So- radiator fluid is all over the garage floor…

If the fluid is mostly under the front of the car, it could very well be one of the radiator hose or the smaller heater hose. If you don’t see anything obvious from the top of the radiator there is an aluminum plate cover underneath you can remove where you can see the two 41mm coolant hoses and one heater hose coming from the top. Sounds like something did pop while it was still under pressure.

 

The first thing I'd do is determine what sort of fluid that actually is. Despite coming from the radiator hose, it looks more like water than coolant.

Next, I'd drain the entire system, then replace the hose and clamp. Fill it with proper 50/50, then do a pressure test on the coolant system. If it holds proper pressure, replace the coolant tank cap for good measure, then warm the car up, bleed the system, and re-evaluate.

Also - no, you don't want to drive the car 25 mins with leaking coolant. Worse case scenario is that it all leaks out again, and the engine overheats in a very bad way.

 

Don’t drain the system yet, instead if you could back up the car out in the driveway then feel up the coolant tank with water and look if you can see where the water is leaking from without pressurizing it, If you can see where it’s leaking from then you know what to fix

 

Actually, good point by Mike. Don't drain/refill with coolant until you've found the leak; use water for leak detection.

 

There's no reason not to put it on the lift and get under it to see if the cause of the leak is obvious. The "pop" you heard indicates to me a high likelyhood that a hose ruptured. Not uncommon at all on a 35+ year old car still on its original hoses. Plus, you can take pictures from underneath of the wet areas and post them here for us to see.

On driving the car with a non-functioning cooling system...I once drove a Toyota pickup 150 miles with a busted hose and empty radiator. You CAN do it. You drive it for a few minutes until the temp gets too hot, then you stop and let it cool down for 15-20 minutes. Then you go again. It took me a whole day to go 150 miles like that, but I got it home with no damage to anything.

 

I did that to a Renault once and blew my head gasket unfortunately but made it out of downtown

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If there's a gallon then it's definitely coolant. Put it on the lift and there is a small rectangular panel just aft of the battery behind which you can examine the two main pipes and hoses and the heater hose. If it's the heater hose you could just cap that off, refill and drive to your mechanic.

 

I've had more coolant puddles over the years than I can count. Blown water pump, bad cap on the coolant tank, blown hose, leaky radiator. I'd start wherever the puddle is largest.

I'm also not a mechanic.

 

Here, this is what I was talking about on post #2 once you removed the aluminum plate cover, this is what you’ll see.

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My first thought is age of the hose. I'd replace both of those, and start examining a few others for signs of wear and decay.

 

The biggest challenge is usually getting access to them, so you've got some of that part solved already. It'ss literally just a matter of disconnecting, cutting the new hose to size, twisting it back on and getting it clamped up.

The bad news: because the radiator is in the front and the engine in the back, there are a lot more coolant hoses on this car than others... So, many more points of potential failing old hoses to check.

I would also recommend replacing the hose clamps with good modern ones. But, do not throw the old clamps away. They sometimes have value to people who want original clamps.

While you're at it, take a look at the fuel system hoses too. If they are original, it's probably time to replace them as well.

 

Yep, there are lots of those little hose connectors in the cooling system and since that one let go, others of the same age could be soon-to-follow. They are a PITA to replace due to quantity and access. When I did it I just ordered the complete hose kit from Ricambi but it's certainly less expensive to buy a length of hose and cut it into the short sections you need,

 

Absolutely. The hoses there are relatively straightforward things, specified as D. 40-49x70

 

If I remember correctly, 40mm is what you need. I always have two 3-ft sections from Gates for my various use. They are about $1 per inch. Here is what I suggest.

1. Buy the hose, cut out 2 pieces.
2. Get some new clamps
3. Replace those two hoses (they look old and should have been replaced during one of your major services) Note to doubters: Major services is more than Timing belt service.
4. That 16mm hose to the side of that pipe is the heater return hose. If you can, cut a section out and install a quick flush connector there ($3 from Oreilly's) so that next time you want to drain the coolant, it is an easy twist off cap that don't make such a big mess. Every car I touch gets one of those.
5. Replace the two big hoses at the radiator as well.

 

I listed the size so you could just go buy normal coolant hose locally. The Ferrari part number is 121258.

 

this may give you a reference... from 2:03

 

When you change the hose, do as many as you can at the same time. A lot cheaper than getting it trucked home after another one goes.

 

To change many hoses you need the coolant drained. So sounds like a good time to do whatever hoses are reasonably accessible.

But the one you have burst looks like a really easy replacement, so if you don't want to make a bigger project which on these cars can be endless, just replace the busted one and carry on til the next surprise. I do think doing the gas hoses is necessary for safety, so if you want more projects I would do those as a priority after doing the one coolant hose.

You can order one cut to the size from eg. Eurospares if you want to just swap without doing any work hunting correct hoses size, cutting hoses, and such. Not sure what you car is, but these exploded parts diagrams can also help you understand your car better.

https://www.eurospares.co.uk/parts/ferrari/308-quattrovalvole-1985/cooling-heating/cooling-system-38788

I hear the comment about using new hose clamps, but frankly the old ones work fine, unless corroded or stripped it seems unnecesarry to replace and end up losing an original that very long term will have collectible relevance.