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Re: ANY HELP IS WELCOMED HERE Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Mon, 28 Jan 2002 09:49:33
In Reply to: ANY HELP IS WELCOMED HERE, Jigi, Mon, 28 Jan 2002 08:52:09 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Coolant leaking onto the ground could be a sign of a bad head gasket, but that's WAY down on the list of probabilities in my book. There are so many much more probable faults.
First and foremost, check all your hose clamps. Give each an extra half-turn or so to tighten. They do loosen up over time, something I notice seems to happen more in the winter. A slightly loose hose clamp may leak only at certain times as the car warms up, depending on system pressure, and how fast the hose is expanding from heat compared to the fitting.
Look around all the hoses, and run your hands under each one. Look for wetness, or a whitish or greenish powder, indicating dried anti-freeze. You may have a leak at one end of the hose, but the coolant flows down the hose, onto a bracket, and hits the ground on the other side of the engine from the actual leak.
As others have mentioned, it could be a bad water pump. The common failure mode of the water pump is for the seal to go, and when that happens, coolant drips out of the weep hole at the bottom of the pump. With a cold engine, reach back between the water pump and the firewall (a tight squeeze, I know) and blot around the area with some paper towels. Do they come away wet, or just greasy? Wet may indicate a leaky water pump, or just the clamps in the area need tightening.
If I see a little coolant on the ground, I think loose clamp. If I see a lot of coolant on the ground, I think blown hose. Bad head gaskets usually suck the coolant into the cylinders.
Let's put it this way - in 20+ years of Saab ownership, I've tightened countless hose clamps, but never had to do a head gasket.
Good luck!
posted by 140.157....
, Mon, 28 Jan 2002 09:49:33 <-- Viewing This Message
, Mon, 28 Jan 2002 09:33:16
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