broly

hi guys,

so recently my vehicle has started dripping near the passenger side. it is a recent phenomenon.

i had to refill my coolant approximately 1 month ago because swapping my TB resulted in my existing coolant being evaporated.

• i'm using some prestone stuff until i take it in for the 105K mi service, but i wanted to share these pictures and get your opinion. (i do have the timing belt adjuster, automatic adjuster, idler, and tensioner scheduled w/ the water pump and belts, fwiw)
  • the cause for the evaporation was my TB swap, as some coolant spewed out when i was swapping, and the rest (low) was evaporated when testing the swapped TB.
    • after using this stuff, the issue the car has had no issue w/ temps, or leaks. this is the first leak i've seen since the swap.

just to be thorough about hte overheating escapade: it was approximately three or four times in a few hours, but after topping up it went away.

• i believe it was just low coolant. the thermostat needle was maxed on two occasions, but again i have not noticed any leaks/issues from this episode at all. this drippage has only occurred in the past few days

the days have been pretty hot in the past few weeks, so i decided i should see if it's related to coolant levels.

• upon checking the radiator level which was full (great), i did notice that prior to lifting the cap there was noticeable (audible) pressure being released.
  • the reservoir level dipped somewhat, as you would expect, so i topped up the reservoir (very little, maybe 50-100mL).

i do have a new water pump ready to go, but i want to be sure this isn't a head gasket issue.

i have had no issues with overheating or anything after the first top-up.

• no check engine light
  • nothing.

when i used my finger to swab the leaking fluid, it was pure water. is it possible this is just condensation from A/C climate control at approx 65-70F?

thx

broly

sorry for the additional post,
just looking at hte service manual breakdown of that respective area, could a wonky tensioner/adjuster(s)/idler result in such leaks?

i will keep digging to see if i can find something closer to the area than this.
edit: found this in the service manual


it does seem like my water pump is on its way out. no big surprise. i do not think it has been replaced, ever.

would appreciate some confirmation or assessment of my analysis on the predicament.

bless!

musiclevelz5

My water pump developed a leak in my 03 TLS at 360k so I knew it was time to replace it along with the timing belt and components. I could tell the wp went bad because it would leave small green puddles of coolant directly under the lower timing belt cover if the car sat in the same spot for awhile. Also I had to keep adding coolant which obviously was leaking out.

​​​Check under your timing cover and see if the area is wet like mine was. If it is then you need to do this job immediately. To prevent overheating and damaging your engine.