Coolant Leak - 92Q 125K miles

[thirdq]

I have seen coolant puddles now 2 times when parked. Both times after driving the car for 30 minutes or so hre in AZ heat while using the AC at full.

The leak is not in the valley [it is bone dry]. The leak is not all the time, I jacked up the car, let it ran for 15 minutes [no AC], the temp gauge came to middle and nothing happened - no leaks. Drove for few days, bam - leak again in the parking lot.

What would be the best way to test for the leak? How long should I run the car on jack stands [and perhaps with AC on] to try to recreate the leek?

Any help is appreciated - I did read all the topics under "Coolant Leak" - thanks

[3Q Jay]

welcome to NICO! you've got a lot of good G50 company in the PHX valley, and right next door to some of our oem parts sponsors.

glad to hear the valley is dry, those are the toughtest ones.

about 5-10 minutes after a hot shutdown is when the coolant system pressure should be at a max. try poking your head around then. i'm sure you are already listening for any hissing and wisps of steam.

sure it's not the overflow bottle overflowing?

[thirdq]

No sounds that I can remember inside the cabin or outside - seems like it is leaking from the bottom area - not the top.

The overflow tank is not dripping as well (when it occurred).

Thanks, I keep looking - any other pointers guys?

[3Q Jay]

water pumps can sometimes be intermittent.

[thirdq]

The service manual calls for pressure testing the coolant system - does anyone know where I can go get this test system?

I went to local autozone and they did not have any that would fit the radiator inlet - the adapters were all for the american cars.

Thanks

Yes, the water pump was replaced some 5 years and 60K miles ago. I am not sure, this may be a time for replacement, hopefully the prssure test will confirm this.

[FarFetched]

Have you smelled the liquid?A/C on, don't forget of condensation on evap when A/C at work!I hope it is not the heater core!Cheers!

[DAEDALUS]

Run your finger along the underside of the pump, across the weep hole.

If you ask nicely, a radiator shop may let you borrow or rent a pump/adapter for cheap. Whereabouts is the puddle forming? Not in the valley does narrow down the suspects.

[thirdq]

I have seen the coolant leaking from the bottom only - there is no sign of coolant at the top or in the valley. Unfortunately, both times it happened when I drove the car, parked in the lot and when I came back after hours - the coolant was on beneath the car.

Due to the protective plastic/rubber under car cover, it is difficult to say where the it came from - but it certainly is not the valley - it was bone dry. Nothing from the top of the radiator as well reservoir etc) as it looked dry as well, however - the coolant was inside the plastic bottom protective cover.

As the water pump was changed (some long time ago) I am not sure if it is it - the coolant was not evident around the water pump, but I may have missed it, that is why I was thinking about doing the pressure test.

Thanks

[FarFetched]

You are confused as I see it!Take it to "people" who know Q45 and they will tell you what is up with it.From your first statement it is clear that A/C affects cooling loos That's not correct. Check all the hoses, check around heater core inlet/outlet sides. Take that bottom cover off and inspect it on a ramp!Good luck!Coolant leaks are hard, but not as hard as intake or internal head gakets leak Cheer up!

[thirdq]

Radiator busted (right side tank) - one of the local auto stores pressure tested it. He is saying the right side tank is almost coming out.

Ofcourse he wants to put an OEM radiator in there for a total of $400 (parts, labor, coolant).

Whas is the best option guys?

Thanks

[DAEDALUS]

I don't think he's putting an OEM unit in for $400, unless it's used. Joe's wholesale price on the part itself is more than that.If you're confident in his diagnosis then consider doing the job yourself. It isn't hard, and we can walk you through it. Some plastic fasteners, 2 bolts, 4 screws, 2 clips, 2 clamps. Refill coolant, bleed and you're done.You might find a guy willing to try and patch it up, but consider how important the cooling system is to the car. If it fails you can lose the engine. I always recommend OEM parts. Aftermarket ones are a lot cheaper though, but almost certainly not as efficient in cooling.

[thirdq]

Thanks - what is Joe's cost for the radiator?

I will most likely try to put in the raditor myslef, BTW what is the book labor on it? Euro imports in Phoenix is a known recommended joint with decent labor rates. If it is 2 hours ro so, I might work with him in doing it.

Thanks

[DAEDALUS]

Cheaper than I thought they were. Joe's quoting $357.20 online, but you'll have to call to confirm. I know at one point his prices weren't valid for in-staters due to conflicts of interest with the repair side of the business. Maybe that's been resolved. Free shipping through the 20th.2 hours sounds reasonable, I can verify it after I get home.

[thirdq]

How do I get to Joe - I will continue to look...

Thanks

Cheaper than I thought they were. Joe's quoting $357.20 online, but you'll have to call to confirm. I know at one point his prices weren't valid for in-staters due to conflicts of interest with the repair side of the business. Maybe that's been resolved. Free shipping through the 20th.2 hours sounds reasonable, I can verify it after I get home.

Cheaper than I thought they were. Joe's quoting $357.20 online, but you'll have to call to confirm. I know at one point his prices weren't valid for in-staters due to conflicts of interest with the repair side of the business. Maybe that's been resolved. Free shipping through the 20th.2 hours sounds reasonable, I can verify it after I get home.

[szh]

How do I get to Joe - I will continue to look...

Thanks

http://www.everythinginfiniti.com/

A call to their telephone number 1-888-216-5328 is a good idea. Talk to Joe or one of the folks there who work for him, and and make sure to let them know you are a NICO member.

Z

[DAEDALUS]

Book time is 1.2 hours. They're always conservative. Bet if you really hustled you could get it done in just over 1/2 an hour.

[thirdq]

I get the 398.xx not 357.xx price - is there a trick to get the lower price ;-)

Thanks, I will give him a call anyways to confirm

[DAEDALUS]

I get the 398.xx not 357.xx price - is there a trick to get the lower price ;-)

Yeah, you have to drive a '90 Q. Assumed all 1st gens would be the same part. Apparently '92 and later cost more.

Forgot you'll have to unhook the transmission cooler lines too. Consider making an afternoon of it and installing a transmission cooler while you're at it.

[Aussie Q45a]

Had the same problem with my JDM '89 Q i.e. Left tank was split. The local dealer imported a "tank", for just over $80 Aust. and a local radiator place fitted it for $50. Concidering a new radiator was going to cost me $1200 I recon I got out of it pretty cheap. Is there some reason you are replacing the whole radiator?

[thirdq]

You know that is an interesting question - I was not able to get a price on just the tanks from the independent radiator dealers - perhaps should have tried the dealer path - too late, I have gotten a CSF replacement radiator. Could not afford the $400+Tax radiator from dealer.

Was Looking for a Koyo, but it seems perhaps they do not make one for the first gen (90-92), so had to settle for the CSF.

Ok, gurus, any tips on getting this R&R done - I checked and there is already an external transmission cooler in parallel installed in there- B&M 7200/7600 (I think).

I went thru the q45.org tutorial, is there anything else I should know/read before doing this today?

Thanks

[RobertsnewQ]

Think about replacing your radiator and thermostat bypass hoses at the same time depending on how old they are. They're only like $5-$12 each from Joe and they're much easier to replace while you have the rad out (plus you can just cut them rather than mess with pulling them off. Also the thermostat ($12 from the dealer, $8 from Joe) and overflow tube (from Autozone or similar) - It doesn't make sense to drain the coolant more than necessary.

If you really want to get fancy, do all of the plenum water hoses and heater hoses at the same time and flush the system, but that's a two-day job.

On the tanks it really doesn't make sense to replace them because the success of replacement depends on the skill of the radiator shop. Most won't guarantee the job. Also they aren't available for all cars. Check with a shop.

[Qgrappler]

Pasted below is the text of my radiator lessons from nov 2002 when I replaced mine. It was cracked at the passenger side plastic tank.

***********

Lessons from radiator job

1. Don't remove the two sheet metal screws which hold the plastic shround to the radiator until after you have unclipped all the ATF hoses. Once the shroud is loose, it is difficult to pull the hoses out of their clips

2. Be careful not to lose the rubber cushions which the bottom "alignment pins" of the radiator sit in. I didnt look carefully at mine when I took it out and wondered what the matter was when the clamps were 1/2 inch too high over the upper pins of the new one. After realizing that they were still ltuck on the pins of the old radiator, I removed them, put them where they belonged and everything fit perfectly.

3. The clips that hold the radiator and atf hoses have a little washer at the end of the screw which is not secured on the screw and will fall out and hide on the floor if you allow it to. They are not easy to find if this happens.

****************************This was on a 94q45t.

Frankly, I don't remember any of those tips other than the cushion spacers sticking on the old radiator. In any case, I successfully did the repair. I think I would allow a fair amount of time for it, thought, depending on exact wroking conditions and available tools, etc, it could take you a lot more than an hour and a half.

BTW, I have a theory about what caused my failure, which is that I believe I let the coolant level in the radiator get too low, and fall below the level of the ATF cooler heat exchanger inside the plastic tanks. If that happens, the hot ATF exchanger toasts the plastic through the now open air. No proof of it, but that's what I think happened. Keep your coolant topped off.

Good luck.

[thirdq]

Well this may be not my lucky car.....

Replaced the radiator, was little bit of work nothing major - the hoses came off fine from the radiator, did not have mess up with the thermostat junction. Cleaned up the reservoir as well (by removing the battery) - everything seems to be Ok on the radiator front.

Drove this morning to work with AC on (phoenix heat) - when parked, nothing was leaking. Came back after 30 minutes, saw some coolant driping very slowly, perhaps 1 drop in 5 seconds or so) from near the back of the engine area (passenger side). There was perhaps a 3 inch cirlce on the road beneath with few cc coolant .

Not sure what my next step should be. Looks like the big leak was with the radiator which is fixed, there might be another minor leak near the back of the engine ( so it looks like) - I hope I am not mixing up the AC moisture removal to this dripping - the puddle beneath was very small ......grrrrrr

I did print out the radiator R&R directions from Q45.org and a bunch of suff from it was not that I needed to do. Interestingly, the ATF cooler lines are directly fed into the B&M cooler bypassing the radiator ATF cooler/exchanger all together - not sure if it is Ok or not.

Thanks

[DAEDALUS]

Is it clear or colored? AC lines get cold too and can condense along the line.

[Jesda]

If you're buying a radiator, see if you can buy one from Evan, a fellow NICO member. I installed the one I bought from him and took it across the country. Works beautifully and cost around $200.

His NICO name is Ev_eezy, I think.

[RobertsnewQ]

Is it from near the passenger footwell?

That's the drain for the AC condensor and I ALWAYS get a big puddle. Turn the AC off and run it and you won't have the drips.

If that's the case the leak won't smell like coolant.

[thirdq]

Man I hope that's what it is - it is certainly near the passenger foot well. I was so pissed that I did not touch the fluid - will do next time. Drove the car today to work (same heat, same distance, same AC) did not see any drips today - so all in all it looks OK. Checked the coolant level before starting this morning and all wa intact. May be I will get lucky this time.

Will report back if I see any more leaks.

Thanks