edwardh1

will leak one day, then 3 days no leak, then will leak overnite on garage floor, 99 maxima, 162000 miles, one owner bought new.
mechanic did a hour pressure test (don't know if they put it on a lift or not.) held tight that morning. 3 nights later got the coolant on garage floor again.

leak is on passenger side, about a foot in from the inside of the tire, green coolant, level in reservoir goes down. I have given it the topside flashlight look in the dark, see nothing on hoses or radiator.
I put aluminum foil on the garage floor over cardboard to find it, car now at shop, looking at it yesterday PM and probably today.
what could be the leak cause??, car runs great, has never run hot or other issues.
And how would a shop confirm it?

dsonnylal

iTrader: (3)

Mostly likely its your water pump.

M in KC

I would guess water pump/weep hole or thermostat housing. Try tightening your hose clamps first as that's is a free easy fix. The leak is coming from somewhere you just have to it. You should be able to get a cooling system pressure tester kit from an auto parts store thru loan-a-tool program and trouble shoot it more your self if you wanted.

JvG

Classic symptom of water pump. Mine did that when it failed, just like all the others.

edwardh1

car spent 2 days at mechanics place, they said it did not leak.
Do they ever do this- leak one day then not for 2 or 3 nights? maybe the job is too hard for the garage, may have to go to dealer but might just drive it all locally for a while -

seems it would get worse? right? then they would see it???

where can I look at a picture to see where the leak will be if it IS leaking? I have a little wetness (can't tell oil vs antifreeze) on the metal on the engine,s vertical side just next to the place where the timing light plugs in/sits in is that where the water pump will leak? will post a picture.
thanks

JvG

Use simple logic. Look for other sources of coolant in that area.

Any thing wet?

I don't think there is anything else there which could leak.

Anyone..... what else could this be?

JvG

Based on your symptoms and discription, you have a bad water pump. Mine did the same thing. Same symtoms.
There is no need to go to a dealer. A shop which has done chain driven pumps can do this.

Or you could do this yourself if you have the time and the patience.

bumpypickle

iTrader: (1)

Your mechanic is incompetent. Take it to a different shop. Also look for white dried substance on or around the rad. When you get the car back take pictures of the area and wet spots of engine if you can.

edwardh1

could be they don't want that type work , last year or so I see more ford trucks and also more cars fixed up for sale.

but maybe they have not seen it leak, leaks at night.

Icemule

The symptoms you describe sound like a water pump. I had the same problem and took that job to nissan, too risky dropping a bolt into the timing cover for me. If I was 32 I would have tried it, at 52 I paid to have it done. Glad I did as I got a new free Alternator for a recall that happened in 2001 I think it was, all for 574.00.

But mine did the same as yours, get it fixed before you get stranded.

pewterss

Saw this and had to read on. I have the same problem with my 95 with 88K miles on it. Sometimes it leaks and then it doesn't. I checked the engine bay and no wet spots anywhere. But with the front passenger tire turned out, you can see the leak when the car is running. Looks like its running out and trickling down the corner of the engine. But other than that, I can't find the leak so my assumption was the water pump. From reading this thread I'm 99% sure its my water pump. ugghhh.

JvG

A clue is wetness near the alternator.

PH98I30

Sometimes it is just the water pump seal that is leaking and the pump is OK, but since you have to change the seal to stop the leak, do the pump anyway. The seal is just a big O ring, I believe.

JvG

The water pump seal is indeed an o ring. Which is cheap. But the water pump labor hassle is not fun.
So get a high quality pump so that you never have to do it again.

Go oem. Or at least get a high quality I installed a pump made by Aisen. They make the automatic transmissions for Toyota. I bought mine from Amazon.com.

QueensMAX

the colder the weather the more it will leak.. If the car is in the shop, warm environment, it probably wont leak...

M in KC

If it turns out to the water pump's seal(s) (there are two and they are different diameters) don't be tempted to just buy new o-rings, get an entirely new pump with the new o-rings and even consider a second set of o-rings. For if you nick one of the O-rings during reassembly you are right back to where you started. Again I'd encourage an OEM pump rather than aftermarket.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

i have had leaking anti-freeze for years and have never been able to pin point the exact source. i did new upper and lower rad hoses, and the transmission coolant line but still smell anti-freeze. i just check my over-flow reservoir level every other day and make sure its on the line. i had a clamp come loose and it looked like the top of the radiator was leaking. old cars, gotta love it...

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

The water pump is located and interfacing with such critical components of the car, you want the best job done when replacing it. Good parts, and good mechanic. Don't mess around.

JoshG

Yeah the way to beat old cars and prevent headaches is when something goes out, replace anything along the way, clean if necessary . Don't focus on just that one thing that is broken. Multiple cleaning+ replace old parts = less headaches and more reliable car. Also the brand counts too..don't go too cheap on parts otherwise it's gonna go out again, may sound weird but cheap parts are more expensive than quality parts that'll last you.

Maxima 97 SE

Here's the original Nissan water pump which I bought two years ago for only 51.44 and it's made in Japan by unisia jecs who make our original water pump and it's sold under their new name paraut who still makes oem parts for Nissan and it also comes with the o-rings. Paraut Water Pump https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G6EQIO..._77S-wb4VARQAD

vipervadim

iTrader: (10)

coolant can come from several places out of the motor(by passenger side and other places nearby) what's hard about determining the leak is that it just trickles down the side the of the engine block with no clue as to where it's REALLY leaking from..

check the following locations for leaks and wetness:

#1: at thermostat gasket (nissan stock crush gasket, leaks over time due to rusting, flaking, deforming, etc)
#2: at two hard coolant hoses right below the front valve cover, or the aluminum housing for the two round coolant hardlines. the housing to block had a nissan crush gasket [looks like the number 8] the two coolant hardlines have o-ring gaskets and bolt inside that housing coming from the block, the hardlines travel all the way to the driver side above trans and join into two large heater core hoses running behind engine to firewall.
#3: at water pump drain hole - if your inner waterpump o-ring is shot the coolant flows past it and out of the drain hole by inner timing chain cover under alternator.
#4: at coolant log that joins front head and rear head (right above transmission). both head connections have the same crappy crush gaskets that rust/leak over time.
#5: radiator hoses. stock clamps cut into the stock hoses, making their ends expand, and bad to reuse. corrosion around the radiator outlets and from thermostat inlet can build up and cause leaks, if replacing rad hoses, might as well spend a few bucks on ebay and buy silicone.
#6: headgasket.. if this is leaking coolant you have a serious problem - how to tell - if the fluid inside the radiator looks like chocolate milk, you have a head gasket issue and oil is mixing with the coolant.
#7: throttle body coolant lines: there are three coolant lines that run from those tho hardline coolant hoses in #2. One runs to the throttle body, second runs from throttle body to the back of the stock USIM 95-99 intake manifold, and third runs from the nipple on upper manifold back to the hard coolant line. check all those hoses for flayed ends, leakage and or cracking as engine gets hot and rubber hoses dry/crack after 20 years.


hope this helps identify the problem.

considering that your car is NOT overheating after a 10-15 minute drive, I'm not so sure the waterpump is really to blame.

it might be wise to stuff a paper towel under the thermostat housing and leave it there for a few short/long trips, check it later to see if it is wet with coolant - would help you rule out a leaking t-stat/gasket over time.

stuff another piece of paper towel into the waterpump drain hole and remove it after a long trip to see if it's wet.

good luck

edwardh1

I am OP.
my coolant leaks on garage floor at a point about 7 inches forward of where the oil pan drain plug is. If that helps whats above that? the water pump??

wish someone had a Picture of where the water pump weep hole is (not a service manual drawing but a picture/ photo

Icemule

Go to this link and look at post 17, might help.

https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...ntifreeze.html