coolant leak

[rmuller]

Trying to narrow down a coolant leak on my girlfriends D2... headgaskets were done about a year ago, and it didn't leak for most of the year, but recently it started leaking a good amount. I replaced the valley gasket last week, and that didn't seem to stop it.. It is leaking externally onto the diff... it seems like it is leaking onto the passenger side motor mount first.. I was going to tear into the head gasket next, but seeing where its dripping now, was wondering if it could be anything else? Water pump perhaps? any ideas of what else could leak down that path (and, can a head gasket even leak that way?)

Thanks

 

[RVRSRVC]

Timing cover down the pan onto the mount, more so on the driver's side. There is an o-ring on the heater pipe and the radiator pipe into the intake- did you get to those?

 

[rmuller]

I will take a look, I didn't get a good chance to go over it as it was getting dark last night when I noticed it was dripping onto the engine mount. Just looking for some possibilities of where to look... thanks for the advice!

 

[edthediscoman]

Weird, but check the water pump bolts, see if they put the thread sealer in there. Obviously check the hoses.

 

[sven]

Go borrow a coolant pressure tester from advanced auto/autozone. I just did this on my D1 and found tons of leaking hoses and of course head gasket leaks. Super easy to use and you will find your leaks real quickly.

 

[rmuller]

Go borrow a coolant pressure tester from advanced auto/autozone. I just did this on my D1 and found tons of leaking hoses and of course head gasket leaks. Super easy to use and you will find your leaks real quickly.

What sort of indications are shown when leaks are found? Like, how would I tell if it's a hose, or something such as a head gasket with the coolant pressure tester?

 

[sven]

What sort of indications are shown when leaks are found? Like, how would I tell if it's a hose, or something such as a head gasket with the coolant pressure tester?

It simulates a fully pressurized system without having the engine running. Do it on a cold engine and antifreeze will drip out of the leaky areas. I found a small stream of antifreeze at the head corners. I set the tester at 12 PSI.

 

[MotoBando]

Clean it good, run it, and get underneath it to watch the source. My old engine had a similar leak and it was coming from the headgasket - passenger side - front. If the gaskets were not done right (new bolts, sequence, angle, etc) it's just a matter of time. Hopefully its a timing cover bolt needing thread sealant or something else simple. That's why it's best to clean it good and watch where it comes from before really tearing into it.