I have an '01 S-10 Blazer LT. I know that I have a coolant leak, though I don't know from where. I can fill it, then watch it drain from inside the coolant container. I don't know where it's draining to, but I can see a little left in there and it doesn't drain. I can't see any leak from around or below it. I usually have my temp. gauge at about a quarter. Now it's in the middle. Even though I have some coolant, I'm running hotter than usual and it still blow cold most of the time. Once in a while I can feel some warm air. When I stop, it blows cold right away.

 

Pull your dipstick out for your engine oil and see if it looks watery or discolored. You could be losing the coolant into your crank case from a bad gasket. Also, shine a light down towards the bottom of the motor just below the fan to see if you can see any water pulling down at that point. Look very close and from different angles because it can be hard to see. This would be an indication of a bad water pump. You also may have a leak in your radiator.

I had similar problems on a 97 blazer, although it wasn't draining out in the manner that you describe. I would lose it over the course of a couple of days. I ended up having a new water pump put on and had the intake manifold gasket replaced. This solved the problem.

You definately do not want to run the vehicle in the hot range because you will ruin the engine. You need to get to the bottom of this and get it fixed as soon as possible.

 

Hi.

You say you can "see it drain from inside the coolant container". If that is with engine off, then you probably have a leak in that container. If it is with engine running, then you have a leak somewhere in the system. If itsa leaking radiator or bad waterpump, you might be able continue driving for a while but the problem needs to be fixed. If the water goes inte the engine somewhere, dont drive it.

Your tempgauge beeing higher than before and only cold air in the car sounds like too little coolant in the engine. With engine off, open the radiator (watch out, its pressurized a while after shutting down the engine) and see if there is any water in there. If you cant see any water, add until its full. Add hot water if the engine is warm, mixed with anti-freeze.

And also do as Ethel says, just in case you have some serious problem (and not just a cracked coolant container, cracked radiator or bad water pump).

Good luck.

 

I was able to take it in and they said that the fan clutch is bad and the part on the side of the radiator is cracked. I don't know what the part is called. It's long, black and attached to the radiator on the driver side. The mechanic said that it just wears out over time and it's pretty common. Now that I know where to look, I can see the leak quite well. They said that it will cost $450 with labor. My new question is, how difficult is it to do the repair myself if I buy new parts?? A little research shows that the parts are cheap, so I could save a lot of money by either replacing both parts, or just one part, myself.

 

I have a perfect radiator from a 98 Jimmy. It was rear ended and totalled. $100, plus shipping costs.

 

How mechanically inclined are you? If you know somewhat of what your doing it is kind of easy. I did mine a few months back and it took me an hour or two. The hardest part was getting the oil cooler line back onto the radiator. If it was me I would totally do it myself! Make sure you get new hoses and cap too.