I Found A Leak Today..

[Benzino33]

As topic states, I found a leak under the car today. I drove down the freeway and back to buy somethin today, went back to a friend's house coz Im in the process of replacing all my intercooler hoses with good quality ones.

anyways as soon as i rock up and get under the car to do it, i jus saw a stream at the drivers side, had a tiny amount of oil, but after smelling it, found it was 98% coolant. I checked and saw it dripping from the middle of the undercarriage but more towards the driver side..I had some coolant and filled the radiator and bottle with water, checked under again,,no leak at all.ok, so i drove home, didnt push the car at all(no boost,not goin over 2.5 grand before shifting), kept checking my mirrors for any liquid on the road, even did a couple of rounds of my block to see if i left anything on the road,saw nothing. but as soon as i parked, it leaked for a bit, so left it, came back 2 hours later, checked the level in the bottle and it was still full ,,i still topped up the radiator anyway.

jus came bak now from a 2 minute trip up to the shops, and from parking there it left a bit on the carpark ground.

Now, ive never had a leak this big and the radiator's always been fine. I checked the oil level,still high throughout.

Im not gonna drive the car anymore till i kno wat to. do you guys think its jus a split or loose radiator hose?

am i better off taking it to a place that deals with turbos or is any alright mech good enough?

sorry for the long post, its jus as descriptive as i could get it.

also, my temp guage has not gone over the normal hot temp level at any stage.

If i get some time i'll try get under the car tomorro and hav a look.

Let me kno wat u guys think? i dnt wanna do any damage..any help is appreciated

cheers

Ben

[PIOTREK]

ben it can be one of a few things:

*it could be the heater core leaking, however that normally leaks inside the (passanger side). I really doubt thats it as u had it changed when u bought it. It could also be a loose hose around the heater core

*there could be a leak from your water pump and this normally gets progressive worse (and u can't miss it lol)

*i doubt that its a split hose from the radiator as the coolant will really just all come out

How sure are that its coolant? If u got the air con on, it will always drip and its only seen it when the car stops. It looks and feels like water but can be a bit milky and oily. I hope that you are not confusing this for coolant! it comes out to the air con compressor.

I would take it to a import machanic as it could be something like a leaking turbo line. I think that you are over stress the whole not driving it! just ensure that the bottle maintains a good level and reguarly check the radiator because if there is low pressure there ,it will not suck the cooland from the bottle.

hope this helps, if ya want i might be able to have a look at it later on in the week. It might be the skyline saying don't put the BOV on lol

one thing i would do though is when the car is hot, push the radiator hose to ensure that coolent is flowing with come pressure.

Take it easy

Peter

Edited October 6, 2009 by P1OTR

[Benzino33]

ben it can be one of a few things:

*it could be the heater core leaking, however that normally leaks inside the (passanger side). I really doubt thats it as u had it changed when u bought it. It could also be a loose hose around the heater core

*there could be a leak from your water pump and this normally gets progressive worse (and u can't miss it lol)

*i doubt that its a split hose from the radiator as the coolant will really just all come out

How sure are that its coolant? If u got the air con on, it will always drip and its only seen it when the car stops. It looks and feels like water but can be a bit milky and oily. I hope that you are not confusing this for coolant! it comes out to the air con compressor.

I would take it to a import machanic as it could be something like a leaking turbo line. I think that you are over stress the whole not driving it! just ensure that the bottle maintains a good level and reguarly check the radiator because if there is low pressure there ,it will not suck the cooland from the bottle.

hope this helps, if ya want i might be able to have a look at it later on in the week. It might be the skyline saying don't put the BOV on lol

one thing i would do though is when the car is hot, push the radiator hose to ensure that coolent is flowing with come pressure.

Take it easy

Peter

Hey bro, thanks for the reply.

Yeah i think I'll have a look at the heater core tomorro, just see exactly where its coming from.

well it had a lil bit of oil comin out at first but looked like coolant to me. i didnt put the air con on tho.

yeah i think theres low pressure, i could feel it wen i sqeezed the radiator hoses.

I'll let u kno how i go tomorro, but u can come have a look wen u can.

cheers bro

Ben

[PIOTREK]

it could also be your air con switch not turning off completely(faulty switch), check this by on idle switching air con off and on see if there is a change in idle (compressor turning on). I would be inclinded to say it could be a leak from the turbo line, as the heater core leaks into the car!

its pretty hard to tell if there is low pressure in the cooling system unless the car is over heating (meaning the thermostat is failing) and u run the risk of blowing a head gasket! I REALLY DOUBT that this is the case as it doesn't explain why it is leaking. Check to see if u have bubbles in the raditor too.

When u turn on the car (COLD START) open the radiator cap slight (not completely) and see if there is coolend about to come out (some will spill, alot if not done correctly!!!).

Call us if you want me to go through this in more details. Make sure u got some coolend, (really concentrated green stuff) so you see where the leak is coming from and ensure that its coolent!

[simpletool]

Could be one of about 10 -bypass hoses and connections under the intake manifold. I have just changed all my hoses. There is a collection of 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 inch hoses that are mostly water connections under the intake manifold and one into the block at the drivers side rear bottom of the block (and a 4-way splitter joined to that).

It CAN be done by yourself, but be patient and prepared. You will also need the factory heater hoses (4 of them) since it is a very tight space and the bends really cannot be done with generic hose as there is far too little clearance. The other smaller hoses can be made from generic straight hose (like Gates hose from Repco) and one short 120degree bend (19mm or 3/4inch hose). I suggest you replace all these bypass hoses - and the 1/4 inch 90 degree bend at the coolant return from the turbo at the read of the head near the intake.

I didn't quite put mine on correct at one join - the back bottom rear and it leaked cold after a few days of not leaking - so I'm still working on it today to sort that out.

Your hoses by now would be in very average condition.

Edited October 6, 2009 by simpletool

[Benzino33]

Yeah I had a look today, couldnt realy see much without taking the undercarrige off(which i didnt).I think i'll just take it to a jap mech shop to get the hoses replaced.

thought i might as well clean out stuff like afm and some of the cooler piping, found a bit of oil in there,,is that blow by? and is it bad for the turbo?

Hey peter, I tried the aircon at idle (hot and cold start) the idle rises a bit I opened the radioator at cold start and got nothing coming out, nothing tried to come out. his leak only seems to happen straight after driving.

if i end up having to take it to a shop, what u guys reccomend?

[turael]

i bet this is the aircon

ben what you need to do is find out what colour exactly the liquid is on the ground. you are running standard green coolant yes?

the stuff on the ground, is it green or is it clear?

[Benzino33]

i bet this is the aircon

ben what you need to do is find out what colour exactly the liquid is on the ground. you are running standard green coolant yes?

the stuff on the ground, is it green or is it clear?

Hey man, ok, did a few tests durin the day, drove up to work (30 seconds away), got out and could already see stuff leaking out the bottom wen i got out,,,so, finish my shift, come back pop the hood and check the level in the bottle, it was full, the radiator wasnt tho.. so, took her home, i parked for a bit, then reversed to look at wat had leaked out. looked green to me, smelt like coolant, but had a bit of a milky look to it upon closer inspection.

is this my aircon gone bye bye?

also,,on the way home i pressed the aircon button to see if it still worked, heard a "paff" kinda sound, i felt the vents, it was at 20degrees but it was freezing so i turned it off.. kinda felt like wen i pressed the aircon, it dumped some water out the car.

If it is the aircon, does it need replacing? drove the car later, loaded it up a bit and it boosts fine.

[turael]

generally the milky texture is what you see when mixing coolant and oil - like if you bust your headgasket, look under your oil cap and it will look milky, as water as gotten into the oil.

the milky look on the ground could just be because the coolant/water is dripping out over some oily parts of your car.

I thought it was condensation from your aircon, which happens with all cars (that have and use aircon).

Does your rad cap work properly? it should have a spring, which lets coolant travel out of the rad and into the overflow bottle. if this isn't working, it could be that your cooling system is getting way too much pressure in there and coolant is escaping out of a hose join or similar.

also, anywhere coolant leaks out will leave a tell trail white residue. you're going to need a torch and some patience to try and locate where it's coming from exactly.

fyi, this is a coolant leak: http://www.carrentals.co.uk/blog/wp-conten.../12/coolant.jpg

aircon 'leaks' are just clear water.

[Benzino33]

generally the milky texture is what you see when mixing coolant and oil - like if you bust your headgasket, look under your oil cap and it will look milky, as water as gotten into the oil.

the milky look on the ground could just be because the coolant/water is dripping out over some oily parts of your car.

I thought it was condensation from your aircon, which happens with all cars (that have and use aircon).

Does your rad cap work properly? it should have a spring, which lets coolant travel out of the rad and into the overflow bottle. if this isn't working, it could be that your cooling system is getting way too much pressure in there and coolant is escaping out of a hose join or similar.

also, anywhere coolant leaks out will leave a tell trail white residue. you're going to need a torch and some patience to try and locate where it's coming from exactly.

fyi, this is a coolant leak: http://www.carrentals.co.uk/blog/wp-conten.../12/coolant.jpg

aircon 'leaks' are just clear water.

well i hope its not my head gasket, i'll check the oil tomorro. I think its just coolant going over oily parts,, coz it still looks like coolant, with a tiny bit of oil. also, when the car stops,it only leaks a bit then stops(like a stream that will only just go past the front tire, depending on the slope of the road) and no further. I need to get the undercarriage off and have a real good look.

Im pretty sure my rad cap works, it always sucks a bit out wen i take it off.

will take time but i'll go slowly over it.

thanks for your advice man

Ben

[Benzino33]

Ok, got a breakthrough.. I jus finished work and parked at home, looked under the car, and sure enough it was leaking,i popped the bonnet to check the colour of the oil,,looks normal. i could hear the normal condensation dripping soung near the exhaust manifold, but i looked on the other side and just saw a steady drip coming from something right behing my oil filter. Is that the aircon unit? I put my hand under the drip, and it was just clear water. its a bit oily at the bottom of the block so i guess thats where the oiliness came from. I couldnt get enough space to see exactly whats loose but that will b the project for this afternon,,i'll see how it goes.

thanks for the replies guys.

Ben

[Benzino33]

update,,ok, found it was just the coolant hose that is directly above the oil filter which was leaing at one end. i tried re clamping it and pushing it onto the connection more but still leaked. i think the hose might be cracked, i put a layer of heat resistant sealant on and around it,,i'll give it a test run in a few hours

[Wacky Dee]

um that's your coolant intake hose ..change it, don't patch it up. It costs about $30 for a generic copy or $50 for a nissan one and about 30mins of work vs $3k for a new engine.

[Benzino33]

um that's your coolant intake hose ..change it, don't patch it up. It costs about $30 for a generic copy or $50 for a nissan one and about 30mins of work vs $3k for a new engine.

fair enough man, its just a temporary measure.im gonna buy another one and get the radiator flushed out and replace with coolant

[turael]

lawl

how can it be clear and yet its coming from your radiator? are you filling it up with plain water or something?

your HG is fine.

good to see you've found the problem.

[Benzino33]

lawl

how can it be clear and yet its coming from your radiator? are you filling it up with plain water or something?

your HG is fine.

good to see you've found the problem.

Nah man, by clear i mean, its got no oil in it,,its still green, but that green, i wanna flush the rad out and i bought a new bottle of coolant today,so gonna do that.

thanks for your help man

[turael]

no worries. hope you didn't buy tectaloy, that shit will eat your engine.

make sure you flush it out properly and fill up with something like genuine nissan/toyota/subaru coolant, or nulon longlife from supercheap

[Benzino33]

no worries. hope you didn't buy tectaloy, that shit will eat your engine.

make sure you flush it out properly and fill up with something like genuine nissan/toyota/subaru coolant, or nulon longlife from supercheap

haha i went to kmart, to get some, looked at the tecaloy,,was cheap as f*k, thought about it and just put it down,,gotta b a reason why its so cheap lol..i bought the much more expensive castrol one,dont wanna skimp on somethin like this