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losing coolant

E

evilm0nk3y

CEG'er
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
58
I have a contour gl 2.0 DOHC, recently Ive been losing almost a full resevoir of coolant every couple days. when i put the car on ramps, i could see the antifreeze dripping from it seemd to be around one of the pulleys on the serp belt. Would it to safe to assume that possibly my water pump has went bad? When I turn on my heat to max, hot air DOES come out so I dont think its failed completely, but just enough to start leaking. I read in a haynes manual that If i took off the timing covers theres a vent hole in the water pump and if thats leaking then the pumps definitely bad. Im assuming thats the only way to know for sure?


Second: My contour runs usually around the A or L in normal... Ive noticed that my radiator fan comes on intermittantly, How would i tell if my relays are bad? And would I just order two of the same relays for both low and high speed?

Thanks in advanced
 
Water Pump?

Water Pump?

Check the oil for anitfreeze. This would most likely appear as brown foam on the dipstick. If there is foam / antifreeze in the oil you have a leaking head gasket. If this is not the case you may have a bad water pump and or leaking hoses. A complete check of your cooling system would help identify the problem. From what you described I would guess it is the water pump. When changing the water pump this is a good time to change the thermostat, flush the cooling system, check all hoses and clamps. DO NOT CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE CAR WITH AN IMPROPERLY OPERATING COOLING SYSTEM. THIS CAN CAUSE VERY SERIOUS AND COSTLY DAMAGE TO YOUR ENGINE. Dan
 
Dan the rug man said:
Check the oil for anitfreeze. This would most likely appear as brown foam on the dipstick. If there is foam / antifreeze in the oil you have a leaking head gasket. If this is not the case you may have a bad water pump and or leaking hoses. A complete check of your cooling system would help identify the problem. From what you described I would guess it is the water pump. When changing the water pump this is a good time to change the thermostat, flush the cooling system, check all hoses and clamps. DO NOT CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE CAR WITH AN IMPROPERLY OPERATING COOLING SYSTEM. THIS CAN CAUSE VERY SERIOUS AND COSTLY DAMAGE TO YOUR ENGINE. Dan
Click to expand...

yea i had a blown head gasket on my last car so that was the first thing i checked was antifreeze in the oil, which there is none thankfully... so im going with water pump as well... i changed the thermostat about 6 months ago because of the overheating issue so it should be fine still.. the only problem is the relays, can anyone fill me in on that question?
 
id say bad water pump, that and it sounds like your fans are running the way they should. They only run "on demand" or if the a/c is on
 
radiator fans

radiator fans

They come on as needed. I would not do anything until you get the water pump changed. As for the temp gauge running at the A & L of normal that may change when the new pump moves the coolant more efficently. You may also want to check the radiator for build up or corrosion. This will decrease cooling effiency resulting in higher engine temps. When the system is drained is a good time to flush the entire system. Dan
 
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