Coolant Leak

[DNort]

So I'm still about 10k short for my 60k.

My car always leaked coolant, but I could never really see it dripping anywhere. The car always started and ran just fine (Except when there were other problems) but nothing CPS related.

I was driving the other day and I noticed some smoke coming up from under the hood on the passenger side. I could hear gurgling noises and smell coolant burning. The car was maintaining a good temperature and there was still coolant in the reservoir so i drove it home.

As best as I can tell, coolant is leaking from somewhere above the catalytic converter, and it's dripping right onto it. It doesn't seem to be leaking a lot, but it's noticeable.

Is my water pump bad?
I've heard something about the timing case cover possibly leaking and causing something like this?
Is there anything else that could be leaking around there? (bad heater or rad hose)
Should I just bite the bullet and get someone to do all the 60K stuff early? The car starts and drives fine, and the leak seems to only be intermittent. It holds temperature very well!
Does anyone know someone who would be willing to do the work on this anywhere in Nova Scotia? (preferably near halifax)

Thanks for the help.

 

[pjtoledo]

water pumps have a weep hole on the bottom side of the snout. its for pressure equalization.
when the seal leaks that is where the coolant drains out. you can see it with a mirror.
as the bearings wear the pump shaft moves and pulls away from the seal. if you have a MTX you can lessen the belt tension a bit to possibly slow the leak.

that dripping coolant will also fry the crank sensor, don't put it off too long.

 

[DNort]

I'm aware of this. I was just trying to see if I could get any kind of confirmation of other things it could be such as a hose. It was my understanding that when this starts happening it makes the car really unreliable in terms of starting and staying running.

I have an MTX, I can try loosening the belt. Is it on the front belt with the air conditioner and radiator or the back one with the power steering pump? What's the best way to get at that rear belt?

 

[sperold]

Buy a pressure test unit that attaches to your rad cap opening and pump up the pressure. Then let it sit and see if any pressure is lost in an hour or two.

The heater core rubber tubing can leak and drip on the converter, however it is tricky to work in this area, as the core tubes are fragile and easily broken.
If any losses are shown to be in this area, get new rubber tubes and cut the old ones off with an exacto knife.

There are steel tubes with flex ends and the flex ends can leak. And they are all at the back of the engine bay with the flex parts slightly more accessible at the ends of the engine space. If that is the case, cut the flex ends off the tubes and replace with new hoses that you will have to source from a parts bin.

leaks very seldom are directly above when it drips down onto the ground or on something else. So look everywhere.

And always refill the radiator directly if there are coolant losses, as there could be an issue with the overflow bottle.

 

[luigisho]

If you can't see it while it's running you need to do a pressure test. I'm sure they even have dyes you can use in the system to help point the way to the cause if needed.

 

[rubydist]

I had a similar experience and it was the crossover tube that was leaking. The o-rings get stiff and will start to weep. The coolant will leak onto the top of the block and evaporate without dripping for a while, so you have the coolant disappearing with no trace. Eventually, it leaks enough that it starts to drip off one end of the block, depending upon which end is down when you park.

 

[DNort]

Thanks for the replys! I got locked out my account like a huge doofus, and I've been very busy with the holidays. (Havn't been driving the SHO, I have another car)

I almost always park the car on a hill, and I try to park with the nose pointing up. My trunk liner likes to pool up and leak in weird ways if I point the car downwards.

As much as I'd like to do this work myself (and I usually would); My landlord here yells at me if I so much as pop open the hood on my car.

I'll be saving money and taking it to a mutual friend who does a lot of work on Suburus. All sorts of fancy turbo builds and stuff. I met the guy once, he seems very trustworthy. I ran into him at a gas station once and he recognized my car from Regular Car Reviews. Haha. So I trust him to work on it!

Thank you so much everyone. Hopefully this ends up just being nothing, but I'd rather not blow up the motor. Just kind of disappointing because my 120k maintenance isn't supposed to be for another 10k miles. haha.

 

[luigisho]

At this point it's not just the miles but the age of the materials. These things are way out there as far as material lifespan especially plastics and rubber. Alot of these are reaching or at classic car age classification

 

[DNort]

yeah that makes sense. Rubber and plastics break down. Which is why if you keep good tires in a barn too long they become dryrotted and can't be used. Same probably applies to coolant and vacuum lines especially exposed to the heat and stuff.

Still have yet to get the car looked at. Every time I get a day off it's pouring outside haha.

 

[DNort]

I've checked this on and off over the past few weeks. The leak seems to have stopped. I took it to a friends house, lifted it up, used mirrors and lights and everything. No sign of leaking, no steam, no nothing.



I topped up the external reservoir and I've been driving it around occasionally (I don't try to drive in the salt) Seems totally fine.

I'll keep an eye on it. But I'm just going to write this off as either the car messing with me just because it can, or something to do with the like -20c temperatures we had for a bit. That or something underneath is flaky, and decides to leak only when I wont' expect it too. Most realistically a combination of those last 2 things.

Well I'm going to keep an eye on it, and deal with it when it happens. When it's time to do my 60K proper I'll get a better look at the stuff down there.

Thanks so much everyone!

 

[SHOdded]

Once had a pinhole leak at the coolant tubes running to the throttle body, might be a place to look?

 

[FastCAD]

The replacement radiators have plastic side tanks that are notorious for having small leaks around the "crimps".
It's not that bad removing the radiator so take it out and use a locking pair of pliers preset not to clamp too hard
and work your way all around both sides and re-crimp every attachment.
This no visible coolant leak is common to a lot of cars and trucks. The leak is usually so small that you do not see
any fluid on the ground because the coolant leaks out as steam.
After, being the rad. is already out take it to a rad. shop and have it pressure tested for $10.
Hope this helps,
Joe
p.s When you get to your 60k service, plan on getting a "new" water pump (Autozone) "Duralast",
a new "cps" (crank position sensor) and a new t-stat.
I would recommend new "Gates" power steering and alt. belts.

 

[Mike Spataro]

I too had the same coolant loss for years. Was loosing coolant on and off. I found out the hard way after transmission issues that my one of the small coolant hose was spraying on the harness above the transmission. Could have been found easily with a pressure tester (free from Autozone). Not one of my best decisions letting it go so long. Transmission had a fluid and filter change as well as a harness repair.

 

[DNort]

Once had a pinhole leak at the coolant tubes running to the throttle body, might be a place to look?

Had one of these once and repaired it.

Car hasn't been leaking any coolant since. I've checked the overflow tank and it still is at the level I left it.

I'm guessing it was just a bunch of rustcheck burning off.

 

[DNort]

When I do the 60K in another year I'm just going to get all new water pump, CPS, front main seals, cam seals, etc. and just do it all.

 

[Bryan]

Don’t get that Duralast shit from autozone. Get a decent one off rockauto or try Napa.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...6+dohc,1138733,cooling+system,water+pump,2208

 

[DNort]

I'm never buying anything off of rock Auto ever again after they refused to refund me a core charges on parts I sent back.

I sent them back in the same ACdelco boxes they came in (break calipers for a 2009 Suzuki sx4) and said it was the wrong box. And then they sent me a picture of my 2 calipers in the boxes I sent them in saying the one box had wrong part numbers on it.

I don't understand how that could have happened considering I don't have any ACdelco boxes laying around. I'm convinced someone there just wanted to steal my 70 bucks or whatever it was.

Customer service was non existent.
Never again

 

[Bryan]

I'm never buying anything off of rock Auto ever again after they refused to refund me a core charges on parts I sent back.

I sent them back in the same ACdelco boxes they came in (break calipers for a 2009 Suzuki sx4) and said it was the wrong box. And then they sent me a picture of my 2 calipers in the boxes I sent them in saying the one box had wrong part numbers on it.

I don't understand how that could have happened considering I don't have any ACdelco boxes laying around. I'm convinced someone there just wanted to steal my 70 bucks or whatever it was.

Customer service was non existent.
Never again

Your choice. AutoZone sells shit parts. You could try Napa. Or SHOSOURCE, but his prices are a bit high if you ask me

 

[bpd1151]

I don't think AutoZone sells "shit parts".

I've actually found them (& their parts) to be quite dependable. Especially for the older cars in my fleet.

But hey, to each their own.