Coolant Loss. Dip stick clean, and no leaks

[88towmanche]

Yep - the Astro was chevy and used the orange DEX-COOL

 

The way I remember it working was you pour the bottle into the radiator and continue normal driving and just check the exhaust with a blacklight flashlight (don't remember if there was a set amount of miles that had to be driven or what) but eventually I could see residue on the tail pipe using that little flashlight showing that at least some coolant was coming through the exhaust.

 

The whole test cost like $20 with the flashlight and gave me some answers...I bought more of the dye fluid and then started trying different head gasket in a can to see if I could stop or slow down the leak...had some success, I'd pour a can of Kseal or something in there and then check with the dye for a while to see if there was still coolant coming through - sometimes it would be clear for thousands of miles, other times wouldn't get that many - told the guy I sold it to all about it and gave him the flashlight.

 

That old Astro never flinched and I abused it with heavy loads long after I notice the problem...didn't consume any oil or overheat and I went from like a pint of coolant loss every 1000 miles to maybe a pint every 5000

[AnotherOldJeepGuy]

38 minutes ago, 88towmanche said:

told the guy I sold it to all about it and gave him the flashlight.