leaking coolant, where is it coming from ?

[indypwr]

hi guys! new owner here of 1994 v6 passport. i got it for real cheap with supposedly rebuilt engine with 80,000...
i noticed one thing though that there is coolant leak underneath but not sure where it was coming from. the leak is quite bad as i have to refill the radiator the next few day or so. anyone have the same problem or know which part of the coolant hoses need replacing ?

the car runs great, does not overheat...as far as i know...but i make sure i have enough coolant in there before i hit the road. after a drive, then i would notice the coolant leak .

thanks for any help.

[Ramblin Fever]

Welcome to 'Zu-land

Park the truck on a level surface and see if you can tell us where the coolant is dripping from - it could be any number of possibilities from a simple easy to reach coolant hose to a waterpump failing, or the harder to reach coolant hoses underneith the manifold. It could also be a freeze plug leaking, which is not very common, but has happened.

If it's dripping primarily in front of the oil pan (front of truck) it's most likely a hose on the front of the engine, or the waterpump; if the leak is dripping off the back of the engine, could be either the heater hoses (passanger side against firewall), or the coolant hoses/o-rings under the manifold.

Try not to be driving it, if at all possible for now, these engines are all aluminum and won't tolerate getting hot.

Good luck to you - let us know the outcome.

[surferfletch]

Shine a flashlight under the intake and on top of the block. Look way down in there. Just happens to be one of the harder spots to see coolant pooling.

[indypwr]

tks ramblin,
the dripping was coming in front of the oil pan so im assumming it could be the water pump failure. i took the truck to my mechanic today and will have it all checked out. is there anything else i shud change while swapping the pump into a new one? timing belt ? serpentine belt ? belt tensioner ? am i missing something else ?

tks again..

Originally Posted by Ramblin Fever

Welcome to 'Zu-land

Park the truck on a level surface and see if you can tell us where the coolant is dripping from - it could be any number of possibilities from a simple easy to reach coolant hose to a waterpump failing, or the harder to reach coolant hoses underneith the manifold. It could also be a freeze plug leaking, which is not very common, but has happened.

If it's dripping primarily in front of the oil pan (front of truck) it's most likely a hose on the front of the engine, or the waterpump; if the leak is dripping off the back of the engine, could be either the heater hoses (passanger side against firewall), or the coolant hoses/o-rings under the manifold.

Try not to be driving it, if at all possible for now, these engines are all aluminum and won't tolerate getting hot.

Good luck to you - let us know the outcome.

[amigo-2k]

Timing belt and the belt tensor for sure.

[indypwr]

ok, after inspection by my mechanic....water pump was the problem of the coolant leak. pump was very bad and all. and so, we're going to change the timing belt, idler pulley, cam seals and what ever else is involved .

i will let you guys know how it's turn out.

[surferfletch]

Eager to hear. I always suspect the coolant leaks I've had (freeze plugs, o-rings), when in actuality it looks like the water pump is the most common culprit. I haven't had a pump in for more than 80K or so, so I haven't had that leak. Knock on wood. At this point (nearing 160K) I'm going to go with the "If it ain't broke..." approach.

[trooperbc]

Originally Posted by indypwr

ok, after inspection by my mechanic....water pump was the problem of the coolant leak. pump was very bad and all. and so, we're going to change the timing belt, idler pulley, cam seals and what ever else is involved .

i will let you guys know how it's turn out.

what you want to do is:
**timing belt
**tensioner
[i]**idler pulley only if a problem is indicated on inspection
**water pump
**serpentine or accessory belt(s)

there really isn't anything else involved.
cam seals? what are they saying about that?




//bc

[Ramblin Fever]

Originally Posted by surferfletch

At this point (nearing 160K) I'm going to go with the "If it ain't broke..." approach.

Surferfletch - in your trucks case I would; your truck leads an easy life with just a normal daily commute, your waterpump and belt should last long past what mine had, which was 90k for the waterpump, belt was still in good shape, just figured I'd might as well change it.

If your Rodeo did a lot of out of town trips, towing, off-roading, or driving in the mountains, I'd say do it around 90-100k; but just typical in town stuff, you shouldn't have to worry about it probably indefinitely.

[surferfletch]

She's been coddled.

[indypwr]

not sure..maybe oil leaks from there and needed changing as well.....

Originally Posted by trooperbc

what you want to do is:
**timing belt
**tensioner
[i]**idler pulley only if a problem is indicated on inspection
**water pump
**serpentine or accessory belt(s)

there really isn't anything else involved.
cam seals? what are they saying about that?




//bc

[indypwr]

today, i got a word from my mechanic.....the truck runs real well.
he put new a/c belt as well because it wasn't there before and so the a/c blows "ice" cold. no more rising temps...thank goodness.

h'ever, he can still hear the ticking noise but not as much as before.
right now, the truck uses fram oil filter and i read it here that it's bad for the motor and makes the ticking, is that true ?

shud i change the filter to factory one ? shud i change the oil as well but to what grade ? full 10x30 sythetic ?


tks

[Ramblin Fever]

Yes, fram filters can cause ticking in these engines.

I personally will only use OEM Isuzu filters or Wix Gold 1334 (part#, I believe) filters on my engine; have had too many horrible ticking filters to mess with trying others.

Oil, I use to use Havoline 10w-30 regular oil for the 1st 150k miles; I have recently switched to Valvoline Maxlife 10w-30 regular oil and a Wix filter. I believe I will stay with this set-up indefinitely, engine is so quiet, I don't even have that very light tapping that it once did.

In my opinion, I see no point in synthetic and I say this mainly because this 3.2L Isuzu engine CRAVES and NEEDS clean oil consistently; do NOT and I repeat do NOT go over 3,500 miles for an oil change as the lifters on this engine will clog and cause loud tapping, and start to burn oil.

Personally, I would not go above 3k miles on an oil change interval because you don't know it's history.

Do you know if your mechanic replaced your timing belt tensioner?? This is a VERY important item when putting on a new belt, otherwise it will fail soon afterwards.

FWIW - I chose to have my mechanic change my camshaft and crankshaft seals while he was in that area simply because they were original and 160k old and oil can leak from these areas, and in massive amounts.

[indypwr]

hey ramblin, yeah...he change everything else; timing belt, idler pulley, and i think the cam seals as well.

i will have him change the oil and filter since the truck is still at the shop.

Originally Posted by Ramblin Fever

Yes, fram filters can cause ticking in these engines.

I personally will only use OEM Isuzu filters or Wix Gold 1334 (part#, I believe) filters on my engine; have had too many horrible ticking filters to mess with trying others.

Oil, I use to use Havoline 10w-30 regular oil for the 1st 150k miles; I have recently switched to Valvoline Maxlife 10w-30 regular oil and a Wix filter. I believe I will stay with this set-up indefinitely, engine is so quiet, I don't even have that very light tapping that it once did.

In my opinion, I see no point in synthetic and I say this mainly because this 3.2L Isuzu engine CRAVES and NEEDS clean oil consistently; do NOT and I repeat do NOT go over 3,500 miles for an oil change as the lifters on this engine will clog and cause loud tapping, and start to burn oil.

Personally, I would not go above 3k miles on an oil change interval because you don't know it's history.

Do you know if your mechanic replaced your timing belt tensioner?? This is a VERY important item when putting on a new belt, otherwise it will fail soon afterwards.

FWIW - I chose to have my mechanic change my camshaft and crankshaft seals while he was in that area simply because they were original and 160k old and oil can leak from these areas, and in massive amounts.

[Ramblin Fever]

Great - you're all set! Nice grab, btw on finding a young obviously well taken care of truck.