When it rains it pours!

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

... based on recent history the wife is talking about having to buy a new
car ... :(

Anyway, we suffered an interesting coolant leak on the '85 4kSQ.  I pulled
up to a pump at a gas station, hopped out of the car and saw some vapor or
smoke coming out from under the hood on the right side.  I hopped in and
turned off the lights and opened the hood ASAP.  Fortunately it was a
coolant leak ... but it was an odd one.  The steam was coming from the back
of the engine, but by the time I managed to get in to look the leak had
stopped.  In all I probably lost about 8oz of fluid ... I decided to drive
the car home from the gas station and had no further leaks.  This morning
the wife calls to say that she had a similar experience.  

I thought I'd toss this one out to the list for ideas.  The hoses seem to be
in pretty reasonable shape (I've ordered replacements in any case).  My
primary suspects are the heater valve and the seal inside the back end of
the block (where the metal hose is attached with a single bolt!  Has anyone
had a similar experience or any thoughts as to the cause?

TIA!
Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)

... I can't seem to get any of my vehicles to behave right now!