Reiny Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 My 300 has developed a coolant leak and it's doing my head in. A few months ago I started to find a few drops on the floor and it turned out to be the p-gasket. There was the usual tell-tale sign of coolant running down the side of the block behind the water pump housing. I replaced the p-gasket some 3 weeks ago, checked the housing for corrosion because I was warned that it would probably have to be filled and skimmed, there was none, I checked for warping, there was none. I re-assembled the whole thing and all seemed to be fine. A couple of days later I found a few drops on the floor again (even smaller quantities than previously), I rechecked but couldn't find the trace of dried coolant behind the housing so all I did was swear a lot and left it be. This evening, when parking, i was alarmed to see a few drops hitting the floor beneath the front axle. I had a quick look with a torch and found the front of the engine a little bit wet and saw that hte coolant was dripping off the power steering hose. From the top, everything seems to be dry however the lower 3 bolts of the water pump seem to be wet (they've been like that for a long time (probably ever since I changed the coolant pump over 3 years ago). Can anyone pinpoint the blasted leak? Do you think it's the pump? For the record,I didn't remove the water pump when I changed the p-gasket. i don't know if this makes any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Lay on your back under the front. Take a torch and look up to the water pump. Look behind th pulley. There's a hole in the pump casting where the shaft goes into the pump. Is coolant leaking there ? HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Thanks for the tip. I'll have a look tomorrow. Can it be seen from below? Isn't the power steering pulley in the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 What mileage has the engine done? How old is it? I tend to 'life' things like water-pumps at 5 years/60,000 miles, whichever comes first. --Tanuki. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 No you can see it easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 I replaced the water pump in April 2008. Engine covers approx 10k miles annually. I think it's the water pump that's gone (can't think of anything else really). I'll just buy another one and replace it. It's not neither expensive nor difficult. Shall I change the p-gasket again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 The pump and P-gasket share some bolts and sometimes the gasket does leak after the pump has been replaced. I would do both just in case it does - just because of the extra work involved. I do however make sure the block is drained before undoing any bolts. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Thanks for the tip Les. I'm a bit afraid to undo the drain plug in the block because I've never done so. I usually drain the last couple of litres by removing the water pump. Are drain plugs known to shear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Sorry, my post above should say that I don't do both (posting at 5:30am isn't a good idea sometimes ) Block plug does tend to be very tight as it's most likely never been undone in the engines entire life. I've never stripped one though. Removal of the pump doesn't drain the block low enough though, but you can shove a length of thin tubing into the water jacket and syphon it down far enough. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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