QuestionHi Tim,
I know you said you know the Mits Mirage's, however I have a general question for you. I own a '94 3000GT VR-4. It has 128k miles on it. I've taken it to the
dealer twice in the last month for engine coolant leaking. They
claimed they were unable to reproduce a leak, however they recommended
a radiator rod out and thermostat replacement. I did as they
recommended and $500 later, it still leaks.
This car is my daily driver, and I have to put water/coolant in it
every time I drive it (each way). When it is cool outside, it leaks
maybe one or two drops. On hot days, or if I am allowing boost over 0
psi it will start leaking a solid stream of engine coolant as soon as
I pull into the driveway. I am unable to determine the specific source
since the front active aero is catching it, however it appears to be
leaking just under the overflow tank.
The coolant in the overflow tank gets brown/murky, and will often be
boiling after driving. I have read on the Internet about someone with
the same problem as mine, and they said it was the water pump.
(http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/alt.autos.mitsubishi/messages/44892.html)
What do you think? Can you point me in the right direction or think of any tests I could do myself to check what is going bad?
Thanks in advance!
Help me out,
Tom
AnswerHi Tom
You're right i usually don't do other car makes but since your in a bind it won't hurt to help,On this leak of yours seems like you are having water pump problems which is the sign of failure everytime you have to add water.I hate to tell you this but the dealership just sucked money from you all for nothing and the thermostat wouldn't have anything to do with you losing water that is there to keep it from overheating. Do you know what a radiator rod out means?
In case you don't here it is :
If the radiator is still pretty solid, no seeping leaks where the core joins the tanks, you can have your radiator shop "rod out" the radiator. This procedure involves removing one of the tanks, (unsoldering), and running a thin flat rod down through each tube to scrape or push out the scale that has accumulated. This procedure will really restore cooling capacity. If the radiator is already weaken by corrosion, vibration etc., a good radiator shop will advise you not to "rod out" the radiator because it cannot survive the procedure. In this case, have the radiator shop "recore" the radiator... this is replace the tube and fin middle section of the radiator and use the original top and bottom tanks. For the '75-'78 Imperial, New Yorker, and Newports, have them try to get the "police" or "trailer-tow" core which will have an extra row of tubes and will also have a greater density of cooling fins. If you do this, your cooling problems will be over.
I would have the pump looked at and take the car back to the dealership since they took $500 from you for something they didn't fix and have the hoses as well looked at or possible your radiator has a whole in it..
