acura1999tl

My 1999 acura TL with 165 K miles on it. TB/WP done at 90K.

Past 1 month, radiator fan came on after engine shut off... for a few minutes and then it shuts off.

Yesterday, put the A/C for the first time in a few months due to the rain (had to clear the windshield).... noticed that the temp shot up well above half point to almost the max - shut off A/c and slowly took the car home....

I also noticed green spots in the floor below the car - not a whole lot, but possibly just a few drops each day.

Today took it for a coolant pressure test. Mechanic said Water pump is leaking and needs replacement, and by the way, since you are there, replace timing belt too.... 850 bucks total is what he told me.... ouch !!!

Any thoughts or suggestions..... I bought the radiator fan sensor thinking earlier that it might be the issue (but have not put it on yet).... I am thinking twice since the car itself is worth only 2k at this point...

Skirmich

Could be the radiator cap and air in the system.
But a water pump leak is often a good chance for a scam since it's hard to diagnose.

A water pump leak can only be a problem if you know your losing A/F and the system is run dry that is when the engine can over heat.

01tl4tl

or the tech hooked up the pressure and simply looked for the obvious trail of fluid that comes out the special hole on bottom of water pump- the weep hole- that lets you know the shaft seal has failed = drips of coolant on floor is the hint
It happens

as the wp is behind the tbelt it makes sense to replace one with the other- no real extra labor involved at that point

Very easy to overheat the engine at this point
Sure its costly to do the repair- but do you plan to keep the car another 2-3 years?
or try to dump it with a bad wp?

01tl4tl

simply being low on coolant will mess with the entire system, cause fans to not run when needed,, and may not show as hot on the gauge!!

is it pulling the reserve coolant out of the bottle?

fsttyms1

Pull the 2 brackets off that support the top of the radiator and pull the radiator towards the engine. Look to see if its all clogged up between the AC condenser and radiator. If it is, flush the area out with a hose and spray from the front and from the engine side thru the radiators to dislodge any thing stuck in the fins.

acura1999tl

Update: It turns out the coolant was low, the shop topped it off and now I dont have the rough idle on start that was happening sometimes and also the fans dont come on after the engine is shut off.

01tl4tl

the coolant does not just disappear- its very important to have the system pressure tested- as well as the cap
Its already been diagnosed with leaking water pump- its low on coolant!!!!
AND has leak on garage floor = classic water pump failure symptoms

to finish the basic inspection look at the res bottle- a hose inside its cap slips off then the entire transfer system becomes inop
make sure its on tight- use zip tie, and coolant in that bottle is at `cold level mark` when engine cold
its level varies with temp as coolant gets moved from rad to reservoir

the bottle comes off its mount for easy dump and rinse clean- refill with 50/50 mix coolant

BUT that water pump needs to be looked at for traces of white trail from its weep hole on bottom side
Just because the OE water pump lasted well past its stated 105kmiles to replacement time- means nothing about the parts used on the service
Even going more than 5 years on replacement/aftermarket coolant (some brands say 3 years) can cause serious problems in the cooling system,
Yes I know the oe coolant lasted 7 years ~according to the book~ the same book says 5 years max after the first 105
coolant additives turn acidic and eat their aluminum home!!