For all of you who have responded to my previous inquiries, thanks, a LOT. I have replaced: 1: Radiator, 2: Heater Valve, 3: Evaporation tank and cap, 4: Evaporator tank / radiator lower hose w/turbo connection, 5: thermostat, and had the head shaved due to severe warping (took the max .015 off to get flat again).
Got timing figured out (thanks again to you all, and the directions to the FAQ section which I have finally figured out how to use ). Put everything back together today, cranked and ran smoothly, no apparent leaks (after a few forgotten screws were tightened.. ) and everything seemed fine..
I drove about 10 miles or so, and checked the water and it was a little lower than when I started, but not much. So, I added some to the max mark on tank and let it continue to idle for about 10 minutes with NO drop in water level. When car was cut off, tank content increased about 1/2.
ctd... The next step was to run car at 65 mph on highway for a while. I drove about 10 more miles, half of which was at hwy speeds. When I checked again, more water had been lost than in the first, slower 10 miles(from the Max mark to the Min mark). Still, no water apparent on concrete (I picked a clean and dry place to park). Drove back up highway (5 miles) and stopped to get a bite to eat and upon exiting the burger place, saw water dripping severely from around the heater hose area. When I cranked the car, figuring that would make leak worse, the leak was not seen at all, it seemed to vanish!! My water level had obviously dropped somewhat, but I knew I should have enough to get home at the current loss rate ( had 6 jugs in car, just in case). Upon arriving home, I stopped car immediately and checked for leaks after cutting off car. None seen dripping at all.
Now the next question.. I am going to use a mirror tomorrow to see into the area of the heater hoses really good, and I have just ordered two new hoses also in case one is bad. Why does water consumption seem to be worse at high rpm's? Is this a block issue? None in oil/trans still, car not starting rough like it is in cylinders from head (really hope not with a new gasket and head shaving jog.) Is there still ANY chance that water is passing through the cooling collar out the tail pipe, the car is not smoking white as it should with water in cylinders though. Will check it out more tomorrow, but hope you can suggest something that I have not thought of. Thanks for your patience with this long essay.