i just got my camaro today, and noticed that it was leaking antifreeze pretty badly while at work
didnt notice til dark so i havent gotten to take a good look at it but i was wondering if anyone could stear me in a good direction as to where to look for finding the origin of the leak. from what i could tell it's coming from the passenger side, looks fine from the top which is why i missed it at the dealer. the radiator itself seems fine, and the car isn't running hot at all for now, it seems to only leak after being driven, and eventually just stops it seems like

i got the car with 138,000 miles on it, it's tight, and runs great though, and i'd like to keep it that way. i was thinking of trying out that engine restore stuff i see being sold at autozone and what not, anyone have any experience with the stuff and rather or not it's worth the money? is there anything else i should look at or possibly replace?
as of right now i plan to do an oil change so i know whats in it, any oil sugguestions?
after oil i'm going to do air filter and then i'd like to change plugs/wires, it's starts up great especially for the year and miles on it, but i figure it couldnt hurt, and sugguestions as per what sort of sparkplugs work best and what to stay away from?
anyone know off hand if a vehicle will pass inspection with a fluid leak, or should i try and fix it before taking it in to get that done?

thanks in advance, i know, lots of silly questions

 

First, stay away from any magic fix in a can. They are junk. You wouldn't put a band-aid on a gunshot wound would you?

If you have a leak, let the engine cool so you can get a light in there and inspect around. Clean the area off with a electrically safe engine cleaner so you don't fry a sensor. If you have a Autozone or other parts store that rents tools you could pick up a pressure tester and connect it to the radiator. Pump it up to 15lbs. and look for leaks.

Start the test on a cold engine. If nothing happens then start the car with the tester on and look for the leaks.

I am "guessing" if you mention the leak is upper front, right, you may be looking near the water pump for your leak.

 

Lower hoses & Water pump would be the first place I would check.

 

whats the car? waterpump, hoses, should be pretty easy to figure out... if its a 3.8 the water pump is easy...

 

its a 94 z28, i'll be able to look under there today, thanks

 

lt1 lol. a little pain to do.... but its doable

 

Yup, so fun. I always enjoyed explaining that if they haven't done any maintenance on the front cover and ignition system now is the time since the antifreeze that has been dripping on it for awhile will probably cause misfire headaches in the future.

 

yeah, i was thinking about just buying the ignition kit they have on summit's website, with the wires plugs and ignition box, it's accel products though and i'm not to familur with that brand. with that in mind would i be just as well at looking into purchasing a new optispark as well or would that be getting a little ahead of myself?

 

If it's never been serviced I would.

Take special care when you tear it apart to keep track of how everything fits together properly. Also make sure your seals and gaskets go on correctly.

Not a overly difficult job, just very time consuming.

 

yeah thats what i figured. i got an uncle who loves working on cars and just built a mid 90's vette motor so i'm hoping a case of beer might get him to wanna tear it apart with me lol