m42 overheating

[TooTall90]

my car was heating up real bad last week, sure enough the water pump was bad. so i got that replaced, but now it is leaking anti-freeze, which it wasnt doing before. i figure something wasnt done right when putting the engine back together. so i got home safely after putting more coolant in it, still leaking. i take a look at the undercarriage and see that its leaking from the spot where the engine meets the tranny. i didnt have a lot of time because i had to go to work, but i tell my dad to take a look at it.

when i get back from work he tells me it could be 1 of two things; a hose that is located around the dash is broken or not plugged so it leaking. the second one throws me off, he says there is some sort of plug in the transmission that could be broken and to be replaced we need to drop the transmission, but the part only cost like 5 bucks.

soo what do you guys think? im not mechanical genius by any means and my hectic work/school schedule has prevented me from really taking a look at those things. im gonna go back to the guy that did the waterpump install for me and ask what the heck did he do. but any ideas on whats going on or what this trans. plug is? :crazy: im going insane and i need my car so i wont have to get rides to school/work

p.s. can someone please confirm that the coolant tank on the m42 rad does not fill up all the way, only to the halfway mark that says "cold" or something? i read this before but cant remember where. my folks would always say that its low on coolant but when i checked it was there at the halfway mark.

thanks.

[individualist]

Question 1: Your dad may be referring to a freeze plug, however there are no freeze plugs where the trans meets the block nor is there any coolant in your trans, so now you know it's not coming from there. Check the hoses like he said and hopefully you'll find an easy solution like coming from the hoses connected to the heater core or head? The 3rd possibility may be a cracked head or blown head gasket ("my car was heating up real bad last week") and in this scenario you would seem to have a rather nasty problem.

Question 2: The expansion tank (white plastic reservoir next to the radiator) should be at the "cold" mark when the coolant is indeed cold.

[monty23psk]

Start answering the second question. This is the line where the coolant should be around when the engine is stone cold. Normally it is a little under as coolant evaporates. Don't add anymore and only when it is cold.

Try to help on the original issue. You need to look closely to where the leak is coming from. Is it on driver side or passenger side. There a some coolant line behind the head and then go to the heater core. Maybe the dash hose your dad is talking about is the heater core. If the core was leaking you would leak in the car and smell coolant. It could be a hose on the top and if your car was overheating, you might have expanding the rubber hoses more and now the clamp is not tight enough and coolant is leaking. Regarding dropping the engine to fix is coolan issue, not likely.

[TooTall90]

thanks alot guys ill be sure to check all these things. however the cracked head/blown head gasket scared the shit out of me. when i said last week it was really accurate.

it heated up on Thursday night, i parked it then didn't drive it at all till Sunday night after the water pump was replaced, drove good home, then it started to heat up again on Monday so it was only really driven on Thursday and Monday when it was heating up.still think it could be the head?

edit: also are there any dead give aways thats the head is cracked or blown gasket?

[monty23psk]

If HG is blown you can have oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil, I forget. I believe its coolan in oil, so your oil will be milky, like chocolate milk.

[TooTall90]

ill check that out then. will it show on the dipstick?

[FredK]

Yes, if coolant is mixing with oil, it will show on the dipstick. However, head gaskets can blow in different ways. Between cylinders, out the back, etc. So, it's not always going to show up in the crankcase or in your coolant expansion tank, at least not immediately.

A surefire way to diagnose your leakage problem would be to do a leakdown test. A compression test may work as well.

[TooTall90]

im gonna try to do all these things but hopefully im just over reacting. thanks for all the help guys

[Slick92GS-R]

on the back of the head 'driver's side' there is hose that runs to the head ---check that hose for cracking or leaks

overheating..u should also check for a stuck thermostat

[TooTall90]

it was leaking coolant from the hose to the heater core, not a blown head gasket. got that replaced now it no longer over-heats. what would i do w/o r3v? thanks everyone.

edit: rather than start a new thread,...like i mentioned earlier in my original post i recently had my water pump replaced, it seems like they did a questionable job, because now my belts are squeeling (loudly) intermittenley and they make a noise thats not normal, hard to explain what kind of noise, all the time(not as loud as squeeling) . could it be that the belts are too loose or tight? thanks in advance.

[monty23psk]

It could be both. Also which belt is making the noise. You can remove the PS and AC and work on gettnig the main belt okl. Also you can spray something to see if it quiet it down, just search for what. I think carb cleaner but not sure.

[TooTall90]

hmm Ps belt? my PS fluid leaks out therefore i have no powersteering atm think the squeeling is related?

i used to think i had a good car, sprinkled with a only a few problems. now im starting to think otherwise lol

[monty23psk]

The pump itself can squeal or moan.

[TooTall90]

yeah i know that moan, its when the pump runs dry or has air in it right? i know its not that. im almost sure its coming from the belts. im such a noob when it comes to this

[monty23psk]

Besides interanl issues, if you are low on fluid it will moan. Mine has a small leak and you notice it is low with the moan.