Leak sending coolant around engine bay in straight line; Water pump?

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GitEmSteveDave

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So I thought I noticed a wet spot under the Jeep when I left work, and when I stopped to fill up, I noticed a lot of liquid under the hood. Checked the oil, since the dimples in the mount under the oil filter were filled. Oil was fine. Got it home and hit it with the UV light and noticed the liquid fluoresced.

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Squeezed the rad hose, and no movement in the over flow tank. Started it up and I could watch it slowly spray across the engine bay parallel to the serpentine belt. Here's a video:

https://youtu.be/tIZivPEOf5I

I'm thinking it's coming from the water pump, So I tightened every nut I could see/reach ~1/4 turn, but my question is if I top off the fluid and monitor my temp, can I make it driving to work the next two days until my mechanic opens next week and I can drive it there?
 

TomB985

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Unfortunately I can't tell much from your video, but it really depends on a few things. From your description, the leak is relatively small. But remember that leaks never get better over time, only worse. So your current loss of coolant may get worse the next time you start it up, or it could remain nearly the same for a year or more(if you let it go forever!). There's just no way to tell how soon it's gonna get worse.

If your commute is only a few miles, I'd take the chance and run it. Much more than that and I wouldn't take the risk. As long as you keep coolant in the system you should be fine.
 

GitEmSteveDave

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Unfortunately I can't tell much from your video, but it really depends on a few things. From your description, the leak is relatively small. But remember that leaks never get better over time, only worse. So your current loss of coolant may get worse the next time you start it up, or it could remain nearly the same for a year or more(if you let it go forever!). There's just no way to tell how soon it's gonna get worse.

If your commute is only a few miles, I'd take the chance and run it. Much more than that and I wouldn't take the risk. As long as you keep coolant in the system you should be fine.


If your commute is only a few miles, I'd take the chance and run it. Much more than that and I wouldn't take the risk. As long as you keep coolant in the system you should be fine.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it's raining here in NJ right now, so it's tough to get a gauge on how bad the leak is. I am constantly monitoring the temp through my bluetooth OBD reader and Torque App. Didn't get over 206F on the way into work. I also put my old radiator cap on, b/c the gaskets on it are gone, and it lowers the pressure in the system, which helped when my radiator cracked a few months back.

My mechanic is great, but he's only open Mon-Fri, and doesn't have voicemail, so if I can get an appointment Monday morning for Wednesday, I can drop it off on the way to work and he'll hopefully have it done by the time I'm done. But since this happened on a Friday night, there is no way for me to get in touch with him to set an appointment.
 

GitEmSteveDave

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OK, I just went out and checked it in the darkness with my inspection light, and I can see the drip onto the solid part of the crank case pulley down towards the direction of the oil filter. From every diagram I see, it's the water pump.

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Which ***** because it's dripping despite the engine being off. But it's a leak, so hopefully it doesn't get any worse since it's already a hole in the gasket, so hopefully I just have to keep on top of it till my mechanic can fit me in.
 

turblediesel

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Water pump seal is probably shot. There's a "weep hole" in the water pump casting coolant can trickle out of to let you know you need a new water pump and you're driving on borrowed time and might be low on coolant. You don't want to overheat an aluminum engine.

The straight line spray pattern you noticed is a sling pattern from coolant reaching the belt.

That's my guess.
 

GitEmSteveDave

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Water pump seal is probably shot. There's a "weep hole" in the water pump casting coolant can trickle out of to let you know you need a new water pump and you're driving on borrowed time and might be low on coolant. You don't want to overheat an aluminum engine.

The straight line spray pattern you noticed is a sling pattern from coolant reaching the belt.

That's my guess.


I keep topping off, so I'm not low on coolant. I check it before/after every leg on my journey, in addition to having my tablet giving me real time temps as I'm driving via the Bluetooth OBD adapter. But yeah, I'm thinking seal as well. As soon as I can, I'm making an appointment with my mechanic to replace it, as draining fluids is above my comfortable level of work.

Here is a video of the leak as it's happening:https://youtu.be/Qu3TB8B8uUg
 

turblediesel

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Good you're keeping up with it.

I'm guessing you have the 3.7 v6 which has an air bleed allen head plug somewhere high on the engine. Go easy on the aluminum threads, not too tight.
 

tommudd

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What kind of coolant are you putting in there?
Just looking at the color there
 

GitEmSteveDave

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What kind of coolant are you putting in there?
Just looking at the color there

That image is not mine, found it on google. Just added in the red arrow to show the direction of flow.

I put Zerex G05 in. NO green has ever been put in by me.
 

Myke

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When my water pump had a leak it slung a "circle" line around the engine bay. I replaced the pump and the circle never came back. If you don't get a mopar pump I'd suggest Gates. I would also replace the t-stat and hoses if they've never been done before while you have the coolant drained.
 

GitEmSteveDave

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When my water pump had a leak it slung a "circle" line around the engine bay. I replaced the pump and the circle never came back. If you don't get a mopar pump I'd suggest Gates. I would also replace the t-stat and hoses if they've never been done before while you have the coolant drained.

Hoses were replaced when the radiator was replaced in Late May. I just made an appointment for Wednesday to get it done so I can drop it off and walk to work and I'll be getting paid to wait while the work is done! :winner_third_h4h:

I'll ask to have them do the thermostat while she's all apart, because if I don't do it now, I don't know when I'll have reason to, unless something leaks/breaks.
 

GitEmSteveDave

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OK, water pump and thermostat replaced. The temps seem OK, but I was checking the level in the overflow tank this morning when I got to work because she was heating up a little quicker than usual when I hit the end of my drive, which has a lot of lights/stops/gos, and the way I usually do that is squeezing the upper radiator hose and watching the level rise and fall in the overflow tank, b/c it's discolored. I squeezed and nothing. No movement and the hose was not as hot as it normally is, plus it felt empty. The overflow tank level was high.

I just checked it ~2 hours later and the level in the tank is almost to the low mark and when I squeeze the upper hose, the level in the tank moves and the hose feels like it has coolant, but not as full as I remember it previously.

Is this normal and what I felt previously abnormal, or is there a step the mechanic might not have known about when refilling the system after a change like the water pump that is unique to Jeeps? Thanks in advance.
 

TomB985

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OK, water pump and thermostat replaced. The temps seem OK, but I was checking the level in the overflow tank this morning when I got to work because she was heating up a little quicker than usual when I hit the end of my drive, which has a lot of lights/stops/gos, and the way I usually do that is squeezing the upper radiator hose and watching the level rise and fall in the overflow tank, b/c it's discolored. I squeezed and nothing. No movement and the hose was not as hot as it normally is, plus it felt empty. The overflow tank level was high.

I just checked it ~2 hours later and the level in the tank is almost to the low mark and when I squeeze the upper hose, the level in the tank moves and the hose feels like it has coolant, but not as full as I remember it previously.

Is this normal and what I felt previously abnormal, or is there a step the mechanic might not have known about when refilling the system after a change like the water pump that is unique to Jeeps? Thanks in advance.

Sounds to me like he may have not gotten all the air out of the system. It's not uncommon, and the fact that the level decreased and is responding when you pinch the hose means you're probably fine.

The service manual doesn't prescribe a special bleeding process.

2003 Jeep Liberty Service Manual said:
Fill system using a 50/50 mixture of ethyleneglycol antifreeze and low mineral content water.Fill pressure bottle to service line.and install cap.

NOTE: The engine cooling system will push any remaining air into the coolant bottle within about an hour of normal driving. As a result, a drop in coolant level in the pressure bottle may occur. If the engine cooling system overheats and pushes coolant into the overflow side of the coolant bottle, this coolant will be sucked back into the cooling system ONLY IF THE PRESSURE CAP IS LEFT ON THE BOTTLE. Removing the pressure cap breaks the vacuum path between the two bottle sections and the coolant will not return to cooling system.

(3) With heater control unit in the HEAT position, operate engine with pressure bottle cap in place.

(4) Add coolant to pressure bottle as necessary. Only add coolant to the pressure bottle when the engine is cold. Coolant level in a warm engine will be higher due to thermal expansion.
 

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