Coolant Leak

[96se165+]

I have a '96 SE with a 3.1 v6 w/165K+ miles and have been informed by a mechanic that I have a coolant leak from my Timing Chain Cover. Is this possible? Others have told me that coolant shouldn't be in that area to be leaking from that cover. We were hoping for a water pump going bad. Any ideas or could they be right?

[kknobl]

Originally Posted by 96se165+

I have a '96 SE with a 3.1 v6 w/165K+ miles and have been informed by a mechanic that I have a coolant leak from my Timing Chain Cover. Is this possible? Others have told me that coolant shouldn't be in that area to be leaking from that cover. We were hoping for a water pump going bad. Any ideas or could they be right?

I've heard of oil leaking from the Timing Chain cover, but never coolant.

If you do have a leak from that general area, it very well could be your water pump.

Kevin

[richtazz]

The woater pump actually mounts into the timing cover, so it's possible that it could leak from where the coolant passes to the block. I've never heard of such a thing happening, and the water pump is teh most likely culprit. IF you trust your mechanic, then he could b right. If you don't know him, he could be trying to rip you off. The water pump on a 3.1 is a 45 minute job, 20 minutes of which is scraping the old gasket off. Loosen the water pump pulley bolts, take the serp belt off, take the 4 pulley bolts off, remove the 5 water pump mounting bolts and it's off. The only other difficult part is bleeding the cooling system of air.

[96se165+]

Thanks, I trust my mechanic but he has been honest that he hasn't worked on this engine much.......I also trust my dad who is the one that said the coolent shouldn't be coming from there. I was reading a lot of the other posting and noticed a comment about a "weeping hole", never heard of that. Is it in the back of the pump near the block? The coolent leaks like someone turned on a faucet, just a little. It runs down the block behind the waterpump and onto the belt making everything a mess.

[wlkjr]

Originally Posted by 96se165+

Thanks, I trust my mechanic but he has been honest that he hasn't worked on this engine much.......I also trust my dad who is the one that said the coolent shouldn't be coming from there. I was reading a lot of the other posting and noticed a comment about a "weeping hole", never heard of that. Is it in the back of the pump near the block? The coolent leaks like someone turned on a faucet, just a little. It runs down the block behind the waterpump and onto the belt making everything a mess.

The weephole is about 1/8 to 3/16" diameter hole that lets coolant leak past bearings that have gone bad. It is usually on the underside of the water pump and hard to see from above. I'd suspect the water pump first and replace it and go from there.

[richtazz]

IF the leak is from the water pump area, it's the water pump. As wlkjr stated, the weep hole is in the water pump casting and can be hard to see with the pump mounted to the engine. The water pump is very simple to change, and you can get a brand new (not rebuilt) aftermarket pump for $20-$25, so change out the pump and see if your leak goes away.

[96se165+]

Thanks guys, wish I was a mechanic so I could do this myself!

[spacepiston]

You don't have to be a mechanic to work on your car. You just need a set of tools and knowledge of what needs to be done. A Haynes manual can turn any willing person into a shady tree mechanic.

[ericn1300]

It's an easy DIY project and you don't even need to buy the manual. It's posted at Autozone.com. here's the link:

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d800ecb0a.jsp

[wlkjr]

Originally Posted by 96se165+

Thanks guys, wish I was a mechanic so I could do this myself!

Everybody's got to start somewhere. You might be amazed at the simple things you can do to save yourself some money. I'm not a good mechanic, but I started taking my grandmother's porch swing apart when I was about 4 and my mother threw away my tricycle because I took it apart so many times they got tired of putting it back together. I'm still a lot better at taking apart than putting back together, but I like trying. If I mess it up, I just call someone else to fix it. Have saved myself a ton of money the last 35 years doing the small stuff like plugs, wires, alternators, water pumps, starters, and other externals. I don't venture internal very often.