new headgasket, new hoses, still leaking coolant
- Thread starter 585Soup
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seems like there is a hose that runs behind the head that is a pain in the ass to get too. I think I remember mine cracking years ago before I went jz. Some of the 7m guys will hopefully chime in with some helpful info. Good luck.
you could be leaking at the intake manifold gasket that goes between the head and lower runner. theres a coolant line barb off the lower runner that that gasket seals. i like to put a light amount of silicone around it to be sure it wont leak when installing them. also to simplify things i bypass all the coolant lines going to the iac and throttle body. you just run one hose from the lower runner barb fitting to the coolant hard line that runs around the block. really there aren't many places for coolant to leak on that side by the front knock sensor. could also maybe be a freeze plug but those tend to not leak. id bet its the barb off the lower runner or the intake gasket. really though if its leaking bad enough to make a puddle should be somewhat easy to find.
yeah i pulled the barb out and cleaned the threads up and the fitting quite well. there was some rust on it. i also added silicone to the threads of the fitting, silicone on the fitting itself so it sealed the hose.. and silicone on the gasket were the intake runners meet the head.
oh and the hoses that run from that fitting to the IAC, back to the hose that runs around the block, are all new hoses. it seems to be leaking just as much as it did when i thought it was the head gasket.
what are the odds the block is cracked? all of these leaks started after i put an alluminum radiator in. i need to check the cap to make sure its the right pressure rating.. the only other thing i can think of is the block is warped. but that would be so rare since the cars never over heated to my knowledge and it ran fine with no leaks until i swapped that radiator
what are the odds the block is cracked? all of these leaks started after i put an alluminum radiator in. i need to check the cap to make sure its the right pressure rating.. the only other thing i can think of is the block is warped. but that would be so rare since the cars never over heated to my knowledge and it ran fine with no leaks until i swapped that radiator
Doubtful that the block is cracked. Cap might be a higher pressure than stock but it's probably just a hose or a connection that's loose or cracked. UV dye will help like you said, I wouldn't worry.
its prolly the cap causing the leak. putting an aluminum radiator shouldn't cause an issue but running the stupid high pressure cap like the mishimoto come with will. its not designed to be at that pressure and will make things leak that normally wouldn't. try the different cap then go from there. even though im still confused how you can't see where its leaking from or at least narrow it down better......
wow that's crazy you're the first one i've ever seen have that happen. can you see where exactly it starts to pool up? id find the spot and go over it with a small angle grinder with sanding disk then mix up a little jb weld and give it a shot. the coolant system isn't under a ton of pressure id bet it'll fix it. the motor in my truck the crank key way was a little messed up and i just put the key in it and used jb weld to fill the area left that was like 4 years ago and tons of miles and is still fine to this day. when i did it i was like well it could last a week or years i guess i'll find out cause i bought the bottom end used from the picknpull and i saw how it had a blue block and tag from rebuild company but didnt know the crank key way was messed up so i had nothing to loose and its been good for years lol
Me neither, I've never seen or heard of that happening. I still don't believe it haha...are you absolutely sure it's not dripping down the side of the block and making its way over there?
You wouldn't want to sell it with a known problem. If you can fix it like mentioned above, I'd try that. Seem like a very small problem to start talking about selling it. I will tell you that these cars do have a way of creating small problems from time to time, so you may want to sell it if you're not willing to work on it. They're roughly 25 years old and aren't new. Good luck either way.
If you sell it you really need to disclose that problem. Hopefully your conscience won't allow you to do that to another person.
It does seem real odd the block would crack there. Here's my suggestion: Get a radiator pressure test kit with the correct cap so you can hand pump pressure into the system. Sit there and stare at that area while it's slowly pressurized and use an inspection mirror to look above the "crack" area. There are coolant lines above that area so it may be spraying down without leaving an easy trail.
If it is the block cracked the JB Weld idea would be worthwhile. otherwise you'd have to have it welded or just scrap the whole block.
Very strange.
It does seem real odd the block would crack there. Here's my suggestion: Get a radiator pressure test kit with the correct cap so you can hand pump pressure into the system. Sit there and stare at that area while it's slowly pressurized and use an inspection mirror to look above the "crack" area. There are coolant lines above that area so it may be spraying down without leaving an easy trail.
If it is the block cracked the JB Weld idea would be worthwhile. otherwise you'd have to have it welded or just scrap the whole block.
Very strange.
I had to diagnose a mysterious water leak on a 7m recently (after fully reco'ing and r&r'ing the head). Water was going inside the motor, had no idea where from but it was pissing into the sump.
I modified a spare radiator drain plug by stacking a couple of extra o-rings so it could flow water instead of sealing but not drip/leak, then fitted 2 feet or so of clear hose to the drain port on the radiator itself, installed the plug back in the radiator and snaked it up the front of the engine, to just over the top. now you have a gauge to see where (what height) the leak is. fill the radiator with water and wait a few minutes, gravity and hydraulics will do the rest. take note of the height where the water level stops dropping completely, and your leak is on that line somewhere around the engine/cooling system...
this ended up pointing me to freeze plug in the front of block behind the timing case which was rusted out, but saved pulling the head again or even stripping the whole motor.
if you are suspecting a cracked block you may need to do this test with the engine hot but it is a 5 minute test that can rule out a whole lot of potential leak spots (ie is it above or below the HG line)
I modified a spare radiator drain plug by stacking a couple of extra o-rings so it could flow water instead of sealing but not drip/leak, then fitted 2 feet or so of clear hose to the drain port on the radiator itself, installed the plug back in the radiator and snaked it up the front of the engine, to just over the top. now you have a gauge to see where (what height) the leak is. fill the radiator with water and wait a few minutes, gravity and hydraulics will do the rest. take note of the height where the water level stops dropping completely, and your leak is on that line somewhere around the engine/cooling system...
this ended up pointing me to freeze plug in the front of block behind the timing case which was rusted out, but saved pulling the head again or even stripping the whole motor.
if you are suspecting a cracked block you may need to do this test with the engine hot but it is a 5 minute test that can rule out a whole lot of potential leak spots (ie is it above or below the HG line)
