the other day my car lefta huge puddle on the car park (about a cup full of water)

 

i did notice the radiator had lost some fluid and so last night when i filled up my empty autobox with ATF and filled the rad up i noticed that the car was dripping fluid on the ground from behind the engine.

 

 

At first i though it was the autobox and that it made sense why my autobox had no fluid however last night i left a tray under the drip to see what it is this morning

 

i have now checked and it was water... i am glad for the gearbox however now i have to find a leak!

 

the amount of water that had dripped overnight was thankfully only enough to fill the equivalent of a coke bottle lid.

 

question is........ what pipe could this be leaking from and is it easy to fix?

poss cause...matrix pipes...or turbo cooling pipes if you have a tt of course?...other causes lots of rain in some areas overnight/yesterday...if your scuttles are broken it gets puddled up at rear of the block/battery area.....also dont forget aircon...ices up and defrosts...leaves a puddle too

most common is air in the system from faulty rad cap...if you have air in the system already as you park up it expands from heat soak and pushes coolant out of the expansion bottle / rad cap.....try new rad cap first mate...cheap fix.....pinholed pipes and leaking heater matrix cause similar effects but more noticable by steam/hissing and condensation on windscreen / in the cabin...really noticable when you get the dreaded wet foot as it pops...:D

Edited July 2, 200916 yr by Uno

poss cause...matrix pipes...or turbo cooling pipes if you have a tt of course?...other causes lots of rain in some areas overnight/yesterday...if your scuttles are broken it gets puddled up at rear of the block/battery area.....also dont forget aircon...ices up and defrosts...leaves a puddle too

most common is air in the system from faulty rad cap...if you have air in the system already as you park up it expands from heat soak and pushes coolant out of the expansion bottle / rad cap.....try new rad cap first mate...cheap fix.....pinholed pipes and leaking heater matrix cause similar effects but more noticable by steam/hissing and condensation on windscreen / in the cabin...really noticable when you get the dreaded wet foot as it pops...:D

 

 

 

cheers for the tip :)

 

got aftermarket rad cap (nismo) i did slightly overfill it in the past as i also filled the expansion (won't do that again) however got none of the other symptoms at all. on a side note though if it was the expansion from where it is hot weather would that be dripping towards front of engine?

 

p.s i have not driven since filling up last night and the radiator fluid under the cap has gone down so i am presuming it is a pipe at the rear of engine

 

just a shame i cannot fix myself as the car is lowered and cannot get under it.

now i need to find someone with a ramp to check it out :-)

The matrix pipes are accessible from the top of the engine.

 

Paul

ok cool :)

also will the car be ok to drive? i have a small leak when stationary but will it lose all my water when under pressure?

 

only reason is santa is going to have a look with me tonight and i am taking it to someone or a friend he knows and wondered if it will be ok to drive

Get the car warmed up and find out where the leak is coming from first.

 

Paul

i can only see that it comes from under the car at the rear of the engine... My car is lowered and so i could only just about get my head under the gap and a tray to collect what was leaking.

 

unfortunately i cannot go in anymore to find out the exact cause (hence a ramp)

 

i will start her up to see if it gushes out

How long have you had the car? Had you been running it with the air con on? Is it coming from the aircon evaporator drain?

Mike

i have had the car about 3 months.

 

my Aircon unit was taken out apparentely but i do not know myself. what does the aircon unit look like and where is it placed?

big rad infront of water rad (same size roughly) is a giveaway...and the compressor can be seen with bonnet up...location is under the engine block to the right of the cooling fan...will have a belt around the pulley going to the crank and look like a big alternator if you catch my drift

Edited July 2, 200916 yr by Uno

nope not there :(

So its not that then, thats the limit of my knowledge im afraid

i have gone to see a 300zx mechanic and it is the hardest pipe to get to at the back of the engine :(

 

luckily he can do the labour once i get a water hose pipe kit.

 

:)