Major Water Leak - Help!

[gtd65]

Well our trusty '95 SX has developed a water leak somewhere.

I'm out of the country... as usual... and I'm trying to get a handle on the problem via my Girlfriend - who is not technically minded at all - but has managed to take this snap under the car:



There was a water pump swap done ages ago (photo write up here zerothread?id=232942) but this one is a little bit different.

The car does not leak any water if not used - it just seems to happen when the system heats up.

Can anybody suggest any likely locations for my GF to observe for leaks that would cause that sort of coolant loss seen in the above photo?

I know that's a fairly open question but it might help narrow down the possibilities until I'm home early next year.

I suppose it could even be a hose once the thermostat opens up or suchlike?

Cheers in advance

[rotorimp]

I had a car once that would do the same thing. One of the coolant hoses had enough tension on a small tear that it wouldn't leak unless running. I found it by pressure testing the system. I have also had a car leak out of the weep hole only when running.

[gtd65]

I had a car once that would do the same thing. One of the coolant hoses had enough tension on a small tear that it wouldn't leak unless running. I found it by pressure testing the system. I have also had a car leak out of the weep hole only when running.

Yeah the pump was swapped out due to the water dripping from the weep hole previously.

I suppose we'll just need to get a pressure test done but I'm concerned about overheating the car getting to the nearest place that can do that...does Autozone etc load such a device?

I'll see if she can look at the weep hole while the car is running and see if anything is coming out of it.

It all looks pretty wet though - do you think enough coolant would come out of the weep hole to produce the pic above?

[gtd65]

Well it turns out the problem is that the hose which connects the thermostat to the radiator has split

Simple enough to fix - is this one classed as the lower radiator hose?

It might be that the end just needs to be trimmed off and refitted and a replacement is not necessary - but it appears a new one can be had for as little as $9.99.

[snake240]

nice simple hose to replace. so you know, advance auto has coolant pressure tester you can rent if you ever need to find a leak again.

[gtd65]

nice simple hose to replace. so you know, advance auto has coolant pressure tester you can rent if you ever need to find a leak again.

Cheers for that info - I'm still out of the country - probably until March next year... so it was just the GF who could check it out - fortunately there was a chap at her work that "knows about cars" and he diagnosed the split in the hose

He just cut the end off (next to the thermostat) and reclamped

[snake240]

that was nice of the co-worker. oh and renting the tool is free. after you return you get your money back. they have several other tools they do this with as well. have fun overseas