Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I have a major problem (i think) with the car. Since the last service (2 fridays ago), the car has been running fine. But then today when I was coming back from a very long drive (180klms), I noticed that the temp needle was going up and then down a bit. I thought this was just normal, so I didnt bother with anything. But then later tonite, after I came back from my bros house (about 5 mins away), the needle went right up.

My dad and I opened the hood, and there was a horrible smell. We knew that it was due to leaking coolant or lack of coolant. The water pump looks to be intact, but below the engine, there was a lot of liquid. That means the coolant is leaking froms somewhere there. We have checked the pipes as well, everything seems to be ok. I dont know where else to look.

Do you guys know what I can look out for as the main culprits for the leakage? We have filled up the coolant reservoir and the radiator, with a mix of coolant and water. But its still leaking. I am thinking of taking it to GTAutos for them to have a look at it, but I would appreciate any advise/pointers that you guys can give me.

Thanks in advance.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/
Share on other sites

coolant can come from

rear: turbo feed pipe that is behind the head, and is fed from the rear of the plenum. heater hoses

side: oil cooler, heater feed hoses, feed from thermo housing to the plenum. turbo water feed @ turbo

front: radiator hoses.

Edited by Craved
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2338802
Share on other sites

This could mean that your water pump needs replacing. Happened to my mates R33 and was told that there is a small hole that will leak water/coolant when your water pump has had it, nissan mae it this way as a warning sign. You can see it if you look hard from memory. He was also told that once it starts leaking it should be changed fairly soon as it won't last much longer.

If it is your water pump then arrange to get your timing belt changed at the same time if it's close to needing it.

Good luck with your vehicle man

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2338821
Share on other sites

This could mean that your water pump needs replacing. Happened to my mates R33 and was told that there is a small hole that will leak water/coolant when your water pump has had it, nissan mae it this way as a warning sign. You can see it if you look hard from memory. He was also told that once it starts leaking it should be changed fairly soon as it won't last much longer.

If it is your water pump then arrange to get your timing belt changed at the same time if it's close to needing it.

Good luck with your vehicle man

Thanks for the info bud - but I changed the water pump 5 months ago (the timing belt and all were also changed). I do see something that looks like a crack, but hte pump is completely dry on the outside - nevertheless, I will get Wayne and Jarrod to have a look at it again.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2338830
Share on other sites

passenger side in the middle ???

sounds like turbo's water feed :blush: bit fiddly to get to though

can be feed or return, banjo bolts at return at block, and the turbo for feed and return .. feed comes from a rubber hose from behind the head

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2338882
Share on other sites

First, if it is coming from the "middle" of your motor but cannot trace it back to a point source like a coolant hose, then it is likely your head gasket. Second, change your oil to make sure it does not look like chocolate milk. If it looks like chocolate milk, you have problems. It is either a cracked head or blown head gasket.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2339071
Share on other sites

Thanks for the heads up guys.

Craved: Its on the drivers side (towards the middle) - so im guessing its got nothing to do with the turbo.

Darius: i have checked the oil - it seems to be ok. I had the car serviced just 2 fridays ago by RE Customs.

i might check with them to see if they noticed anything abnormal about the car when they did the service.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2339106
Share on other sites

Update: Ok, we have found the culprit. Its one of the Cylinder wall plugs. Seems that the bastard has rusted, due to the improper coolant mix being used. Uh!!!!! Thank god its not a major problem like a blown gasket, but I believe that the repair work will take a long time!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2339112
Share on other sites

Yep - by monday she will be back to running like a beast :blink:

(and probably need a good clean too)

I emailed wayne in the morning - and he said that things like this happen if the car has not been looked after well. Eitherway, he is gonna help me change it so im wrapped!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2341368
Share on other sites

lucky you cahnged the water pump previoulsy otherwise the same thing woulda happened to the fins on the inside of it.. rendering it useless.

are you getting them all replaced now? dont want it to rust through another one

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2341468
Share on other sites

Well, I have to get him to check it on monday. I could only see one that was rusted beyond recognition. Hopefully get the whole thing replaced. The waterpump is fine from what i can see.

Just hope it doesnt take a long time, cos i cant live with out the car :blink:

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2341537
Share on other sites

Just wondering, how long would it take to replace these welsh plugs? Do they have to extract the whole engine? I know the have to flush out the coolant before they do anything, but if they have to remove the whole engine - then im gonna be charged shit loads.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2347913
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

just bumping my own old thread

Took it for a service today to RE Customs - got a call back from Ray, prognosis negative - yep damn welsh plugs are haunting my ass again!

Warranty wont take care of it. and it looks like im going to have to pay shit load to get that fixed....

damn damn welsh plugs :wave:

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/126680-leaking-coolant/#findComment-2733281
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • OK, so again it has been a bit of a break but it was around researching what had been done since I didn't have access to Neil's records and not everything is obvious without pulling stuff apart. Happily the guy who assembled the engine had kept reasonable records, so we now know the final spec is: Bottom end: Standard block and crank Ross 86.5mm forgies, 9:1 compression Spool forged rods Standard main bolts Oil pump Spool billet gears in standard housing Aeroflow extended and baffled sump Head Freshly rebuilt standard head with new 80lb valve springs Mild porting/port match Head oil feed restrictor VCT disabled Tighe 805C reground cams (255 duration, 8.93 lift)  Adjustable cam gears on inlet/exhaust Standard head bolts, gasket not confirmed but assumed MLS External 555cc Nismo injectors Z32 AFM Bosch 023 Intank fuel pump Garret 2871 (factory housings and manifold) Hypertune FFP plenum with standard throttle   Time to book in a trip to Unigroup
    • I forgot about my shiny new plates!
    • Well, apparently they do fit, however this wont be a problem if not because the car will be stationary while i do the suspension work. I was just going to use the 16's to roll the old girl around if I needed to. I just need to get the E90 back on the road first. Yes! I'm a believer! 🙌 So, I contacted them because the site kinda sucks and I was really confused about what I'd need. They put together a package for me and because I was spraying all the seat surfaces and not doing spot fixes I decided not to send them a headrest to colour match, I just used their colour on file (and it was spot on).  I got some heavy duty cleaner, 1L of colour, a small bottle of dye hardener and a small bottle of the dye top coat. I also got a spray gun as I needed a larger nozzle than the gun I had and it was only $40 extra. From memory the total was ~$450 ish. Its not cheap but the result is awesome. They did add repair bits and pieces to the quote originally and the cost came down significantly when I said I didn't need any repair products. I did it over a weekend. The only issues I had were my own; I forgot to mix the hardener into the dye two coats but I had enough dye for 2 more coats with the hardener. I also just used up all the dye because why not and i rushed the last coat which gave me some runs. Thankfully the runs are under the headrests. The gun pattern wasn't great, very round and would have been better if it was a line. It made it a little tricky to get consistent coverage and I think having done the extra coats probably helped conceal any coverage issues. I contacted them again a few months later so I could get our X5 done (who the f**k thought white leather was a good idea for a family car?!) and they said they had some training to do in Sydney and I could get a reduced rate on the leather fix in the X5 if I let them demo their product on our car. So I agreed. When I took Bec in the E39 to pick it up, I showed them the job I'd done in my car and they were all (students included) really impressed. Note that they said the runs I created could be fixed easily at the time with a brush or an air compressor gun. So, now with the two cars done I can absolutely recommend Colourlock.  I'll take pics of both interiors and create a new thread.
    • Power is fed to the ECU when the ignition switch is switched to IGN, at terminal 58. That same wire also connects to the ECCS relay to provide both the coil power and the contact side. When the ECU sees power at 58 it switches 16 to earth, which pulls the ECCS relay on, which feeds main power into the ECU and also to a bunch of other things. None of this is directly involved in the fuel pump - it just has to happen first. The ECU will pull terminal 18 to earth when it wants the fuel pump to run. This allows the fuel pump relay to pull in, which switches power on into the rest of the fuel pump control equipment. The fuel pump control regulator is controlled from terminal 104 on the ECU and is switched high or low depending on whether the ECU thinks the pump needs to run high or low. (I don't know which way around that is, and it really doesn't matter right now). The fuel pump control reg is really just a resistor that controls how the power through the pump goes to earth. Either straight to earth, or via the resistor. This part doesn't matter much to us today. The power to the fuel pump relay comes from one of the switched wires from the IGN switch and fusebox that is not shown off to the left of this page. That power runs the fuel pump relay coil and a number of other engine peripherals. Those peripherals don't really matter. All that matters is that there should be power available at the relay when the key is in the right position. At least - I think it's switched. If it's not switched, then power will be there all the time. Either way, if you don't have power there when you need it (ie, key on) then it won't work. The input-output switching side of the relay gains its power from a line similar (but not the same as) the one that feeds the ECU. SO I presume that is switched. Again, if there is not power there when you need it, then you have to look upstream. And... the upshot of all that? There is no "ground" at the fuel pump relay. Where you say: and say that pin 1 Black/Pink is ground, that is not true. The ECU trigger is AF73, is black/pink, and is the "ground". When the ECU says it is. The Blue/White wire is the "constant" 12V to power the relay's coil. And when I say "constant", I mean it may well only be on when the key is on. As I said above. So, when the ECU says not to be running the pump (which is any time after about 3s of switching on, with no crank signal or engine speed yet), then you should see 12V at both 1 and 2. Because the 12V will be all the way up to the ECU terminal 18, waiting to be switched to ground. When the ECU switches the fuel pump on, then AF73 should go to ~0V, having been switched to ground and the voltage drop now occurring over the relay coil. 3 & 5 are easy. 5 is the other "constant" 12V, that may or may not be constant but will very much want to be there when the key is on. Same as above. 3 goes to the pump. There should never be 12V visible at 3 unless the relay is pulled in. As to where the immobiliser might have been spliced into all this.... It will either have to be on wire AF70 or AF71, whichever is most accessible near the alarm. Given that all those wires run from the engine bay fusebox or the ECU, via the driver's area to the rear of the car, it could really be either. AF70 will be the same colour from the appropriate fuse all the way to the pump. If it has been cut and is dangling, you should be able to see that  in that area somewhere. Same with AF71.   You really should be able to force the pump to run. Just jump 12V onto AF72 and it should go. That will prove that the pump itself is willing to go along with you when you sort out the upstream. You really should be able to force the fuel pump relay on. Just short AF73 to earth when the key is on. If the pump runs, then the relay is fine, and all the power up to both inputs on the relay is fine. If it doesn't run (and given that you checked the relay itself actually works) then one or both of AF70 and AF71 are not bringing power to the game.
    • @PranK can you elaborate further on the Colorlock Dye? The website has a lot of options. I'm sure you've done all the research. I have old genuine leather seats that I have bought various refurbing creams and such, but never a dye. Any info on how long it lasts? Does it wash out? Is it a hassle? What product do I actually need? Am I just buying this kit and following the steps the page advises or something else? https://www.colourlockaustralia.com.au/colourlock-leather-repair-kit-dye.html
×
×
  • Create New...