Confusing Leak

[Ridleyj329]

I just recently changed out my own radiator and now theres an odd leak coming from my muffler. Its dirty water. What could have caused this and what may be a good solution? The muffler shakes real bad and makes a bit of a clanking noise that it didnt make before the change. Whats the connection between the two? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanx

[Willyum]

Before you changed the radiator did you overheat the engine? If you have blown a head gasket sometimes vapor and water will come out the tailpipe. (sometimes it will look like you have a steam engine) Are you losing coolant? A few drops of water out the exhaust is normal but what you say sounds like a more serious problem.

[Ridleyj329]

yes, the engine was over heated but naturally i had to lket it cool before i could touch it. it was really only a few drops not a major leak. sorry if i wasnt specific enough. i just got done driving it and feels fine. i suppose it just took a while for the new coolant to circulate. another thing, how reccemanded is it change out the thermostat after changing the radiator. like should i do it right a way or could i slide for a about a week or two. what kind of damage is done to a thermostat when a car over heats even if it was good before it started over heating? thanks

[TomV]

I do not believe that damage occurs to the tstat with a hot engine. The recommendation to change it with a radiator replacement comes from the fact that you already have the coolant drained and the tstat only costs about $6.00. The extra labor is small (if you are even charged for it) compared to the radiator work, so why not? Better than to have to replace it in the future when you are charged fully for the work and after you have been inconvenienced by its failure.

[Willyum]

I wouldn't worry a lot about the thermostat, now days they pretty much last the life of the car. What you need to be concerned about is if there was any engine damage from your overheat.

[Ridleyj329]

as far as im aware of the was no other engine damage at least none that wasnt already there. how do i tell if there is or not? i think im gonna replace the the thermostat any way. it could hurt and at this rate it could only help

[2001BlackSES]

If you want to know the overall condition of your engine, have a leakdown test perfomed, or a compression test. Leakdown test is more accurate/informative. Also, monitor engines oil consumption rate. Generally speaking, for every 3,000 miles driven the engine should not burn more than 1 quart of oil. If so, pistons/cylinders/rings are excessively worn, possiblely due to overheating/improper maintenance practices. Hope this information helps you in some way.

[Ridleyj329]

just changed my own oil with Lucus stabilizer and volvoline maxlife. all is well so far in that department. what exactly is a leakdown test? could i do one my self or would i have to take it to a shop? if i have to take it some where how much might it cost and would it be worth the price?

[2001BlackSES]

You have to have a special piece of expensive test equipment to do a leakdown test. Not sure on current prices on this. You could do your own compression test and then at least you would know if your compression is balanced between all the cylinders. I would recommend at least doing this since the engine has recently overheated and you may have damaged a head gasket, or warped/cracked a head. At least then you would know if you still have balanced compression in all cylinders. A leakdown test is similar to a compression test. In this test pressure is applied to each cylinder seperately and then a computerized machine measures compression leakdown rates of each cylinder. This test can tell you a whole about the health of your engine. A compression test just shows you, yeah the engine is still able to squish air effectively. For now, just do a compression test and if it's ok, then just monitor oil consumption and wait and see. That's what I'd do anyway, but I only have to drive 6 miles a day to work and back. I'm sure there is someone out there that could explain all of this better than me. I'm just going off what I've heard from others.

[robz84monte]

the leak down testers are 50 bucks or so at summit but you need a compressor to be able to use it. the test is easy to do and very informative. (i've never used a leak down tester that used a computer.)
to use the kind that summit sells you remover a spark plug (or all of them) thread the tester into the hole, remove the air cleaner, oil cap, pressure cap, and oil dipstick, and also block the throttle plates wide open. next put the cylinder that your going to test to TDC on the compression stroke(actually you should do that before you thread the tester into the hole) then apply air pressure to the tool (about 100 psi.)
record the readings and do this for all remaining cylinders the pressure drops shouldn't vary too much. if one of the cylinders is low-80psi or less listen at the throttle body, oil fill hole, dipstick, exhaust, and check for any bubbles in the coolant. any air escaping from these components will tell you where the problem is.

i hope this little ramble makes some sense, if not, or if you need some more info, don't hesitate to ask.

[2001BlackSES]

Excellent information robz84monte. I've never actually used a leakdown tester. I just was going off what I've heard about them. Sounds like something you can do yourself Ridleyj329. If you want to know the condition of your engine you now have 2 different options available to you.