Author Topic: how ugly can i expect this repair to be (coolant leak) (Read 7435 times)

vern · « **on:** November 15, 2008, 10:09:38 am »

just wondering what i can expect when i start taking this coolant housing off to fix the obvious leak, are these bolts known for breaking at all, is the gasket easy to change (can i make my own from a gasket sheet?)

i'm scared to even attempt to unbolt it

jtanguay · « **Reply #1 on:** November 15, 2008, 10:33:39 am »

i'm pretty sure it'll be plastic, so it might even be warped/cracked... good news about plastic is that you can buy some plastic weld stuff or plastic epoxy at the store. that'll let you fix any cracks, and you can smooth out the sealing surface on a flat glass plate with maybe 600 grit sand paper to ensure it seals if its any bit warped/etc...

the gasket is just a fiber gasket for that...

the bolts shouldn't be that bad, but i would spray some penetrant on them just in case. have the motor warmed up a bit when you do it. i think the max torque you want to put on those is something like 15-20 ft/lbs... as i've broken one before... but for the bottom flange :oops:

looks like the valve cover is leaking a wee bit too?

vern · « **Reply #2 on:** November 15, 2008, 11:37:21 am »

everything leaks but i only care about the one's that leak in mass consumption.
So you think its cracked plastic, as opposed to just needing a gasket replacement? HMMMMMMMMM i figure its just the gasket, but not sure till i take it off.

Vincent Waldon · « **Reply #3 on:** November 15, 2008, 12:18:36 pm »

Quote from: "vern"

everything leaks but i only care about the one's that leak in mass consumption.
So you think its cracked plastic, as opposed to just needing a gasket replacement? HMMMMMMMMM i figure its just the gasket, but not sure till i take it off.

The flange loves to warp and is 10 bucks at the most, and the gasket will be less than a buck... my recommendation is to get a new one of both and be good for another 200K !!

vern · « **Reply #4 on:** November 15, 2008, 12:53:10 pm »

can i get it at the dealer for $10?

burn_your_money · « **Reply #5 on:** November 15, 2008, 01:06:41 pm »

I don't think it's a gasket. I'm pretty sure it's a o-ring.
You might need to sand the head a bit because they tend to corrode from people not changing their coolant frequently enough.
Use a VERY, VERY small amount of silicon if you think it needs it. Do not gob it on, it will get caught in the headgasket, restrict flow and warp the head and blow the headgasket. I've seen this happen several times.

vern · « **Reply #6 on:** November 15, 2008, 01:23:52 pm »

is it by chance the same o-ring size as for the water pump? i got a few of those lying around,

burn_your_money · « **Reply #7 on:** November 15, 2008, 01:29:33 pm »

WP is way bigger

Vincent Waldon · « **Reply #8 on:** November 15, 2008, 02:28:35 pm »

Yup, it's an o-ring... and Tyler is correct... not the same as the water pump unfortunately.

The flange is under 8 bucks from BestPriceAutoParts... so probably north of 10 at a dealer.

homerj1 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 16, 2008, 05:54:03 am »

Quote from: "Vincent Waldon"

Yup, it's an o-ring... and Tyler is correct... not the same as the water pump unfortunately.

The flange is under 8 bucks from BestPriceAutoParts... so probably north of 10 at a dealer.

Ditto on the above. The plastic flange was cracked on my engine. I replaced that flange and the one on the back of the head. -They were about $11 each via Altrom and fixed the problem.

Aivars

jtanguay · « **Reply #10 on:** November 16, 2008, 11:34:04 am »

oops... ya forgot that has an o-ring :wink:

it would be a good time to flush the coolant system too...

vern · « **Reply #11 on:** November 16, 2008, 12:29:23 pm »

Quote from: "jtanguay"

oops... ya forgot that has an o-ring :wink:

it would be a good time to flush the coolant system too...

I have changed the waterpump 3 times in the last 15 months, it gets flushed enough! lol

Smokey Eddy · « **Reply #12 on:** November 16, 2008, 07:34:29 pm »

Quote from: "vern"

can i get it at the dealer for $10?

The stealership will charge you $100 to say "Hello".

I hate all dealerships. Buy one from that site Vince linked. Good site, based in AB. Half the tax :wink:

fatmobile · « **Reply #13 on:** November 16, 2008, 10:25:56 pm »

Nah, plastic pieces are cheap at t he dealership,.. at least locally.
I got a plastic ABA waterneck that's way more complicated and it was

maybe $13 at the most.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #14 on:** November 17, 2008, 04:59:18 am »

Some things at the dealer are stupid, some are very reasonable. Start training your parts guy and get him to look up parts for you