Leaking antifreeze

gopherfan2011 · Post by **gopherfan2011** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:09 pm

Hey guys, My '01 R/T is leaking antifreeze. The smell is located right above the water pump

, but I haven't located exactly where it is coming from. It is either the water pump that is leaking, or its the thermostat and gasket connecting it to the head. The car has 107k on it, and I assume it's not unheard of to have to replace it at this interval. Is there any way to visually detect whether its coming from the water pump or not? I just filled up the antifreeze and I'm waiting to see if it leaks on the floor or not. Please help me!

p.s. I think either way I'm going to replace the thermotat and the gasket connecting it to the head, hopefully that is all that needs to be done at this point.

Post by **racer12306** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:27 pm

Safe bet is the water pump. Water pumps should be replaced with the timing belt at 100,000 miles.

You should change the timing belt, waterpump and tensioner.

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 6:30 pm

The best way to find the leak is to get the coolant system under load. The pressure increases as the engine revs and spins the water pump faster. The coolant hoses could be swelling up and leaking under load, but it could be the pump as well.

Good luck.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:13 pm

IIRC, the only way to see the weep hole on the WP would be to pull the crank pully, and remove the lower timing cover. Then you may as well just finish the job.