Q Leaking Anitfreeze

[Di Dissuer]

This started like three days ago on my 1994 Q45 A. Don't start on the A lol she is fine. At any rate I pulled away from the gas station and saw the green stuff and then when I got home under the hood was smoking just a little. Presently the temp gauge is at normal, no more smoking but I still see the green stuff leaking. Iam going to take it in at the end of this week 10/15 but what could this be possibly. Single little lady who would like more opinions than the one I will be getting. Thanks Guys!

Di

[911/Q45]

Where do you see the anti freeze leaking?

[elwesso]

HEY!! Its Wes, how's your Q running otherwise? Since the enigne swap...?

Yeah if you could tell us where its leaking, IE whereabout under the car the puddle is, or if you can see any seepage from the engine compartment...

[574-240sx]

Is it leaking from the seap hole from the water pump. When the water pump goes bad, it starts to leak. Also check you radiator overflow.

[SeattleQ45]

I just had my '94 Q45 in the same problem. I noticed a 4" diameter puddle of coolant fluid under the car after filling up with gas.

It turned out to be the water pump. They also noticed that a freeze plug was leaking and that I had a seapage out of the radiator cap. I have 109K miles on mine. If your puddle was similar in size I would bet on the water pump.

I suggest you put a pan under the car to keep an eye on how much fluid you loose over night. And notice how much you loose every time you leave a parking spot. If it starts to get worse before you take it in, don't drive it! You don't want to over heat these engines.

Good luck!

Mike

[Di Dissuer]

It is leaking very slowly from past the fan area and yesterday when I looked under the hood I saw some green stuff by the waterpump. I don't think it is the overflow because the leak isn't coming from that area. Other than that- the engine is great Wes, thanks for asking. No problems in the car whatsoever but this issue, just took a trip last month to DC, MD, Philly and she effortlessly did her thing up the road. I don't race 'Phoenix', we're usually cruising and then on the highway of course she goes from 70-90.

I have been watching the temp gauge until I take her in Friday-and its not climbing but I've been only driving her short distances. No smoking since the first time- Does anyone know how much this job will run? estimate? I did call infiniti dealership and this one tech said it could be one of the hoses since I have four on the bottom-but Iam starting to think you guys are correct since I did see anitfireeze around the waterpump.

Di Di

[natsoundup]

do the water pump yourself....it's straightforward. Not much more than 1- 1 1/2 hour job

[Jesda]

Total to have the radiator removed and cored ($110) and replace the water pump ($200 including parts) was $310.

[Di Dissuer]

Nat-

Iam not a mechanic- gosh I wish I was But I have to take 'P' to a mechanic who reallyknows what they are doing and not mess anything else up I usually take my car to d!ck Dyer Infiniti in Columbia SC because Infinitiof Charlotte use to piss me off when I came in askingme would I like to check out the new Q45 and always hinting aroundI should trade up- like the service tech is trying to be the salesman. lol At any rate there is this one guy in Charlotte who left Nissanto start his own business called nisstech importshttp://www.nisstech.com.

I heard good things about his work so I just may call him. I am really looking for my own personal mechanic outside the dealership who will do good work, knows about the Q45, rather than an impersonal relationship.I've had my share of mechanics who say they can do the job and then mess something else up on my ride. Once I get the diagnostic I will do the price shopping......

Di Di

[Di Dissuer]

Thanks Jesda- That isn't so bad of a price considering no car payments to send to the finance companies- Is this a price from a dealership standpoint?

[tangalora]

Coolant is leaking very slowly from past the fan area and I saw some green stuff by the waterpump.

The tiny 4 inch long, 2 inch diameter two-dollar black rubber coolant hose directly underneath the spider thingey on top of the Q45 engine ()circled in the 1990 Q45 diagram below split a seam on me and cost $500 just in labor to replace (the dealership wanted $1200).

It seems it might be a weak link in that this hose is exposed to high heat and hot/cold coolant would seem to puddle in this horizontal hose. You just might want to check it out by looking under all that stuffs' at the top of the engine with a flashlight while the Q45 is running warm.

In my case, small puddles of green ooze on the top of my engine being cooked into a sweet smelling misty concoction tipped me off immediately to the breech. (I filled the radiator twice a day with H2O for weeks until I gathered enough money to get that hose replaced; I'm kinda' sorry I didn't do it myself as I didn't learn anything from someone else doing my cooling system leak repair.)

[Jesda]

I had the work done at TranceWorx in Spokane WA.

Radiator Core - $45/hr X 2Replace Water Pump - $45/hr x 2Antifreeze and RTV - $15.00Water Pump - $115.97

Total:$336.16 (including tax)

Oh yeah, see what Tangalora said above.

-Jesda

[Q451990]

I usually take my car to d!ck Dyer Infiniti in Columbia SC because Infiniti of Charlotte use to piss me off when I came in

WOW! If the service at d!ck Smith was better than in Charlotte, I hope I never break down up there! Actually it used to be really good here - at least the customer service... I just never got all of the parts back on the car.

Heath

[Di Dissuer]

Well you know- my experience-lol-Before I bought my Q45- Infin In Charlotte had a J30 I was looking at but they were trying to sell me that piece of junk (1996) and the car was smoking and the trans was shifting like it was about to go- and they stated they did the points inspections already - so on top of me giving them one more try after not gettng the j30 and bringing in phoenix for an oil change- I wasn't with all that trade up talk -when you have the service guy trying to play sales guy and you KNOW nothing is seriously wrong with your car-bounce! Because they may try to mess your car up- I go with gut instincts-I don't mind taking the hour and 15 minute ride to get my car taken care of- I trust Jay at DD in Cola-the serivice guy-but Iam most likely going to check out nissantech in Indian Trail -the burbs of Charlotte. One bad thing though a DD- my owner's manual is missing lol

[Di Dissuer]

Duh! lol I don't why Iam saying d!ck Dyer~Don't quite know where I got that from but yeah its d!ck Smith- plus Cola is cool I have friends there and I sometimes come to games-stop by the Vista, Points, or Rio and Mac's On Main Uptown- The only way I will go back to Infiniti Of Charlotte is if I get stuck!

[Q451990]

d!ck Dyer is another dealership that sells Toyota, so at least you didn't pull it out of thin air! Glad to hear you enjoy your visits to Columbia... hope you didn't go to the game on Saturday - that's the most frustrating three hours of football I've seen in a while!

Heath

[tangalora]

I don't think it is the overflow because the leak isn't coming from that area.

To help you out more, I just now set up side lighting & snapped an incandescent shot of the underside of the spider thingey (Is that the intake manifold?Or the plenum?) which (I hope) much better shows the horizontal coolant hose in perspective than does the phantom diagram previously posted from the 1990 Q45 factory shop manual.

If you can't locate the coolant leak in the radiator & intake/outlet hoses, water pump & associated intake/outlet hoses, or in the engine block itself (NY freeze-out plugs for example), then consider peeking (with a flashlight) where the sun doesn't shine as shown in the photo shows below (there are a few coolant hoses in there, any one of which could refill those mysterious green puddles on your engine).

[Di Dissuer]

Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread. I really appreciate it!It really doesn't get any better than this site! I decided to go outside, start the car and take the flashlight around 6pm. I let the car run for like five minutes and turned it off.

The little drip drop started happening and all of those persons who responded or read my prior posts- I said the leak was coming from behind the fan...confirmed it is leaking from the water pump. The drip is coming from around the water pump. A neighbor with some knowledge of cars confirmed that was the problem. I have saved myself 99.00 diagnostic. So now....I have two chocies, the dealership or the tech who left the dealership to start his own business.

Does anyone have any suggestions about which way to go on this and how much money is this going to be?

Thanks again!

Di Di

[DAEDALUS]

It's a pretty easy job for a tech. I'd guess 2 hours, but it's just a guess. If you can wait a few days you'll save a few bucks by getting the pump from one of our sponsors.

[Di Dissuer]

Yes I can wait a few days- just how does this work with the sponsors? I will be online tomorrow-Di Di- Thanks!

[DAEDALUS]

Just click on one of the links in the sidebar. I usually go to Joe at http://www.everythinginfiniti.com. You can just give him a call 1-888-216-5328. Tell them you're a NICO member! In another thread I just read a member paid $146 for a part that his local dealer quoted over $200 for. You pay a little for shipping, but surface is cheap and for me it's usually offset by not having to pay sales tax.

[tangalora]

I usually go to Joe at http://www.everythinginfiniti.com. 888-216-5328. You pay a little for shipping, but surface is cheap and for me it's usually offset by not having to pay sales tax.

I second the recommendation to try Joe at Scottsdale Infiniti. Once you try him, you'll never look at the local Infiniti dealership the same way.

Joe has the business sense to win my loyalty, even from a few states away.

For example, I just ordered a front engine slinger which neither Joe nor the dealer dealer had in stock. The local Infiniti dealership quoted over twenty bucks plus sales tax for a total of about 22 dollars. Joe shipped it to me, with 8 dollars DHL shipping tacked on, for about sixteen total. Saving about 5 dollars out of around twenty is approximately a 25% preservation of wealth on this transaction. It adds up. To just have that five extra dollars in my pocket, I'd have to earn roughly 15 dollars gross (pre income tax).

Technically, the out-of-state transaction sales tax (it's actually called a "use tax" when it's paid after the fact) is supposed to be listed on your state taxes (come April 15th, 2005) if you permanently reside in any of the 21 states shown in the photo below; so, the additional savings DAEDALUS bespoke of may or may not apply to you.

[Di Dissuer]

Thanks I just got online a few minutes ago- I will check him out. I rounded up some prices and here is what I got.

Infiniti Of Charlotte $440 w/o taxInfiniti Of Columbia $408 w/ taxNisstech.com $310 w/o tax

Prices for the waterpump- saving some money is key-

[Q451990]

http://www.trademotion.com/par...gid=1

The part from Joe at http://www.everythinginfiniti.com (Infiniti of Scottsdale) is $93.75 (list is $125). I suspect our other sponsors are the same.

If I were paying someone to do this, I'd ask the independent in Charlotte (who left the dealership) what the labor cost would be if you bring your own part. Keep in mind that the price you pay for repair work is a combination of the labor rate on the invoice, and the parts mark-up. The tech. buys the part locally with a trade discount (probably for $93.75) and charges you $125 for it - plus $X/hour for Y hours.

Whatever you do - don't let anyone put aftermarket parts on the car. A water pump is too important to cut corners on (and it's cheap anyway)...

Good luck!

Heath

[natsoundup]

I usually get all of my parts from Joe...but I got the water pump for my 90 from NAPA..they had different levels and the top level was the same as OEM. It was 94 dollars for it and a gallon of anti-freeze...maybe the RTV was in there as well.

Look... if you can unbolt a few nuts and bolts...this is probably one of the easiest jobs to do..... it's easier than the upper links if anyone needs a reference.

1. Unbolt underbelly plastic pan

2. Take plastic radiator fan off.. (plastic screws)

3. Unbolt fan shrowd.. I think 4 bolts

4. Remove shrowd

5. Take off plastic cover in front of plenum (I think 3 bolts)

6. Take off 4 nuts from fan blade, remove blade.

7. Undo abuot 5 or 6 water pumps bolts

8. Loosen fan belt

9 Tap water pump with a rubber mallet or a 2 by 4. Water pump should dislodge.

10. Remove pump, scrape off old rtv.

11 New rtv on new water pump...

12 Start reversing.

13 Flush out radiator, etc.

I think an hour and a half tops. I may have missed a step involving the top radiator hose... I am not sure if you have to remove it or not.

[DAEDALUS]

Look... if you can unbolt a few nuts and bolts...this is probably one of the easiest jobs to do..... it's easier than the upper links if anyone needs a reference.

Not a hard job but I think the upper links are much easier.

Are steps 2 and 6 redundant?

When I do the pump I like to leave a couple bolts loosely in place (3 threads) so that the pump doesn't fall and damage the radiator when the RTV seal breaks.

[natsoundup]

Step two is the plastic piece on top of the radiator.