My fiancee's 04 xA has been leaking coolant rapidly recently. At first it looked like it was coming from the water pump, which was recently changed about 5 months or so ago. I pulled it off, checked for cracks or any loose screws...nothing. I changed the radiator cap and ran it again...still leaking. SO...I looked and noticed the leak coming from above the water pump. Could it be the upper radiator hose? The hose I am looking to take off gets condensation on it and looks like it goes to the A/C. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

So I checked the hose and no leak from the hose. The leak is coming from around the water pump area...just above it. Any ideas?

 

So the coolant is leaking out onto the ground? Or you are just noticing the coolant reservoir level is dropping? Coolant and coolant lines are pretty easy to follow. There are a lot of lines running to the block, head, ect. You are going to want to make sure it's a line, otherwise you have a cracked block or head, which doesn't sound too right because you noticing it so much outside the block. With that car being almost 10 years old, those cheap water lines crack and become crappy really easily, so I'm sure it's just that, or a connection to a smaller water neck is weak. Check everything because water/coolant falls and leaks everywhere and it can be deceiving as where it really is coming from.

 

Thanks! It is leaking on the ground and at a steady rate. I've checked all the lines and hoses. I put a new water pump on about 5 months ago and after doing some research it might even be coming from the weep hole of the water pump. I'm not sure how that could happen after only 5 months though. I looked above and below the water pump and it looks like it's coming from the area closest to where the belt is.

 

Hmm... so what is all wet? Is the block wet at all? or literally nothing is wet except for the water pump? If just the water pump is wet, then you are probably looking at a bad pump which does seem crazy, but you can never count it out even only after 5 months. Not every product lasts as long as it should. And all the lines to the pump are good? I just sounds like a line issue.. a tiny tear will cause steady dripping, but is very hard to tell when everything is wet.

 

Right underneath the water pump and the ground gets all wet. It doesn't look to me like the engine block is wet at all. it appears to be coming from the pump right behind the pulley. You can see coolant traveling along some cables underneath...again from the water pump. When I took the water pump off initially, I noticed coolant coming out of a hole on the water pump so I replaced the gasket and put it back. I ran the car for about 5 to 10 mins before it started leaking again too. After looking around online, I noticed that it might be coming through the "weep hole". But again the thing is only 5 months old. I think I am going to replace the water pump again and see if that fixes it. But any other suggestions would be good to. And thanks for helping!

 

Yeah, it is definitely the water pump then. Hopefully you are getting a good gasket seal. So you say the lines were wet too. Did you take a closer look at those? And when you replaced your pump five months ago, what was the reason? Leakage or just time for a new one? Hopefully it wasn't because of leakage also! But yeah, replace it and give it another shot. Where did you get the pump this last time? I think there might be a product warranty on it from where you got it, I know they do that sometimes, especially if it failed already. Just replace it.

 

I looked close at the lines and noticed that the water was leaking from the pump onto the lines. I replaced the pump five months ago because she had a small leak coming from the seal. The old pump looked good but since I was replacing the gasket and seal anyway, I decided to just go ahead and put a new water pump in. Now that is turning out to be a bad idea. I got the pump at AutoZone and it's a Duralast. I'm going to stop by tonight or tomorrow morning and check on any warranties and pick up a new one.

 

Heck! I'd bring the bugger in to AutoZone! And I'd ask the fella, "Have you ever heard of a water pump only lasting 5 months?! The brand is 'Duralast', hence, 'last'!!" That's what I'd do, and ask for a new one. Sorry man, hope you get it fixed. Update us when you install the new one. And when you install it, make sure the seal and gasket is good and square, this way you know this isn't an operator error.

 

I will do just that. Thanks man! I will report back tomorrow.

 

I've always been told that once coolant comes out of the weep hole, a seal inside the water pump has broken and a replacement is needed. Let us know how it goes.

 

So I swapped out the water pump and now there is no leak...however...the temp light is still blinking after I changed and the check engine light is on. So...I guess now that the leak is fixed I will check the thermostat since I have no idea what else it could be.

 

Did you remove any air that might be trapped in the coolant?

 

No and I'll be honest...I'm not sure how to do that..sadly. I'm learning all kinds of new things with this car though. lol I tightened the drive belt a bit this morning and drove it around a little. The battery seems to be charging back up good but the solid red temp light comes on. I'm hoping it's just a case of needing more coolant and not the thermostat.

 

Let the car cool off completely. Have a bottle of 50/50 Coolant/Water Mix near you. Remove the radiator cap and turn on the car. You should slowly either see the water start to rise or bubbles coming out. The bubbles are trapped air. Once the bubbles stop, and the water starts to seep out, you can put the cap back on.

You most likely already know this but just in case you don't, always check the coolant level when the car is cold.

 

Thanks for the help! I did just that, let the car run for a while, drove it to the store and back. Then noticed the water pump squeaking loudly for a few mins then it would stop. I drove it again a few mins ago and it did not squeak at all and drove great! So I am thinking that the water pump just needed to run for a while to "break it in". At least I hope that's the case because now the car is running good!

 

That's odd. Are you sure it wasn't a belt that was squealing? Did you see any bubbles come out? Did the light go away?

 

I'm pretty sure. I adjusted the tension and it seems to be the water pump but again the sound went away after I drove it for a while. I didn't see any bubbles but the light did go away. I'm driving it to school today so wish me luck! And thanks for all of your help!