6.2 liter LSA cold weather, Prestone leak

Green Bay Ice man

Green Bay Ice man

Member
OK so here’s my question, I just recently purchased a 2017 GTO with a Levitator 6.2 L LSA supercharged motor. I live in the northern states, Wisconsin and will use for ice fishing. I got at home and it sat out for the evening in mid 20° weather till the morning. I have Prestone on the bottom of the boat this morning. I called the previous owner and he said it has a cold weather prestone leak.
I have never heard of such a thing, from what I can see it seems to be developing or coming from around the front filler of the motor or the side overflow tank. There are actually three filler caps on the system. It has an intercooler also.
Has anyone else experienced this before? Can someone explain this to me. And how do you fix this. And there is only 56 hours on the motor.
Thanks in advance, Chris
 

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Hey Chris!

Did you test drive the boat before you bought it? Were there any leaks with the engine up to running temps?

There is some merit in what he is saying about the cold weather. Metals, rubber, etc do tend to shrink/contract, so that might be the culprit, maybe Slidin or One Eyed Gator can confirm this.

I would inspect every hose, clamp, cap, etc in the cooling system and confirm each is tight, sealed or address as needed.

Keep us updated on your progress.
 
Last edited:
kwanjangnihm said:
There is some merit in what he is saying about the cold weather. Metals, rubber, etc do tend to shrink/contract, so that might be the culprit, maybe Slidin or One Eyed Gator can confirm this.
Click to expand...

Yah, like I have a lot of experience with freezing weather:D

Drain the whole system and refill with fresh water. Should hold solid through the next freeze, but will change it to a bigger warm weather leak :D

That's a lot of coolant leaking for sure. Yes, rubber seals do shrink when it is cold and can leak, probably something with a gasket, probably on the intercooler system. You need to figure out where it is coming from and then the solution should be obvious..

Is that a booster pump for circulating coolant under the radiator after engine shutdown? I'm really interested in that aspect.

So, here is a bit of water trivia. Cool it down and the volume decreases slightly (aka the density increases). Cold water sinks, warm water rises. But, name another substance that increases in volume (aka the density decreases) when it changes phase from liquid to solid (aka freezes)?

If water got denser when it freezes then Ice would sink. All our oceans and lakes would be solid ice from the seabed to at least near the surface. How did that happen?
 
Slidin Gator said:
So, here is a bit of water trivia. Cool it down and the volume decreases slightly (aka the density increases). Cold water sinks, warm water rises. But, name another substance that increases in volume (aka the density decreases) when it changes phase from liquid to solid (aka freezes)?
Click to expand...
Pelosium - The densest element identified to date. More here

Thought I'd share that chuckle, as that was the first thing that came to mind.
Can't remember anything important anymore, how the hell is it I remembered that?

Slidin Gator said:
If water got denser when it freezes then Ice would sink. All our oceans and lakes would be solid ice from the seabed to at least near the surface. How did that happen?
Click to expand...
This is one is much easier. When water cools it becomes more dense UNTIL it reaches about 39 degrees, at which point it becomes less dense; hence, it starts to float. This is why ice (frozen water) floats and why bodies of water start to freeze from the top down. :)
 
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I had a 350
Chevy with a water pump seal that Would leak significant amount of coolant if I took it into a cold climate and parked it overnight

Soon as the engine warmed up above freezing temps the seal would quit leaking. This engine was in a a pick up truck

I had a Corvair engine on my 1st airboat and that think never leaked one drop of coolant!



Anyway…
Keep on truckin’
 
kwanjangnihm said:
Hey Chris!

Did you test drive the boat before you bought it? Were there any leaks with the engine up to running temps?

There is some merit in what he is saying about the cold weather. Metals, rubber, etc do tend to shrink/contract, so that might be the culprit, maybe Slidin or One Eyed Gator can confirm this.

I would inspect every hose, clamp, cap, etc in the cooling system and confirm each is tight, sealed or address as needed.

Keep us updated on your progress.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input and thoughts on it, seems like I have small little leaks in several areas, pretty difficult to pinpoint exactly where, since the coolant is dripping on the lines, and traveling down the systems hoses. I guess I should start from the top and work my way down. Just really strange that in warmer weather there was no Prestone leaks whatsoever. Wondering if there could possibly be oxidation on the aluminum fittings and that is why the hoses are leaking, most of them are double clamped with two clamps. I’ve had a couple people tell me that they have had pieces of equipment that have cold-weather coolant leaks. I’ve never experienced this before. Not sure how to eliminate it.
 
cowboy said:
I had a 350
Chevy with a water pump seal that Would leak significant amount of coolant if I took it into a cold climate and parked it overnight

Soon as the engine warmed up above freezing temps the seal would quit leaking. This engine was in a a pick up truck

I had a Corvair engine on my 1st airboat and that think never leaked one drop of coolant!



Anyway…
Keep on truckin’
Click to expand...
Bet you can't say the same thing about oil.
 
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