Hey everyone. Happy Holidays.

I have a slow leak of coolant from my 93GX3 and I can't find the source. EAch time I drive, it creates a small 10 (or so) inch puddle of coolant.

I caught it in the act today, but still couldn't see exactly where it was dripping from.

The drips fall JUST to the side of all the belts. Right in the area of the alternator..maybe above the alternator, or close to it?

Does anyone know what's around there, that could lose coolant? I'd love to get this thing taken care of without going to the shop.

Thanks for any ideas on what to look for.

Matt
Overland Park, KS

 

if it's an on-off leak...i'm going to say water pump. since it's a VG...the WP will drip on to the t-belt cover and make it travel to other places.

 

that's the first thing I'd check

 

Oh man. That's too bad if it is the water pump. Sounds like the same labor as the timing belt, right? Probably not something I can do at home.

How can I check the water pump? Just look for leaks? Easy to get to?

Matt

 

not the same labor...but if your t-belt is getting on in age...it's highly recommended you swap it out at the same time.

how - it'll leak when it's cold...it might stop when it's warm. nothing else i can think of will leak in that area unless it's a t-stat housing, hose...but you'll see those right away.

just look for leaks - yes pretty much...follow the green trail

easy to get to - not something easy

 

I'll throw in my $0.25 worth and also say it's the water pump. Had the same problem last year, but I have a gravel driveway and I couldn't see the puddle. I thought I had blown a head gasket...

Anyway, you better change the t-belt while you are in doing the water pump. Anything else is just false economy.

 

my 2 cents is take it to a garage and get them to put the dye in it and check it, i got it done locally for free but msot iwll only charge 10-20 for it. tells you EXACTLY where it is leaking from, Mine was the gasket between the rad tank/core and ti would only leak when it got up high in the pressure.

 

the water pump has a breather hole on the bottom of the snout. usually what happens is corrosion eats away at the tiny seals in the pump. once it has done it's damage, it will leak out of this hole. this is actually a good design to inform you your water pump is done. rather than breaking and dumping ALL the coolant.

 

Most likely the water pump, if you do it, do it right...t-belt, seals, tensioner, and water pump. You run a risk of prematurely breaking the T-belt if it is contaminated. IMO the best insurance for a VG along with oil changes is keeping the T-belt and family fresh. I wouldn't fool with a dye since coolant is bright green anyway. Follow the trail. Good Luck!

 

does anyone preform leakdowns anymore?

 

...or vice-versa. It'll leak when warm from pressure and stop/slow when cool when the pressure is down (like mine did). Of course when one is *really* gone, it will leak all the time.

 

ok read my post above Take it somewhere and get the dye put in your system,drive it for a day and bring it back and voila it will tell you EXACTLY where it is leaking from. I had the same problem,woudnt leak all summer,once the weather gets colder it owuld leak,no puddles,not going into the engine,weird problem.

Got the dye put in and it turns out it is coming out the seal on the rad (plastic tank aluminum core) and it is only ocming out say when the system is fully pressurized and once the system drops 1 lbs of pressure it stops leaking until it builds up again.

 

One of my three has a leak around a couple of the freeze plugs. How hard are those to change?

 

punch them at the edge and pull them out...you have a slide hammer?

then tap in the new one.

 

Just be careful that they come out rather than go in

a buddy of mine had 3 or 4 freezeplugs INSIDE the block

 

Sorry, what is a slide hammer? Is that when your buddy has the hammer on the other side of the garage?

 

I've had to park my car and drive the "bumble bee" Max. I admit having a new appreciation for VE's. Anyway, I've let my VG limp the last 3 winters with a bad waterpump. In the summer, it's fine becuase the heat allows the seals to retain the coolant. In the winter, they become hard and britle and continue to deteriorate. Mine finally started to just poor coolant when filled, I was filling coolant everyday, sometimes twice. I would rather change out the whole engine as to replace a water pump. I say take it to a shop and let them do it all, pump and t-belt. You will save labor this way, do it asap. Suggestion, if you're driving, shut off the heater if you begin to overheat. This worked for mine because the pump wasn't trying to run what little coolant I had through the heater core, robbing the engine of coolant. You should also park facing up hill. This will allow coolant to settle at the back of the engine and you will be more likely to fill the radiator up completely this way. Also, overfill your overflow tank, as the coolant is lost, it will automatically pull from the tank. It's not a lot, but will help you get from A-B without damaging your engine. Yes, mine was this bad, I had to get creative about how to limp it for 2.5 years!