97 sc1 coolant disappearance

[ernz via CarKB.com]

my daughters car is a 97 sc1, noticed over the last few months of having to add a little coolant every few weeks. there are no signs of leakage, so i presume it is getting burned. also notice here lately that the car starts rough then clears after a short time. i suspect the headgasket is starting to give up. car runs great after about 15-30 seconds and doesn't heat up. has anybody had this experience, and what kind of $ for a headgasket replace?

 

[BläBlä]

my daughters car is a 97 sc1, noticed over the last few months of having to add a little coolant every few weeks. there are no signs of leakage, so i presume it is getting burned. also notice here lately that the car starts rough then clears after a short time. i suspect the headgasket is starting to give up. car runs great after about 15-30 seconds and doesn't heat up. has anybody had this experience, and what kind of $ for a headgasket replace?

Its a sohc engine close to the period of head casting problems. Expect more than just a gasket. See saturnfans.com forum.

 

[DannyB20]

my daughters car is a 97 sc1, noticed over the last few months of having to add a little coolant every few weeks. there are no signs of leakage, so i presume it is getting burned. also notice here lately that the car starts rough then clears after a short time. i suspect the headgasket is starting to give up. car runs great after about 15-30 seconds and doesn't heat up. has anybody had this experience, and what kind of $ for a headgasket replace?

Does the low coolant light come on, on the dash? I have a 97 sc2 that started with the low coolant light coming on. I never saw any coolant on the driveway, but kept adding a little coolant for months. Then I did see drips of coolant on the driveway. It was the radiator. It just took a long time for the radiator's leakage to show up on the driveway. At first I guess it was just drying up.
Dan.

 

[hubops]

Does the low coolant light come on, on the dash? I have a 97 sc2 that started with the low coolant light coming on. I never saw any coolant on the driveway, but kept adding a little coolant for months. Then I did see drips of coolant on the driveway. It was the radiator. It just took a long time for the radiator's leakage to show up on the driveway. At first I guess it was just drying up.
Dan.

I had a car with a tiny pinhole leak in the plastic pressurized coolant reservoir ... it would mist-out when hot but not enough to puddle - after turning off the hot engine - had to listen closely & feel around to find the exact spot of the leak. Good luck.
jt