Coolant Leak From Rear Iron (possibly disasterous)
12-30-07, 12:19 PM
#1
Coolant Leak From Rear Iron (possibly disasterous)
Car: 88 'vert with rebuilt 88 turbo engine (~6k miles after rebuild), tranny etc, running stock turbo and boost etc.
Backstory: I was merging onto a highway earlier, accelerating from 2nd gear, and suddenly white smoke starts pouring out of the exhaust and engine bay. I shut it down (it didnt overheat) and pull to the side of the road to check it out. No leaks from any of the hoses (none of the main water hoses, line from water pump to BAC, BAC to rear iron, or heater hoses), so i get it towed home.
Problem: When filling up the coolant, its literally pouring out of the joint between the rear iron and the bell housing as fast as I pour it in. Is there anything back there on the rear iron that could be leaking this badly (main E-shaft seal, drain plug, something?) or is this a cracked rear iron? I had about a 50/50 coolant mix in it and never had trouble with overheating before. The car hasnt been sitting, and it hasnt been cold enough to freeze the coolant mixture.
Please help, this is my only car, and i need some way of getting back to MI in a couple days! Thanks in advance!
Backstory: I was merging onto a highway earlier, accelerating from 2nd gear, and suddenly white smoke starts pouring out of the exhaust and engine bay. I shut it down (it didnt overheat) and pull to the side of the road to check it out. No leaks from any of the hoses (none of the main water hoses, line from water pump to BAC, BAC to rear iron, or heater hoses), so i get it towed home.
Problem: When filling up the coolant, its literally pouring out of the joint between the rear iron and the bell housing as fast as I pour it in. Is there anything back there on the rear iron that could be leaking this badly (main E-shaft seal, drain plug, something?) or is this a cracked rear iron? I had about a 50/50 coolant mix in it and never had trouble with overheating before. The car hasnt been sitting, and it hasnt been cold enough to freeze the coolant mixture.
Please help, this is my only car, and i need some way of getting back to MI in a couple days! Thanks in advance!
Last edited by toplessFC3Sman; 12-30-07 at 12:30 PM.
12-30-07, 11:36 PM
#3
Second for freeze plug, especially since your car is from up north and could have rusted through the plug. I once bought a car where someone had filled the engine with water, let it sit until it pushed out a freeze plug, then realized their mistake and actually tried to jb weld the seam of the trans to engine and starter to trans, to keep water from running out, presumably to try and sell it.
When I got it home, it wouldn't turn at all, so I chipped the jb weld off the starter and removed it, and out poured a couple quarts of water and rust.
When I got it home, it wouldn't turn at all, so I chipped the jb weld off the starter and removed it, and out poured a couple quarts of water and rust.
12-31-07, 12:40 PM
#6
any auto parts store should have them, they tend to be universal in several sizes (metric and standard). Just take one of your old ones in there and they should be able to match them easily. They only cost a couple of bucks. The bitch is getting them out of the iron. You can try knocking them sideways with a punch and hammer, and then pulling or prying on the exposed edge. IF this doesnt work you will have to drill a hole and then pry on that to get the old ones out. Luckily it doesnt really matter if you get a little bit if metal shavings in the coolant passages.
05-24-08, 10:08 AM
#7
Just to provide an end to this thread in case it ever comes up in searches etc, it was a freeze-out plug behind the flywheel. The plug itself (slightly larger than 1 3/16", so approx 30mm) just fell out with no signs of rusting, so for anyone who is installing these, make sure they're really in there and sealed down tightly, cause they're a real PITA to replace once the engine is in the car.
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