epricedright Posted August 16, 2004 Report Share Posted August 16, 2004 I bought an '88 Toyota 4Runner (beater snow romping truck) from my brother in-law a couple weeks ago and did a coolant flush and replaced the thermostat at his house. He said the heater didn't work last winter and it got hot the last time he started it in the drive (last winter). For all I know it was already leaking or the water pump was already bad, but after driving it home, I took off the cap and noticed coolant leaking from underneath. I may have possibly overtorqued the bolts that held the thermostat in place, since now it leaks (apparantly) at the gasket behind the water pump. The thermostat attached to one end of the water pump. The gasket used was gasket sealant, not a paper gasket. I say apparently leaks at the gasket because the coolant runs down the block in the area where the thermostat was, but I can't see where it's seeping from exactly. I noticed the 3 bolts to the thermostat housing had old sealant all over them, so later I took the 3 bolts to the thermstat housing back out and put high temp RTV in the holes and on the bolts and replaced and let it set up a couple days to see if that would possibly ooze to the leak...no help. You can't see the water pump because it's behind a bunch of crap. A mechanic I know said the cost to R & R the water pump is $440.00 (5.3 Hrs. labor only according to the book). Looks like a royal pain to replace the pump, the timing belt has to come off even. The odd thing is it leaked only after getting hot and after removing the cap. Could that be due to a vacuum lock preventing the leak when the cap is on? My question is, do you think Bars Leak Gold would possibly seal where it's leaking? Could it do more harm than good to the heater core & radiator to try it? I do not want to spend $500.00 to replace the water pump if possible, but I also don't want to screw anything else up either. It's a beater truck that only cost me $500.00, (but it books out at $2500.00 - my brother in-law is such the nice guy!) I already need to spend another $400 or so to do other needed repairs. Looking forward to your replies and advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted August 16, 2004 Report Share Posted August 16, 2004 I've put the sealing supplement in every one of my cars since I heard about it on an Oldsmobile G-body Internet forum years ago (when I had my '84 Cutlass). That Olds had a slight coolant leak at the front of the intake manifold (those of you with 307s with aluminum intake manifolds know the leak!). It was actually a pin-hole leak that would "squirt" coolant under pressure. A package of sealing tabs from the GM dealer cured her up! When I bought my '95 Nissan truck a few years ago at 171,000 miles, I wanted to change the coolant, after learning what I did on this forum. The Nissan 4-cylinder is an iron block/aluminum head engine. Darn green coolant needs to be changed every few years, and I doubt it was ever changed. I changed it and added a tube of Bars Leak and all is well so far. I don't think a tube or two of Bars Leak could hurt that 'Yoda. Try it and see. You may have to replace the water pump anyway, so no harm can be done. Dontcha just hate engines with timing belts?! The water pump is usually driven off the timing belt, so you have to R&R the whole front of the engine usually. Fortunately, both my current vehicles (Nissan truck and Caddy Seville) have timing chains...I don't think I'll ever buy something with a timing belt on it. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franey Posted August 17, 2004 Report Share Posted August 17, 2004 REMEMBER, in an old vehicle a car will leak at the weakest point in the cooling system. Now when you fix that weak point, then the next weak point will start to leak due to the pressure . Try the bars first , but it is probably the water pump seal leaking, it may or may not seal off. IT is a job to change the water pump out only because it is in behind the timing belt , plan on a new timing belt as well as new tensioner parts while you are in their. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted August 17, 2004 Report Share Posted August 17, 2004 Hey I try everything I can before I would spend 5 hours ripping something apart. Put 2 tubes of the stuff in there and drive around a while and forget about it, check the coolant in a week and see if it's low.. if it's not low and it's just dripping occasionalyl forget about it, it's a beater right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epricedright Posted August 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 I put 2 tubes of Bars Leak Gold in and it still leaks. Yes it is a beater, but I don't want coolant in the drive either. It's not leaking a lot. It seems to leak more when I drive it. I hear a noise (can't describe it) when I first start it, but after it warms up (1 minute or so), the noise goes away. Is there a way to determine if it's indeed the water pump. Wouldn't it start squealing eventually, then lock up. And if that happens, wouldn't that screw up the valves and what not, being it runs on a timing belt. I don't want to screw the motor up, but I don't want to replace the water pump unless it's indeed bad. If it's just the gasket, I could keep my oil drain pan under it, and check it periodically. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Use a short piece of rubber hose as a "mechanic's stethoscope" to try to isolate where the noise is coming from. If it's still leaking (after a few hours of the Bars Leak being in there), the leak may be too large for the small organic particles to seal. I believe you can add dye to the coolant for the same effect as adding it to the oil, to determine exactly where the leak is. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epricedright Posted August 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 I'll try the rubber hose. I'm not sure dye would work as I can't see where it's leaking from due to the pulleys and what not in the way, covering up the water pump. I just see it coming down the block below the water pump, can't tell if it's the gasket or pump seal though. I'll also give the Bars Leak more time and keep my fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgr7 Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 If it's the seal on the water pump the bars leak wont stop that, you will have to replace the water pump. I'm not sure if you have to do the timeing belt to do the water pump, but I do know that they always say if you do the belt you may as well do the water pump, I think you have to get the pump off to get to the belt. I would get the service manual and see, you most likely can DIY. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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