Ok this morning I noticed that my engine started to smoke a little like what the hell...So later in the morning I look under the car seeing if there is a leak and I see coolant dribbling pretty bad onto the floor. Well the leak is in the middle of the engine towards the rear of the engine. Like that bar or membrane where we jack our car up from the front/middle of the car. where it ends near the rear of the engine it is dripping a lot off there. I talked to Matthel and he said it would probably be the heater core. Now I forgot what goes on there but i remember the piping. Are there piping or hoses that I can easily replace them with??? Please someone help it's very urgent that I get this fixed soon. Thanks.

Chris

 

If it is the heater core you will have to replace the unit itself. Is any coolant getting inside the car, like on the passenger side floor?

SuDZ

 

The heater core is inside the cars cabin. If that leaked, your carpet would be wet with coolant. Rule that out and get under the car and have a close look to see where it's coming from. Could just be a heater hose that's leaking.

 

Also, check all the pipe clamps that clamp the hoses to the "metal pipes". If any of them are loose, that would be your culprit....

 

If it's a hose or a clamp it won't be a big deal......
On the other hand heater core is a pain in the behind to replace.

Good luck!

 

water pump?

 

for the record

i did say heater hoses going TO the heater core. i did NOT say heater core. Please dont quote me incorrectly because that takes away my creditability....

 

I'm having a somewhat similar issue, and seeing as I'm a new member here, I cannot post a new thread. Searching proved of little help because I got nothing but threads on leaking water pumps. So, here's what I'm dealing with:

'97 Maxima, manual.

191k

A leak which has gotten worse in the one day I've owned it... I bought it from a co-worker who I've known for almost two years (He's the second owner of the car, bought it from his father in law). Thing is, the leak is coming from the rear of the engine and does NOT appear to be coming from anywhere near the waterpump. I've tried running the engine to N.O.T. with the heater both on and off, attempting to figure out if it's the heater core hoses.. And while one of them is wet, after feeling around them, I could not determine whether or not they're the actual problem considering the one that's wet was hardly damp. And while the car was running after being driven (when it would leak horribly and burn off sending plumes of smoke everywhere), I could not see where it was leaking from EXACTLY.

However, I can see very faintly that bits and things around the backside of the engine (remember, backside meaning close to firewall) are/have been wet with coolant (Green).

Though I've owned the car only 24 hours, I have grown quite attached to it. I've owned and worked on RX-7's for several years now.. and a Miata thrown in the mix.. But nothing with such limited space underneath the hood. So, before anyone goes and decides that I just didn't search enough, think again.

Sadly, I have no garage space to work in (Full of antiques and furniture thanks to my mother) and it's snowing out right now.. So putting it on ramps or up in the air on stands isn't a possibility.

As for engine temperature, it was fine and dandy last night when I picked the car up from my co-worker Tim, but today while driving around to the tag office and a few in-town errands, the leaking got worse. Finally, it began to affect the engine temperature and it crawled past half to about 3/4 before I turned around (3 miles from home). Under load (accelerating, cruising), the temperature climbs. When idling (Or disengaging the clutch to coast), the temperature falls pretty quickly, only to climb again to get back up to speed. This could be the result of a pressure problem within the system due to the leak, correct? It's happened on several FC's I've owned, so that's where the idea came from..

Anyways, all help is appreciated. No, there's no coolant in my oil and the exhaust smells fine (Different from my uncorked rotary, but fine).

 

Just double-checked the waterpump/alt area... Not so much as a drop or smell of green. Snow is getting worse. Damn my mother and her antiques and other random crap! Can't wait until we sell all of it.