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Omg!! There is coolant everywhere!!

5K views 31 replies 8 participants last post by  Joes74challenger 
#1 ·
Now that I have your attention, i come looking for help.

So yesterday as I am coming through my little town, I started smelling antifreeze. Pulled over and noticed a good amount dripping from the passenger side front wheel. After further investigation(and by investigation i mean the belt was screaming like a banshee), coolant is getting on the belt, and saturated quite a bit of the area by the pulleys.

So i did some research on here and pretty much narrowed it down to 1 of 2 things, and an option for a 3rd.

-Coolant Crossover Gasket. I hope it isnt this, but i am prepared to dive in to repair it if need be.
-Water Pump. Of the possibilities, I hope this is it, as there are enough DIY videos on YouTube for this. I could not find a how-to for the coolant crossover gaskets, so I would be going in blind.

And the longshot, a coolant hose. I didnt really look at it when I was there to see if there was even a hose in that area.

My question for the audience, Is there any real way to narrow down which is leaking? Everything is pretty much soaked, and it was a pretty substantial leak. Im talking about letting it sit for 5-7 minutes and having 3 separate puddles of DexCool under my car that were about 4-5 inches in diameter.
 
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#2 ·
Hook a pressure tester to the system and pump it up to whatever the PSI rating is on your rad cap. ( 13 - 15lbs i'm guessing) You should see where it's coming from.
Most of the auto repair places will rent, or loan you a pressure tester if you don't have one.
Your probably gonna have to buy a new belt now as well as this ones been soaked in antifreeze. They will usually squeak and squeal after that.

Good luck and let us know.
 
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#4 ·
Yes.

If the engine is hot you will have to carefully remove the rad cap. If the engine is cold not problem, but, if it's hot, you will have to wait until the pressure is out of the system.
From the sounds of the leak you have that should not take very long.
Ensure the cooling system is refilled to where it's supposed to be. Then, hook up the pressure tester cap in place of the rad cap and hook it to the hand pump ( if it's that type, there are a couple different types ) and pump it up to the pressure rated on the cap. You will be able to see where the coolant is running out from.

Just to state the obvious here, but this is done with the engine NOT RUNNING.
Do not exceed the pressure rating on the cap with the test equipment.

If it's as big a leak as you are stating it should be pretty obvious pretty quickly.
 
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#9 ·
Making sure everything is dried off and wiping the joints etc with a rag. Then use your finger to check connections etc. Start at the very top and work your way down. A mirror on a stick may help you. I'm sure auto zone will have one for around 6.00. Handy to have on hand for future projects.
 
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#11 ·
Clean the engine bay off so you can see where the coolant is spraying from. Make sure you top it off with water so that the system is full. The pressure tester will not work well with low coolant.
 
#14 ·
A few things to note.

I didn't do the pressure test, but I did notice the water pump pulley was throwing small droplets of water. There was also water dripping on top of the AC Compressor. That's where it looks to be the most prominent leak.

The videos above show the sound as a started it, and after it had run for a few seconds.
 
#16 ·
Actually.
Why not take the serpentine belt off and spin each of the pulleys individually. They should be quiet. Try twisting them from side to side (without spinning them if that makes sense) and check for any movement or play in the bearings. There should be none.
It does sound like a bad bearing to me and the water being flung around is most likely from the water pump. The bearing may have piled up and the water is escaping past the mechanical seal on the shaft.
Too bad about the pressure tester. That can tell you a lot. Especially if there is more than one leak.
 
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#18 ·
As mentioned in post above yours. (I was submitting it while you were responding ) check all those other things and a pressure test would really tell you so much more. Is there another parts place to get a tester from ? You'll feel that water pump if it's pooched just by spinning and flexing or twisting it.
 
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#23 ·
I know its anecdotal, but I had my water pump go at similar miles and the description you gave of where it was leaking from sounds the same as mine. Was actually very happy with how easy it was to replace. If I remember right, the hardest part was putting the pulley back on, only because it would have been helpful to have an extra hand.
 
#25 ·
Get a bolt with proper threads, cut the head off, thread it in to use as locator, slide pulley on, start 2 bolts and wind out headless bolt and insert remaining bolts.
Knowing ahead of time it's a potential PITA you can have one ready.

Swear jar loses .
 
#28 ·
Update.

Took the belt off and started it up. No noise other than the normal running noise. Shook all of the pulleys, and the WP pulley had a slight amount of play in it.

I got another pressure tester. Cranked it up to 18psi, and looked around. This is what I found.
https://youtu.be/NVS3QLKYl0U

That is coming from the bottom of the water pump. I don't see anywhere where it is passing next to the pump at all. So I have narrowed it down to the water pump, unless anyone thinks otherwise.
 
#30 ·
Quick update.

Tore the car down today. Replaced the water pump. Silly me didn't drain the coolant first. Whoops. After inspecting the pump, the seal was cracked, and that's where the leak was coming from.

The noise that it was making was narrowed down to the AC compressor that was soaked with coolant. After letting it dry, that noise stopped.

A few tips for anyone doing this.
-Drain the coolant!
-Remove battery as well as battery tray for ease of access. I also removed the coolant overflow to gain access to the tensioner.


I pressure tested it after installing. No leaks, and steady pressure. Drove it for a bit to get it up to operating temperature and it did fine.

I would like to thank everyone for their help!
 
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