Coolant leak after water pump repair

ANSWER : Hello. The most common cause of a random coolant loss on this vehicle is a leaking intake manifold gasket. It commonly starts leaking coolant into the engine, which will be burnt off or will leak externally. I typically do a pressure test and a dye test on the system first to see if I can locate an external leak. If nothing is found, then I do a block test to make sure that there is not a head gasket issue. If nothing shows up there, then I replace the intake gaskets. If you need to have this done, consider YourMechanic, as a certified mechanic can come to your home or office to diagnose the coolant leak and replace the intake gaskets if necessary.

ANSWER : Hello. You can just replace the water pump in this case. Although, the cost of just the timing belt is fairly negligible in comparison to the total labor of the job. My estimator says the water pump is a 6.5 hour job. Multiply that by whatever the shop rate is and you have the total labor without parts. You end up saving about $100 or less on parts if you only replace the pump.

The deciding factor will be the condition of the timing belt. If it has problems, you won’t be saving yourself any money by reusing it. In addition, there are seals and pulleys that may need to be replaced as well.

Assuming all the related parts were replaced the first time around, there isn’t a reason you can’t reuse them. I would say you should weigh the savings of reusing them against the actual condition of the parts. This is best determined after a complete disassembly. Keep in mind, time estimates will vary a bit depending on many factors. Either way, the labor is the largest cost.

If you would like to have the water pump replaced, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to perform this service at your convenience.

ANSWER : Hi there. For the coolant light to go out, you would need to have the coolant between the low line and the full line for the light to go out. If the coolant is low and keeps on being low, then look for any signs of coolant leaks. You may have to use a coolant pressure tester to pressurize the reservoir to allow the leak to be found.

If you need further assistance with the coolant being low and the warning light being on, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

ANSWER : Driving or running the engine without the water pump working to circulate the coolant through the motor will cause the motor to overheat and may damage the engine costing thousands of dollars versus using a tow truck to take the vehicle to the shop that will cost a lot less. I would not recommend running the engine more than a few minutes at a time or you will overheat it.

ANSWER : Stop leak in the cooling system is likely to cause more problems than it will solve. Modern cooling systems are much more finely drawn and have far smaller passages than older cars, and stop leak will jam things up. I can’t think how it would make your car go into limp home mode however, unless it was a coolant level fault.Of course a code read is in order and that should tell the story. Meanwhile, it’s clear that you need to take care of that water pump problem It may appear to be fixed, but the leak will be back. If you want some help with this, you can Contact Your Mechanic. They can send a technician to your home or office who can read the codes on your Jaguar and tell you what this limp home thing is all about.

ANSWER : Hi, thanks for writing in. Water pumps will wear out eventually. Replacing them is very important to the lifespan of your vehicle. Temperature gauges in vehicles are largely misunderstood. They will only give you accurate readings if they are submerged in coolant. They are not designed to read the temperature of air, but of fluid. So they are only accurate if your coolant levels are within specification. If the leak has been traced back to the water pump, then that is likely the cause. You can inspect a few other components if you want to rule them out. The radiator is also very close to the headlight. The hoses running to the radiator are also a source that may be leaking. Tracing the oil leak is going to depend on the symptoms. Is there a visible leak, you can attempt to trace it.

If you would like help with this replacing your water pump, consider having an expert automotive technician from YourMechanic come to your home or office to perform the replacement for you.

ANSWER : First off, I would say it would be best to pressure test the cooling system to verify where the coolant is coming from. With the complexity of repairs to the cooling system on this vehicle, it may be worth the time spent to pressure test the system before tackling the replacement. Now then, as far as replacing the o-ring seal on the water pump inlet tube, it should really only require the removal of the bypass hose, lower radiator hose, and the two (or three, depending on manufacturing changes) mounting bolts that hold the inlet tube to the block. I personally would go ahead and replace the tube while I was there, instead of just the o-ring. Granted, this doesn’t mention what it will take to get down to the inlet pipe, but this is all it should take once you have access to it. If this is something that you feel you could use a hand with, consult with a certified mechanic, like those available at YourMechanic.com.

ANSWER : There are more than five different coolant hoses on your Mitsubishi Montero that may be causing the coolant leak. Without being there to physically inspect the vehicle, it’s hard to diagnose precisely which one is causing the leak. The fact that you’re refilling the reservoir every other day is alarming and should inspire you to have a local mechanic diagnose the source of the coolant leak before it creates a serious overheating situation.