Coolant leak

[Jimbo]

I just changed the hoses.. still leaks. Somthings telling me it might be the water pump. I've never noticed a leak under the car before leaving for work or leaving work.. but i think it leaks out when i'm driving. Does this sound possible?

 

[MichiganTeddyBear]

heater core...

yea, its possible to have a leak at the water pump. them are almost as fun to do as the heater core. when you changed lower hose, did you have to remove the metal extention pipe that comes out of the water pump? if so, make sure the oring in there is ok, its a prime location for a leak in my book. also just moving it around could cause some problems in same spot.

 

[Jimbo]

i didn't do it.. i had a shop do it i bought the parts they plugged them in.. but the leak was there before.

 

[MichiganTeddyBear]

there is a good chance there may be some corrosion on that metal pipe that extends out of the water pump for the lower hose. when I change my pump, I had to remove that, and it was all corroded, and the oring was shot. good thing the new pump came with oring.

if its a slow leak, and your not seeing or smelling antifreeze, it could be that. one other possibility is still the heater core. My 91 didn't have any a/f odor in the car, but had a leaky core. that was verified by bypassing the core (during summer when its not needed) and my coolant loss stopped.

and of course there is always the possibility of headgaskets. I think my wifes cougar (with 3.8) had headgasket problems for a while before they finally got bad enough to determine where it was going (finally got to the point of smelling antifreeze in exhaust). it too had a mysterious coolant disappearing problem prior to the gaskets giving up the ghost.

 

[Jimbo]

had the system pressure checked.. nothing.. so the wrench said it might be the basin.. i just took that off and filled it up in my bath tub.. no such leaks.. however i didn't notice that the tube that connects from the cap to the basin didn't have a clamp on it

 

[MichiganTeddyBear]

there is no pressure on that tube. no clamp is ok.

when you had hoses changed, did you have just the radiator hoses done? or did you get the heater hoses/pipes done too? some of those are a biatch to do, and they could have a slow leak that wouldnt necessarily be noticed by coolant on ground, or anywhere else for that matter.

when it was pressure tested, how long did they have it pressurized, and was the engine/heater up to operating temp? that could make a difference in whether it leaks or not.

 

[Jimbo]

there is no pressure on that tube. no clamp is ok.

when you had hoses changed, did you have just the radiator hoses done? or did you get the heater hoses/pipes done too? some of those are a biatch to do, and they could have a slow leak that wouldnt necessarily be noticed by coolant on ground, or anywhere else for that matter.

when it was pressure tested, how long did they have it pressurized, and was the engine/heater up to operating temp? that could make a difference in whether it leaks or not.

Thanks for the input. I don't know. They didn't put heater hoses on cause when I brought them to them they said they weren't the right ones. So they weren't changed. Funny part about that. I work at the 5th largest ford parts dealership. I personaly looked at the diagram.

Well anyways. I'm in a world of hurt now I have almost no power the car overheats kind of fast, I'm taking it to a better place wedsday just have to make it to then.

 

[MichiganTeddyBear]

TI have almost no power the car overheats kind of fast

that sounds like head gaskets. The wifes cougar had bad gaskets (same basic 3.8), and it didnt put any coolant in oil, or vice versa. just had a spot on one cylinder next to the waterjacket that went bad. all the coolant went into the cylinder, burned, and out the tail pipe.

 

[Jimbo]

if it ends up being that.. you think it would be worth it to go ahead and replace the timing belt?

 

[MichiganTeddyBear]

are you refering to the timing chain? the 3.8 dont use a timing belt, but a chain.

you can do the head gaskets without changing the timing chain, or even taking front cover off the engine. In my opinion, it would probably add quite a bit of labor to the job, since now the water pump has to come off, then front cover. Pulling the water pump can be a bear, because their is just not crap for clearance between it and the fenderwell.

changing out the serpentine belt, yea do it, its gonna have to come off to do the head gaskets anyhow.