Coolant leak on drivers side front

[sallystrothers]

Alright I have a coolant leak on the front drivers side of the car. It is further back from the radiator and seems to be coming from somewhere near the mess of alternator/PS pump. Yesterday is when I noticed it after the temp gauge spiked. So to get home I added some water. Then this morning I ran the car until it was fully warm, then jacked it up to find no coolant leaking out. Well to my dismay the coolant overflow tank was completely full of emulsified (foamed) coolant, so of course it wouldnt be leaking out.

So where on earth is this coming from? What does foamed up coolant mean?

 

[sallystrothers]

This is friggin weird. Now it is not leaking any coolant. I can't even get the engine temp above 1/4 the way up. I drove for a good 20 mins and it still was at 1/4 high.

Does this mean the t-stat is not opening and therefore no leak? Or could this leak have magically stopped?

I am sooo confused.

 

[AWDPetmitsu]

What DSM do you have?

 

[sallystrothers]

Sorry about that, I have a 1997 GST w/ 75,000 miles on it. And today it started leaking again. I looked under again and I can't see the origin. Looks to be above the alternator but below the power steering pump. Are there any rubber coolant hoses in this area? If not then I can be assured my warranty will cover it.

Anyone have any links to a diagram of all coolant lines? I know the MR2 shop manuals have this, what about the 2nd gen turbo eclipses?

 

[awd4g63]

Originally posted by sallystrothers
Sorry about that, I have a 1997 GST w/ 75,000 miles on it. And today it started leaking again. I looked under again and I can't see the origin. Looks to be above the alternator but below the power steering pump. Are there any rubber coolant hoses in this area? If not then I can be assured my warranty will cover it.

Anyone have any links to a diagram of all coolant lines? I know the MR2 shop manuals have this, what about the 2nd gen turbo eclipses?

Have you checked the drain plug? Water pump? I'm pretty sure the water pump leaks a little 'letting you know' that it's about to go out. At least the ones I've looked at do, I'm not quite sure about DSMs, never changed mine However, it's definitely something to check out. Maybe someone can verify my advice today

 

[Defiant]

Yup, most likely water pump. It may weep and stop a couple of times, but it also may just seize up the bearing (rarely) and get nasty.
Do the timing belts et al at the same time.

 

[ginsu417]

Umm... Not to contradict anyone here, but I just fail to see how a bad water pump will cause emulsion. Emulsion is caused by mixing coolant and oil. Sounds more like a blown headgasket to me. In which case the external water leak you describe may be coming from the area between the head and block. Check the color of your oil. If it's milky, stop driving the car and pull the head.

 

[sallystrothers]

Well the emulsion stopped and I am now sure it is the water pump. But what still blows my mind is what is causing the car to operate at half the normal operating temperature. I can get it a little higher if I turn off the heater. So now it is almost acting like the t-stat is stuck open.

I guess time for a complete t-belt overhaul...