Never seen anything like this before

Redog · 01-11-2011, 06:56 AM

OK you all know that my water pump is leaking, so I'm going to replace it on Saturday.

With the leaking pump, my low coolant light came on after starting the car, I turned the car off and put in more coolant. The low coolant light is STILL ON!! The coolant will not move down in the bottle

Temp is good, still have heat, but that's for now. Think about it, lieaking coolant, no way to put more in, do the math

When the car was sitting and off, the coolant bottle filled up.

Thermostat new last year at the same time is was switched to Prestone all makes and models. 50/50 mix. Overflow tube is mostly dry. Nothing was comming out until AFTER I overfilled the system and it came out while I was filling it. Same results when I left the cap "loose"

What do I do? I neeed the car to get back and forth to work and then to my mom's house on Saturday to fix the water pump (total 23 miles over the next 5 days)

Redog · 01-11-2011, 08:24 AM

Drove to work about 45 minutes ago and did this.

Drove with the cap loose, light came on. Alomst at work, the temp gauge started to climb and was getting NO heat. Turned on my fan switch when the gauge go to half way, heat kicked on and gague started to drop, only to have the temp go to 1/4 and heat went away.

I took the bottle out and tilted it a bit in the parking lot and restarted the car, all the coolant went down into the bottle, but came back to the back of the bottle.

Could this be a clog somewhere?

Ttop191 · 01-11-2011, 08:45 AM

A clog was my first guess...When you switched from dex-cool did you make sure you got all of the dex out first? i.e. running a garden hose through everything until clean water came out?

Redog · 01-11-2011, 09:53 AM

Just got off the phone with my mech.

He thinks it could be clogged or an huge air bubble in the system due to the fluxing gauge. Try the bleeding the system tonight.

Makes sense since the system will NOT pressurize and taking the cap off a hot coolant system with no hiss or vomiting is not normal

Ttop191 · 01-11-2011, 09:54 AM

is your leak before or after the pump?

Redog · 01-11-2011, 11:14 AM

The leak is the pump itself

Replacing it on Saturday

Ttop191 · 01-11-2011, 12:48 PM

well i meant is it the connection to the pump, because if its at the pump inlet, the pump could be burning out because its not getting enough coolant through it, the coolant acts like a lubricant within the pump so it could be burning it out.

Redog · 01-11-2011, 01:11 PM

After looking at the new pump, even though I cannot see them, but the way it's comming out, I'd have to say it's comming out of the weep holes

WhiteV6 · 01-11-2011, 01:59 PM

My friends achieva did this, and it was the radiator leaking where the end tanks are crimped on. Rent a pressure tester from autozone and see if you can locate any other leaks. I doubt the water pump is your only problem.

xXManwhoreXx · 01-14-2011, 10:33 PM

Why have you not flushed the system yet?

Ryan from Ohio · 01-14-2011, 10:56 PM

I would think if Ken is changing out the water pump he will put the garden hose to it. Take out the T Stat also so you get a good douching. I would replace it while you are at it. Its $8 or so and if your water pump is going out you might not be cooling the engine enough and damage the t stat. Cheap insurance.

cavaliers60 · 01-14-2011, 11:05 PM

I remember when my water pump went out... I saw steam coming from under the hood and smelt coolant...

Quick trip to Autozone, and I changed the pump in the parking lot.

Redog · 01-15-2011, 02:39 AM

T stat was replaced less that a year ago. System was flushed when the head gasket was done, also less than a year ago.

UPDATE: Been working a CRAZY amount of OT. I was going to change it this morning, and change my oil (it's time) and change my mom's oil as well, however I worked 4am to 4pm on Friday to come back to work at 12am Saturday morning (11:59 Friday night) and work to 8am. They are talking about forcing us till noon today. I have to pick up my son at 3:30 and take him home at 6:30 on Sunday night and probably go back to work at 8pm Sunday night and work until 4am (or 8am) Monday morning (all double time Sunday and Holiday) Going to a cold, dank, rainy day on Tuesday, so Monday it's do or die!

With all that, after I bleed the system on Tuesday night. The system WAS holding pressure and hissed like a mofo when I cracked the bleeder valve for a second and then pissing coolant like it should. Hasn't giving me a problem until 11:45 Friday night on the way to work when the Power Steering when out for about 15 seconds. Still changing the pump. Kinda looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. It's going to be 28* and very windy on Monday