Real quick, guy was on his way to buy my maxima, i popped the hood after noticing i had no heat blowing and the temperature was rising (it did not over heat and or blow any white smoke at all) I checked the radiator it was bone dry! fillled it up drove it home (bout 30 miles) with no problem, let it sit for a while went back out to check the radiator again and it was empty again. I pull the dipstick and it was like i pulled a straw out of a chocolate milk shake!! So at this time i have to call the guy (who was on his way to buy the car) to turn around and go home I believe I have a blown head gasket!! I just performed a compression test and all the numbers are around 195 psi. So, as far as the test goes it doesnt appear to be the head gasket. So im guessing its the water pump? Are there any other possibilities I may be overlooking?
Im sure this has been covered before! But, I felt compelled to share this story as it is pretty entertaining! Just my luck!!! UnF@ckin real!!! haaaaaaaa
Thanks for the help!! and or just reading how my F'd up day went yesterday!!

 

The water pump is the most likely culprit.

 

You blowing a lot of white smoke out the exhaust?

 

Nope! No smoke at all!

 

how many miles are on the max?

 

If your waterpump was leaking there'd be evidence at the weep hole. If you look at the head gasket there are coolant and crankcase (oil) passages that can spring leaks between each other. A compression test will not absolutely dismiss the chance of a bad headgasket. Sometimes a bad headgasket will not affect cylinder sealing at all.

 

[QUOTE=asand1;8635425]If your waterpump was leaking there'd be evidence at the weep hole. If you look at the head gasket there are coolant and crankcase (oil) passages that can spring leaks between each other. A compression test will not absolutely dismiss the chance of a bad headgasket. Sometimes a bad headgasket will not affect cylinder sealing at all.

weep hole could be clogged up; i think maximajoe has seen several examples of this. i'd check water pump first; if not that, then i'd try bars head gasket fix or their liquid copper before i'd do the head gasket.

 

Only about 67K on the motor, i got it out of wrecked 97 i30, but it did sit for a few years. Right now i have the two access covers (tensioner and water pump) getting ready to take the tensioner off and pull the water pump.

 

It may have been overheated and blow a headgasket when it was still in the i30.

 

May have found the culprit!

 

Also there is a small pin size hole below the break

 

what the hell is that & how did it happen?

 

Thats a dam good question! I have no idea! But, Im hoping this is the cause!!

 

If there's smoke coming out the tailpipe and your smelling coolant that's a sign of a head gasket failure and the oil is looking like chocolate milk the head gasket is probally blown but the compression test is the best way to tell. I would of said the water pump or the weep hole was what you should be looked at. The compression test passes with your compressions numbers at 175+psi it's good. It can be a small crack that is seeping the coolant through the blocks. The car with bad compression will feel like the car can't run at it's top performance.

 

get a new wp (i got an aisen when i did mine) & seals, and even though you have only 67k miles, you may want do the timing chain tensioner while you're in there. also make sure that the weep hole passage (where it drains out to near ac compressor area) is not clogged!

 

Yea i bought one this afternoon, hopefully I can get it installed here in the next couple days. And Im hoping this will fix the issue!

 

Yea there was no smoke, and the car was running just fine. The only reason i knew something was up was when I wasnt getting any heat inside the car, and that thing usually pumps out the heat! So I pulled the Rad cap and it was bone dry on the inside. Filled it up, drove it home and went to check on it a couple hours later and it was bone dry again! And then I pulled the dipstick and then I knew where the coolant was going!!!
So hopefully the wp is the culprit!! Really dont feel like tearing this motor down!!

 

also, very important: be sure to change oil; you may even want to run oil for 500-1000 miles and change again.

 

Haaa! uh yea! ill be flushing the motor out at least twice with some motor flush and some cheap oil just to get the coolant and chocolate milk out, before it even leaves the garage and then not too long after that once it hits the road again!!!

 

I have the same situation in a car I just bought and I posted a thread about it. I have not torn into the engine yet but the general option was that the water pump seals failed, and according to some people here (and everywhere) once the rod bearings get water on them you have a ticking time bomb....so I am choosing to replace the engine rather than roll the dice on how long the engine will last after running coolant as a lubricant.

 

New water pump installed, flushed the motor out, fresh oil, new coolant and all appears to be good. Motor is running smooth, no smoke, no overheating and most importantly no mixing of fluids!!!

 

Good to hear. Update us after two weeks of consistent driving.