Hi All-

My engine is slowly leaking its coolant fluid. Every morning when I go to the car there is a small to medium size puddle of liquid on the ground. I've concluded it's the coolant fluid since that's the only fluid that decreases in my engine.

But what I can figure out is where the exact location of the leak is coming from. It looks like the leak is coming from around the A/C compressor. Can anyone tell me what's behind the a/c compressor that coolant would start leaking? Is it a hose? Do I have a crack somewhere? etc. I'm not to familiar with that part of the engine bay so that is why I'm asking. And looking from the engine bay on top I see any signs of leaking anywhere.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

TJ

 

It could be a small crack in a hose or your radiator. Inspect all you coolant hoses but sometimes they can be hard to see. It could also be your water pump leaking. If you can not find the problem you can go to a auto shop and have them pressure test your system for about 20-30 bucks and tell you where it is leaking from. If it's the radiator buy an all metal one from www.radiatorbarn.com for 119 shipped and do the install yourself. Its very easy. If its the water pump, well do a search and see it can be a bit more complicated. I hope its just a hose you can switch out yourself. Look to see where the coolant is and start sqeezing hoses in that area to see if anything comes out. good luck.

 

Water pump area?

Inspect the area and post back.

 

^ water pump

 

A small leak of coolant seeping from behind the compressor mount - definitely the water pump leaking though the weep hole.

 

damn that sucks ... maybe it's the temprature sensor / gasket.

 

Is that where the water pump is located? Damnit...

Does anyone have a picture of the water pump?

 

You can't see it outside the car, unless extracted...Get a Haynes/Chilton or FSM.

 

Look in the 4th Gen. stickies under How-To's, water pump replace.

Plenty of pics there.

 

Thanks for the help. I'm pretty sure the leak is coming from the water pump area. Damn that looks like a pain to do and I'm kind of lazy to do it. How much would a shop charge for labor for this?

 

probably a few hundred, shops are a rip off but sometimes you dont have a choice..

 

I have that same leak problem....dammit!! I need to replace my pump soon.

 

I was looking at the write-up to replace the water pump, it doesn't seem to bad. The hardest part will probably be dealing with the small space and I'm a little hesistant to mess with the timing chain.

How long is this job, replacing the water pump?

 

Taking your time it will probably be a few hours. Its not that bad but reserve a day just in case. You could always go to a few auto shops in your area and shop around for price on install if you bring in the part. We pride ourselves on doing almost everything for our cars ourselves. Its a great feeling to not depend on a mechanic. good luck!

 

Yeah I hate paying a shop to do something especially when it can be done without any special tools or such. I'll look more in my Haynes to decide if I want to try it or not.

Where's the best place to get a water pump? Should I even bother changing the pump or should I only change the seals out?

 

It was the water pump. Thanks for the advice. $300 for labor to install it though.

 

Yep, i got the same leak....time to consult the haynes manual

 

Damn I think I'm starting to get this too... bah!!

 

Doing the install yourself is not that bad.........me and my dad did it and it took us 2 days but was well worth it for the money we saved.........dont worry about messing with the timing chain because theres some kind of mechanism in there that doesnt let u really mess it up.........when it says to turn it 20 degreees......i did mine almost 90 degrees and i was scared my car wouldnt start up do to messed up timing.........it started fine but rattled like anything the first time i started it up..........i think mine just rattled longer becasue i messed with the chain...........but its been fine for 2 months now......hope this helps.........if you have some knowledge of what youre doing....try and attemp it........dont waste the money on paying for labor.