1990 Chevy Cavalier coolant leak

1990 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
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DWILL57
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Engine Cooling problem
1990 Chevy Cavalier Two Wheel Drive Manual 180000 miles

My car had a coolant leak that I could not see on the driveway but the reservoir tank was always empty. I took it to a repair place who charged me $962.00 to replace the rad and top up the coolant. I saw that the coolant tank was to the full line. By the time I got home (about 10 mins) and checked the tank was almost empty again. Also it blows a lot of whitish grey smoke from the exhast. I don't know what to do now and what the problem might be....any suggestions???? Thanks Donna
Nov 28, 2008 at 9:52 PM
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BLUELIGHTNIN6
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I'm sorry that the repair shop charged so much and did not even fix the problem.

White exhaust smoke is a sign of coolant entering the combustion chamber. From the sound of it, it seems you have a blown head gasket or cracked head. Stop driving this vehicle until you find out. Look for coolant in the oil, air bubbles escaping from the radiator, and/or a sweet smell at the exhaust. All indications of serious problems. A compression test will verify if you indeed have a blown head gasket. They can also run dye tests to check for cracks in the head. Check gasket first, head second.

Hope this helped.
Nov 28, 2008 at 11:50 PM
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