water under car. hope it isn't head gasket.

[Maniacmav]

So I made like a 20min trip and when I came to a stop I let it idle for 60 sec with the fans on (don't have a turbo timer yet). Well when I killed the car, I heard a boiling sound. I popped the hood but didn't see anything, no smoke or anything. I went inside and then came back out and there was water all under the car. But it was cold not hot. What could this be?

 

[andymoraitis]

I'd take a moment to verify where the coolant is coming from. Possible locations are from the water pump seal, coolant overflow, a cracked radiator, etc. Isolating the location will tell you where to go from there.

If it pushed coolant out, it likely did it from the overflow. Once the motor cools change the thermostat and radiator cap. It's also a good idea to check for coolant mixing with oil and vice versa by looking for milky oil on the dipstick or black spots in the coolant. If you don't see any and the rad cap and thermostat don't fix the issue, I would suspect that the head gasket has been compromised. You could run a compression test, but I've seen motors with trashed headgaskets register perfect compression.

Make sure that when you refill the system that you start the motor with the cap off and allow the thermostat to open so that it can burp all of the bubbles and not create air pockets.

Let us know where it's coming from,

Andy

 

[Defiant]

Failed lower plastic tank on radiator.

 

[Maniacmav]

ok here's an update. I checked the oil and there is no water in it. I also checked the water and there is no oil in it either. The leak looked like it was coming from the back side of the engine. That's where the water was puddled up at. Where are the heater core hoses at? One of them could have a hole it in? But that still isn't going to solve the boiling water sound. But i'll try and change the thermostat. The water pump is new as well as all the timing stuff. I changed the timing stuff last month. The water pump is not leaking either. And what do you mean by the lower plastic tank. Is that the overflow tank by the pass side headlight?

 

[Quasimondo]

The upper and lower end tanks on the radiators are made of plastic. The plastic eventually becomes brittle with age and eventually fails, spewing coolant all over the place when the system pressurizes. That's what he's talking about.

 

[Maniacmav]

oh ok. I just looked some more and the heater core hoses are dry. The radiator and the overflow tank are still full of coolant. I can see some water on the transmission near the bellhousing torward the back of the motor but I can't tell where it came from. It could have just been from rain water on the roads. It rained here a few days ago. I haven't tried to start the car up. Would it be safe to start it up and let it run to try and find the leak?

 

[92awddsm]

oh ok. I just looked some more and the heater core hoses are dry. The radiator and the overflow tank are still full of coolant. I can see some water on the transmission near the bellhousing torward the back of the motor but I can't tell where it came from. It could have just been from rain water on the roads. It rained here a few days ago. I haven't tried to start the car up. Would it be safe to start it up and let it run to try and find the leak?

Fill up the coolant, start the car, and wait for the leak. It is probably coming from one of the coolant hoses going to the throttle body. If so, get several feet of 3/8 fuel line and replace both hoses going to the throttle body, coolant hose from the turbo, and all of the coolant hoses going to the oil cooler. It is easier to do it now than to have one burst while you are on the road.

 

[Maniacmav]

i cranked the car and added water. I let the car warm up to normal temp and it would never take the coolant... it's just bubbling out of the rad cap. i didn't see any leaks besides what was being boiled over from the rad cap. Is the thermostat staying closed?

 

[No_Skillz]

Wait wait wait... lets relax off of the coolant issue for a second... when you see water puddling under your car, did you drive around with the AC on?

Besides... if your car is cool and your coolant is full, you probably don't have any problems.

 

[Maniacmav]

the a/c doesn't work... the compressor is frozen. I let the car warm up and the coolant was just boiling out of the spout.

 

[No_Skillz]

So you do have problems with your coolant? I'm beginning to feel that your issues of water under the car and coolant are seperate. Do you overheat at all? When you have your cap on, during warmup/idle does it push coolant into the bottle?

 

[92awddsm]

If it is bubbling from the cap, replace it. Keep an eye on temps and it it still does it, then replace thermostat. Start with the simple obvious things first and work your way from there. It is normal for the coolant to overflow if the cap is faulty.

 

[Raph]

because if the cap is fauty,then the system wont hold pressure.. causing water to cook..

*water under pressure has a higher boiling point *

get a new cap asap,then check your headgasket.

 

[Maniacmav]

ok i went and bought a thermostat and while i was replacing it, i cracked the freakin housing. So i'm waiting to hit up a junk yard tomorrow to get another one. I'll pick up a cap also.

 

[Maniacmav]

Here's an update. I couldn't find a used housing so I went and had this one welded until i can get another one. I changed the thermostat and drove it around. I put a good 20-30min on it and it seems that the problem has vanished. So i guess the thermostat fixed it. But it worries me that I don't know where the coolant came from.

 

[Raph]

Here's an update. I couldn't find a used housing so I went and had this one welded until i can get another one. I changed the thermostat and drove it around. I put a good 20-30min on it and it seems that the problem has vanished. So i guess the thermostat fixed it. But it worries me that I don't know where the coolant came from.

maybe..it leaked out of the cap(you bought a new one right?) and ran down on the tranny,then on the crossmember towards the back.. then on the ground.