under the approval of the shop owner. any more opinions? Gorn you were right in guessing that the leak is near the timing belt / cover last week since when I called the repair shop which estimated 800 bucs to seal the coolant leak, and pressed him to tell me exactly where the leak was coming from he said what u said 1 week ago: a coolant leak emanating from a hard to reach, labor intensive timing cover / timing belt. Good call, Gorn. any other opinions? I want a long term solution Thanks everyone *P.S.: the link attached hereto is for a timing chain cover on a Ford F 150; notice all the pieces that have to be removed and re-attached to get to where any car coolant is leaking from near the timing chain cover.

 

so you know where it is ? hope thats the only spot .gaskets all could yield you another 100.000 miles I seen many get those miles ,but at some point all the gaskets were replaced on most I see still running with 240.000

 

The only solution is to fix the leak. The only way to save money on it is to do it yourself or your going to have to find a local GOOD mechanic who does work on the side. Finding these guys is not easy because they are working from home shop, since the are working off the tax books they don't advertise. This varies form area to area. You can't go into a shop and ask a guy if he does "side work" because his side work can not come from his day job or he would be fired.

Back the day I had a little garage and I used to do escort head gaskets. The shops were quoting $1000, I did them for $225. I could do 2 on a Saturday and pocket $350 for 8 hours of work. After you do a half a dozen of them you can run circles around a mechanic that has never done one before.

Also if you use a side guy the job goes sideways it is going to take a lot longer to get the job redone. Yes even really good mechanic make mistakes.

See most shops are only open 8-10 hours a day. That means those hours need to pay for everything. Some shops shy away from larger labor intense jobs because of the risk of a mistake. Older cars can mean more unforeseen issues so they tend to pad the price. 8 hours seems pretty high for the job. I would bet on paper it is under a 4 hour job.

 

*I agree, Gorn.

When I studied public administration at college, we were told there are different personalities in an office or other work environment. For example, there is 1) the rebellious tech computer dude personality in the IT dept. who fixes network problems but is a bit of a quirky free bird AND, then the one character that does things according to the book and maintains a reliable schedule and some other personality which I forget now. I asked the all-star cracker jack young, side-job, mechanic (via a text message) to send me his e-mail address so I can give him background info. on my coolant leak problem. This was 4 days ago, still no response. When I initially made contact via phone and left him 2 messages telling him a mutual friend had referred me to him, he didn't get back until my 3 or 4th voicemail to him. He is talented, yet, not very savvy at getting new customers, etc. It would seem to me that he might be so talented he has to turn down side jobs even from potential New and long term customers who have older cars and as a result can bring him lots of business. There is the quandry right there. It kind of gave me a bitter taste in my mouth. I mean here I am with an older car (a New customer highly recommended to him by a Mutual Friend, and my older '93 Camaro can have lots of potential business for him, yet he (for whatever reason) sucks at being responsive to a new customer (me).

So here we have the dilemma. It's either wait for this talented dude with way reasonable prices than a formal repair shop which has to pay lots of repair shop Rent, or get it done quickly by a more responsive, quicker mechanic that charges a whole Lot more in repair shop prices. Some people would rather drive 10 miles to a cheaper store and save money while others would pay a Premium to go down the block and have it done right away by a Repair shop that prints out ahead of time a written estimate or a repair shop like MIDAS that is bound ethically by written principles spelled out in a Franchise Agreement under the well-known MIDAS name. I would rather not wait for someone who is both talented and cheaper.....but who is unresponsive and will take more time.

 

Guy that do side work may seem picky because of the limitation of their shops. I liked doing escorts and GM Iron duke head gaskets yet I would decline exhaust, trans or rear work, why? no lift.

He may be schedule out months plus it is spring so there is a lot going on not car related at home.

You have to be carful with new customer. I had one lady who wanted a refund on her head gasket because her cat plugged up 2 weeks later. She said I cause it somehow. I told her driving a car with a blown head gasket can cause Cat issues so she then said I should have replaced that as part of the $225 job.

 

wow only 225 dollars for that type of repair. that's pretty good. these larger chain repair shops can't and won't go on-line on e bay etc and buy after market autoparts which are way cheaper since they're bound by written franchise agreement rules. that's why the smaller shops and freelance side jobs backyard mechanics are better in that respect. i suppose a person can wait (and save money on the side job mechanic) if it's not their only ride but 1 of many in their iron horse stable. *women customers always are worried that they will be taken for a ride pun intended since historically statistically they know less about auto repair and cars. so they arent the best 1st customers, for sure.

 

I think you definitely need to get a second opinion. Where exactly is the coolant leaking?

 

the timing chAIN cover

at 1st one shop the one that quoted me 800 bucks, said the cracked plastic radiator cap was what caused the coolant to leak

when they replaced it w/ a metal one made in mexico, it leak way way less coolant

then the temps were still high per the gauge inside the Cam. cabin

i was told a coolant temp sensor needed to be replaced $185 out the door

i replaced that, it did cool down my car since it activates the air cooling fans in a Camaro and not just measures.

it then leaked more and got a little bit worse, after I guess another pressure test, and more diagnosis I was told it was leaking near or around or behind the "timing chain cover"

this is the worse possible place

it looks like a Cone in shape with many nuts and bolts and what looks like a bike chain

very labor intensive

and this shop that estimated 800 bucks which includes labor quoted me $430 to repair my oil leak which they successfully did

I definitely trust this repair shop

out of all the places to leak coolant, near or around "the timing chain cover" which is next to the water pump, is the worse possible place.

i have attached a thumbnail pic elsewhere, and will attempt to do so now for your future reference if God Forbid ur 30 yr anniversary Cambaby ever has this prob.

it's an attached pic of a timing chain cover for a ford f 150 but u get the idea, many elaborate pieces leading to the engine block

thanks 4 ur input grasshopper.