I've had a lingering ever-so-slight coolant leak from where the upper radiator hose meets the radiator for the past year or so. I found that the upper radiator hose connection on the radiator was almost completely broken off, so I replaced the radiator with a new unit, and everything was perfect. After a couple weeks I noticed a slight smell of coolant coming from the engine. I poked around and saw a bit of coolant dripping on the lower exhaust pipe that crosses in front of the engine. Figuring it was just a loose hose clamp, I re-tightened both ends of the main lower hose. The hose was already fairly tight, and didn't take care of the problem. It was slight, so I figured I'd just keep and eye on the coolant and tackle the leak later when I had time.
Yesterday driving around I noticed a VERY strong smell of coolant. When I got home there was a decent amount of smoke bellowing out from under the hood. I popped the good and saw a fairly steady stream of coolant dripping onto that pipe. Poking around in a bit more detail I noticed it looks like it is coming primarily from behind the timing cover - the hoses are fairly dry. I'm assuming the culprit is the water pump, HOWEVER - the car only leaks coolant when the radiator fan kicks on and the car is "up to temp". If it was the water pump and/or the water pump gasket that was leaking, wouldn't it be leaking all of the time? Why would it only leak when the car was warm? I checked the thermostat gasket - it seems to be completely fine (the coolant is definitely leaking from somewhere ABOVE the thermostat housing).
I'm going to replace the water pump and the thermostat within the next couple of days regardless, but I'm just scratching my head a bit trying to figure out why it's only leaking when the car is hot.
ericem wrote:it's possible for sure. What mileage and car?? Is it the original water pump?? You should have replaced the upper and lower hoses as well.
The car has about 170K on it. I'm unsure if the car has the original water pump or not . The previous owner did all of the valve cover gaskets and cam seals, not sure if he tackled the water pump at the same time or not.
I didn't want to replace the upper and lower hoses because they looked to be in excellent condition, and I'm a firm believer of not fixing what ain't broken on this car. If I'm removing the part, I'll definitely replace it with something new, but at 170K and 15 years old, you run the risk of cracking or breaking something everytime you're under the hood, so I always tread lightly.
Anyway, I'll be pulling both hoses off now, so I'll end up replacing both of them.
Not long. Coolant washes out bearings pretty quick. If you're getting more than a tiny drip, it's due any minute, and that's what it sounds like.
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Two other possibilities would be a leaking pump gasket (you might as well replace the pump at the same time) and a leaking upper radiator hose that is dripping into the covers then out the bottom.
scuzzy wrote:technical term is a 'weep hole' and it leaks when the seal around the shaft fails as a precursor to total pump failure.
Figured I should post an update considering I never posted any feedback regarding what the problem was (sorry! )...
Pulled off the water pump and found that the thermostat housing only had one of the two bolts in it. Not sure how long it had been missing; i.e., if the bolt loosened up slowly (and caused the leak to increase slowly), or if the bolt had been gone for quite some time and then the increased pressure of the new non-leaking radiator caused the gasket to blow.
Either way - it wasn't the water pump, but seeing as how I had the water pump out and a new water pump sitting next to it that I had already paid for and couldn't return, I ended up doing the water pump, thermostat, and the three lower hoses anyway. Hasn't leaked a drop since.
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Not sure how long it had been missing; i.e., if the bolt loosened up slowly (and caused the leak to increase slowly), or if the bolt had been gone for quite some time and then the increased pressure of the new non-leaking radiator caused the gasket to blow.