Losing Coolant... Again :(

[KrazyKong]

Very quick brief. Heater core failed last year, replaced it with a new one. 100kms later the radiator springs a bad leak, replaced it with a new one. Bought a nice new SPAC radiator cap. Flushed the system over and over. Filled with Nulon concentrate and de-mineralized water. Fingers crossed thinking all was good.... it's not

At first I thought I just hadn't bled the system well enough, even though I was meticulous in doing it the first time, then did it again just to be sure I wasn't nuts.

What's happening is the overflow bottle keeps draining. But the real scare is the coolant is dropping in the radiator itself. I don't see a leak at the bottle, rather I think the radiator is sucking the overflow into the system as intended when the levels get low. But it's happening slowly. So slow in fact it never leaves a trace like puddles or visible places where I can see water. Slow enough you can do hundreds of kms and not notice any difference. But fast enough that you could be in real trouble if you don't check the coolant after a few weeks.

What to do? Get a pressure test? Have I got more serious problems here? Or could it be something more benign like a micro crack in a hose?

[51NNA]

get it pressure tested, will give show you the problem

[KrazyKong]

Alright, will get a pressure test. Hopefully it will lead me in the right direction.

Any idea on a rough ballpark figure as to what a pressure test costs?

[KrazyKong]

Went to get a pressure test done today, and it took the radiator guy all of 5secs to determine my water pump is on it's way out. Oh joy. Do people replace this and do the timing belt themselves? or is this a case of paying to get it done properly. I know I could replace the water pump part, but the timing belt part I wouldn't have a clue.

[Ty1]

hey man thats not good to hear. but at least you found out sooner rather than later. When i got my pump and timing belt replaced i opted to pay someone else as I didn't feel comfortable attempting it myself. I think it ended up costing around the $400 mark but saved me a lot of hassle. Each to there own though. let us know how it goes or if you need a hand with something

[KrazyKong]

Sure thing Ty. I had a look on ebay for a water pump and someone is selling a brand new oem aftermarket one with timing belt for about $140. Not bad. Obviously there's labour to be tacked ontop of that. Do you remember who did yours for $400?

[Ty1]

damn thats real cheap for pump and belt! I got mine done up in brissie at ABS at sumner park. It's only a regular workshop..nothing flash but they did a good job.

[Mayuri Krab]

While your pump is out, you might want to replace all the stuff for the 100,000km (timing belt, bearings, seals) service if they haven't being done already.

Get a kit like this and just pay a decent workshop to change it.

I had similar experience with my cooling system & the forever patching/fixing stuff up...

In short:

Slightly overheated, replace thermostat & Rad Cap = problem fixed.

2 weeks later, plastic top tank cracked; got that replaced.

1 week later, water pump found leaking; replaced that, along with bearings & belts.

1 week later, o-ring around plastic tank leaked, got that repaired.

So basically 4 problems one after the other in like 1 month... LOL

[Mayuri Krab]

get it pressure tested, will give show you the problem

Slightly off topic, but would a pressure test show up anything if you have an internal leak?

[gotRICE?]

Went to get a pressure test done today, and it took the radiator guy all of 5secs to determine my water pump is on it's way out. Oh joy. Do people replace this and do the timing belt themselves? or is this a case of paying to get it done properly. I know I could replace the water pump part, but the timing belt part I wouldn't have a clue.

Its possible to do yourself if your confident in your mechanical skillzzz.. the difficult part is pulling of the harmonic balancer gruuuh! It is FAR easier on a hoist too.

I did my "100,000K service" in mine at 70,000, because i had a really noisy tensioner. It took my 6 hours to do mainly because i couldnt get the crank pulley off, and then couldnt get the CAS back on LOL.