Ah yes, the Wonderful world of the FD. Is it a leaking hose or a blown engine ?? Well, I've been having a half a cup of coolant blow out my overlflow tank for the past 3 months now. The level has been consistantly staying in the lower part of the Filler neck....instead of 1/4" from the top where it should be. ANYWAY, I finally got around to doing a Pressure test and found 3 Leaks. One was at the little hose b/t the Rad. Filler neck and my Pettit AST. It was hissing and shooting out blowing bubbles right where it connects to the AST. Cut the hose and reattatched it. As I listened around I heard the same hissing sound w/sounds of little bubbles from the hose that comes off the the throttle body and goes down to the engine. The 3rd one appeared at 17 psi. fom my Lower Radiator hose where a FAST Drip soaked up the bottom of my understray in a matter of seconds. SO, do you guys think that it's just these hoses leaking that's not allowing the coolant from the overflow tank to be sucked back into my engine or what?? This seems to happen when the car is shut off and the pressure gets up high. I will change the hoses this weekend and find out what's going on for sure. In the meantime...any of you ever experience any of these problems??? Thanks in advance.

 

BTW, checked the plugs..they were dry. No white smoke upon start up other than a normal puff in the morn. Also, the coolant being pushed into the overflow tank is not boiling and no real gurgling noises. Anyway, just trying to get some info. before I find out what's really happening this weekend.

 

It doesn't really sound like a seal problem. Does your exhaust smell sweet? I'd fix all the little leaks and see if you still have any problems. Also, check your filler neck for bubbles when you first star it.

 

Loses coolant somewhere becuase I have to keep filling it when the low coolant light goes off. No hard start and no white smoke or sweet smell in the exhaust. I do hear a hissing sound somewhere in the "rats nest" vicinity after I shut the car off. Runs perfect until low coolant light comes on.

What gives? Will a leak in a coolant hose somewhere on top of the engine cause the coolant to boil over into the overflow tank from time to time as if it were the O-rings?

Or could it be that the o-rings have gone but its leaking to the outside of the motor and not to the rotor chamber?

Let me know what you guys think.

 

Replace BOTH coolant hoses that go to the turbos. Not really all that hard to get at but the air pump will need to come off. They ALWAYS are as hard as rocks and leak - guaranteed. Only OEM will fit properly due to the wierd curves in the hoses.
Also, buy a pair of long, curved, needle nose hose pliers with a "bulge" in the tip ($10 at Pep Boys tool section)to grab the hose for on/off or you'll go nucking futs in a hurry - also guaranteed. This is a must have tool and worth every penny to keep your blood pressure in the green zone.

 

God I love those pliers.

 

They are, without a doubt, one of the very best tools ever invented. They should be in everyone's 3rd gen tool box since it seems I use them every time I start pulling stuff apart underhood! They almost made doing the vacuum hose job..... fun? - naw, not really.
Hell, they should have been included with the car when new!

 

I hope I'm wrong, but my car exhibited the exact same symptoms for a number of months and puked a coolant seal in the parking lot at work last night. I never let up on the car 'til the bitter end, but my driving distances kept getting shorter. 1.5 hours and it would push the coolant low, 1 hour and the coolant would be pushed out. Worse in the summer time, until last weekend a 45 minute drive pushed the coolant out in the pits at the autocross after I arrived. Same drive ho9me, same result. Three days later, low again. Uh-oh. One week later.....dead.

Hope your problem is as simple as a hose, but start saving now just in case. Not a doomsday prediction, just my experience this week.

Steve Bertok
94 MB touring (hurtin')