Trouble Maker Posted July 10, 2002 Report Share Posted July 10, 2002 Ok, I gota a pretty serious coolant leak, but I've never actually seen any leak out anywhere in the engine bay or underneath of the car. It's bad enough that I saw my low coolant light one day, checked my coolant level the next day, sure enough it was low. put about 4 quarts in (~7 quart capacity). I drove it from the westside to the airport and when I got back in my car to go home the light was on again. Put the allmost full gallon of water I had in my car in and it wasn't even close to being full. By the time I was about home I was having to put on the heat so the engine temps wouldn't rise. This lead me to believe I had allmost no coolant left at this point because this is the first time I had seen engine temps rise the whole way there or back. I'm gona check the obvious place of the lines coming in and out of the radiator and the fan temp switch and the radiator drain as I've had these loose/out within the past month and a half. But if it's not any of thoes spots how do I figure out where it is If I see none coming out. Oh yeah, I haven't seen any smoke coming out of the tail pipe so I'm pretty sure it's not my head gasket, thank goodness. Sorry for the long post but I was trying to be as descriptive as possible. Thanks all, later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraGlue Posted July 10, 2002 Report Share Posted July 10, 2002 Do you see any evidence that coolant is actually spilling out somewhere? Do you smell it while driving? Are there any puddles when you park? Sorry to say that if not, there is a good chance that the engine is drinking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted July 10, 2002 Report Share Posted July 10, 2002 That happened to me once in my pontiac 6000 (POS). I had a bad water pump so the engine was just boiling the water in the block off. They found it with this cool pump you hook on in place of the radiator cap and it pressurizes the system. There was coolant moving around when the engine wasn't running. It also found a leak in one of the hoses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted July 10, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2002 Yeah, that's really what I'm affarid of Mark. But I would think over a gallon dissapearing in about 10 miles and about 15 minutes of driving would show some signs somewhere, I haven't seen anything except for the water dissapearing. Akula, where did you get this done at and how much does it cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotarded1647545491 Posted July 10, 2002 Report Share Posted July 10, 2002 Ya need to put it up in the air while running. Some leaks (ie. pump) will only happen while the engine is running. Check your oil. If it's leaking into the oil you will have an emulsion, that looks like baby shit in your oil, that will coat the dipstick. If you are consuming it internally at that rate you should have a good exhaust plume! Mike [ 10 July 2002, 11:56 AM: Message edited by: Rotarded ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renner Posted July 10, 2002 Report Share Posted July 10, 2002 Burning coolant will eventually foul your plugs as well or cause a rough idle. You should inspect all the plugs after you inspect the oil to see if they have any signs of burning coolant. Check the coolant lines for the turbo, they leak more when the car is actually running from the extra pressure. It is possible that one is leaking pretty severely while the car is driving, and since they are close to a low point of the engine, it would do a good job of draining the whole system. A cooling system pressure tester is the best way to find leaks. You can rent them from Auto Zone for about $75 I think, refunded when you return it, just make sure that the kit comes with the proper adapters to allow it to be sized down for the neck size on your radiator. Check the cap first, the spring could be dead and letting the coolant flow out as soon as things get warm and pressurized, the tester kit should include an adapter to fit the cap as well. Just screw on the cap and see if it holds the pressure written on it. It is probably right around 1 bar (14.69 psi), but I don’t remember exactly what those caps are, could be .8 or 1.2 bar. The default size of the end on the tester is for domestic cars, and the DSM radiator neck like most imports is about half that size. You can pump up the system to about 15 pounds and watch the gauge to see how quickly it is dropping, and then look for where the leak is, fill the system up full with water first. But be sure that you do not over pressurize the system, the radiator cap is the pressure relief valve for you cooling system, and you just got rid of it when you screwed on the pressure tester. It is possible for the water pump to leak only when the car is running, and not just when the system is pressurized, if the bearings have taken a shit. So it would be leaking out of the actual shaft area, not just the seal around the pump. If the bearings were gone the water pump pulley should have some extra free play, and you would probably hear it making some noise. But you can't see the entire pump anyway since it is under your timing belt cover. But if it is just the water pump to block seal leaking, it will leak when pressurized, whether the car is running or not. You should be able to smell burning or at least hot coolant some as well, no matter when in the engine bay it is leaking from. So I would say pressure test it after you check the oil and plugs, if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, any normal repair shop should be able to do if for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted July 11, 2002 Report Share Posted July 11, 2002 Mine was tested at a GM garage, crestview caddy I think. But renting the unit seems more hands on, and more fun IMO. When you fill the radiator and it gets hot, does anything move into the overflow tank? What happens is the coolant gets hot and lifts the cap, then it expands into the overflow tank. If the coolant is getting hot and not moving out of the radiator to the expansion tank, the cap might be stuck shut, or something. Also it is probably dripping (pouring from what it sounds like) out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slow4now Posted July 11, 2002 Report Share Posted July 11, 2002 Originally posted by Renner: Good info Brett. Also to add to that, depending on how many miles are on your car, if it's time to change the timing belt then it is also time for a new water pump. Mitsubishi recommends a T-belt service every 60,000 miles and you don't want to wait a mile over that, trust me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted July 14, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2002 Originally posted by bigbabyjesus: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Renner: Good info Brett. Also to add to that, depending on how many miles are on your car, if it's time to change the timing belt then it is also time for a new water pump. Mitsubishi recommends a T-belt service every 60,000 miles and you don't want to wait a mile over that, trust me.</font>Yeah, I still haven't goten around to doing anything about the coolant leak yet. I've been having too much fun with friends and when I have two cars to pick from to drive since my parents are out of town the motivation isn't exactly there either. I was thinking to just get the timing belt/water pump done or do it myself right now, but I don't want to do thoes and have changing the water pump not fix the problem. I guess I don't like to throw parts at cars (I know the timing belt isn't throwing parts at the car, i was refering to the water pump). Very good informative post Renner, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted July 14, 2002 Report Share Posted July 14, 2002 any visible puddles? my radiator was cracked, stupid plastic peice of shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted July 27, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2002 Well, I got a coolant tester today, but my impatient dumb ass drove my car to get it (like 1mi. round trip or so). The car is fine, but it's hot now and takes forever to cool down so I can't use the tester yet. At any rate I was sitig here thinking about the situation and I got a little worried. I still see no water Anywere. When I drove it to auto zone didn't see shit. When I came back here and let it idel in my driveway for 4 minutes then backed up and saw nothing. When I first got in my car earlier I reved it up a little and saw a little white smoke that disipated quickly, I was thinking water. I got back home and reved it up to 7krpm and saw nothing either time I reved it. The waterpump (or anything else for that matter) has made no noises yet. When I lose the coolant I get my low coolant light (the sensor is in the overflow), and there is not coolant there, which wouldn't be typical of a bad cap, I wouldn't think. Ok, to get to my point. I'm really worried about it being the head gasket. If it is and I pressureize the coolant system will I get water in the cylinders just siting there and I try to start the car could it be enough to cause water lock (or whatever it's called). And is this why you said check the plugs and oil first, what should I look for in the oil, what will the plugs look like (color wise mostly) if I am geting water in there. Thanks for all of the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supldys Posted July 27, 2002 Report Share Posted July 27, 2002 if you get water in your oil it'll jsut be fugly. the dipstick will not be what it normally looks like, trust me you'll know. as far as the plugs, pull em out and look. a good spark plug is easily depicted, hehe jsut not as shiny as a new one if its anything else then ask. I had the exact symptoms you're having and it was my head gasket. But i didnt have any noticeable white smoke, or mixed oil and coolant. I did have oil in my exhuast though, if i parked in one spot and let it idle, i left a big black spot on the ground behind me. When i pulled my head and intake off, everything connected to cyl#1 was covered in oil! honestly headgaskets arent that bad, its the timing i hate doing which you should do anyways. Just do em at the same time, hell you can even have your head ported and polished -Jono Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOOST_ME Posted July 28, 2002 Report Share Posted July 28, 2002 There's an oil pressure sender on the bottom of the engine near the driver's side tire. It sits directly below the water pump. Check it and see if there's any water drops on it. That should help you determine if the pump is leaking the coolant out--I've had water there when both pumps went in my 93 and 95. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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