Coolant leak.......
 

Hello all,
I'm new to the FD part of this forum as I have owned a S5 t2 and GSL-SE in the past. I have in the past couple of weeks picked up a 93 R1 and it's been a ball driving this car. I seem to have a coolant leak that has gotten worse. I have traced it back to the waterpump area. I have pulled the alternator out and don't see any coolant lines in the area. In my previous experience when the waterpump went bad it would leak from the front of the pump. I have to say that when I was watching it leaking prior to pulling the alternator out it seemed to be leaking from what looks like the rear of the waterpump housing. Is that possible? I have attached a pic of the area in question. The red out line is where I'm thinking it might be leaking from. The green area is where i see coolant pooling up.


thanks,

Looks like it's leaking past the WP gasket - not that unusual. Just replace the gasket.

Thanks Dave.....Just spoke to the parts guy and they happen to have one in stock so I'll try that.

I might mention that it may be in fact leaking from the water pump housing gasket, rather than the water pump itself. The housing mates up to the front of the engine front cover, and requires a gasket for it, especially if the old one is torn. If a water pump fails (and that is NOT too uncommon on this engine), when you pull the pump the housing that it is mounted to separates from the engine. If the gasket is old, it will tear, and will unseal over time with heat/cool cycles. To really remedy this, pull the entire housing. This is as involved as it looks, but mostly just involves a bunch of coolant everywhere. Be cautious of the coolant temp switch and thermosensor connectors on the BACKside of the housing, directly back and down from the filler neck. Also, go ahead and remove the oil metering pump tubes that are sleeved in a woven fabric and which run along the underside of the water pump. You can pill them very easily from the metering oil pump housing on the lower left side of the engine. It is wise to get new copper washers to seal the banjo bolts for the oil lines when you put it back together again.

This was one of the first jobs I did on my RX when I got it 3 years ago (was it really that long?). After that, I learned the engineers are sadists for this car. Brutal, but doable. May as well replace the turbo coolant lines while you are in there, and upper and lower rad hoses for good measure. The coolant hose on the backside of the waterpump housing along the top should be ok, but it's worth getting that one too if you're in there.

Have fun! If you really are seeping from the area in red from your picture, it's pretty likely that gasket....

Last note: Make SURE you replace the thin metal shim on the backside two stud on the left befor putting the housing back on. Bad things will happen otherwise...