I heared a rushing water sound on the passenger side underneath the glove compartment today. I got back home and searched for leaks inside the engine bay and underneath the car. There was a leak on the passenger side underneath the passenger footwell (maybe further towards the engine bay). But it def didnt look or smell like coolant. (clear liquid) And there was no leaking coming underneath the passenger head light. Might be jumping to conclusions here, but what is this water rush I am hearing?

 

i hate to bring bad news.... but there is a very likely chance that you have a blown coolant seal.... im sure basically what is happening, is the exhaust pressure is pushing the fluid out of the over flow bottle..... im speaking from personal experience.... sounds like a woooshing waterflo when u give it gas? maybe you have a lot of water in your car and not typical green coolant.... none the less if its coming out of your overflo tank... set yourself up for the worst case scenario... good luck and i hope the best for you.

 

the sad thing is i think my 35th post was the same topic...

 

what other symptoms should I look for? Haven't over heated yet, but I don't make long drives anywhere. Would the champagne bubble test help diagnose? No smells, or white smoke yet. But that rumbling water underneath the glove box is not necessarily heard when I accelerate, happens making tight or quick turns.

 

go outside.. start the car.. and slowly drive forward in first... u can even perform it in neutral... but in first you will notice more of a difference... do it continuously.... put some cardboard underneith the car... check to see how much fluid and colour you are loosing.... or you can wait till the car is cold... take the rad cap off.. start the car... if you have funnell put the funnell in the rad cap... let it start up.. if the coolant seal is really bad, the fluid will shoot out quite noticibly... if the seal isnt too bad.. or has atleast warmed up and expanded... you'll only get a few noticible bubbles....

 

Sounds like air in your heater core and the coolant is slushing around in there. Also, if you dont overheat, or burn white smoke, doubt its your coolant seals, as they would also indicate a rough idle as the coolant getting into the rotor housings and being burned off. If you were worried about a coolant leak somewhere, do a coolant pressure test or have a technician do one for you. That would be the first test I would do, and do it while the engine is cold so nothing is expanded by heat ( i.e gaskets etc..) You can also do a CO2 (blue to yellow liquid test) if you are really worried, but doubt its your issue. Also, if you still have AC, it may be just water trapped in your evaporator and the drains are clogged and water is slushing around as well..the clear fluid is most likely just water from your a/c if it doesnt smell like coolant, or any other distinguishble fluid. Hope this helps

 

Ok so the leak seemed to stop. So I decided to go try what you suggested. In neutral, nothing, no leak. Let the car warm up, it idled fine. But then I put it in first and it barely kept from stalling. Not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I tought I would mention it. The rpms droped to almost 300 then fluctuated back to 1K. In neutral it idled fine at about 800 or 750. I went and took it for a drive and heard, or at least thought I heard, the water rushing. I drove around the neighborhood and didnt hear it again. When I got home, there was no leaking. But there was definite moisture under the car from where it was leaking earlier. (leak is actually almost directly below the glove box compartment.)

Anyways tomorrow when the car is cool I will do the bubble test. Do you think it would be helpful to post pictures?

 

really the only thing on that side are your heater core hoses running into the firewall there...and your abs unit, of course all your turbo oil and coolant feed and return lines, but that is more in front of where you are talking about. Maybe try and jack it up and see where it might be coming from. Good luck

 

I thought about that, but I figured the actual leak may be more toward the front of the car, but it is dripping on the ground more towards the back. The liquid was def very clear. But that water rushing still scares me. Is this a def sign of coolant seal failure?

 

there is a good chance that this is the beginning of a bad coolant seal... its probably pushing such a small amount of coolant out, that your overflo bottle isnt at the point where its going to "overflow"

if you just started to notice this today... watch if the problem persists or becomes worse over the next few weeks.... within a month it will be a nightmare...

have you got the coolant buzzer yet?...

 

Nope no coolant buzzer yet. Need a water temp gauge though. Think autozone sells them right?

 

Oh btw does the PFC monitor Water/Coolant Temp?

 

^yes it does. if get a PFC you would save yourself some money in gauges IMO.

Have you done the procedures to remove air from the system? I think I had this problem when I was changing my radiator and just burped the system a couple times and it went away.

BTW its nice to see another 7 & 8 owner. Also if thats your car at the beach in your avatar your a braver soul than me.

 

ok so I did the bubble test today after filling up the coolant overflow tank (which by the way is starting to become very brittle and cracking).
I let the car warm up about 6-8 minutes, reved it a few times, no bubbles. The idle was also smooth, and the rpms did not fluctuate like they did yesterday. (nearly stalling in first) Later I will most likely purge the system. And I will continue listening for the water rush sound while driving.

I plan on having a mechanic check the coolant lines, and also the A/C lines (if that turns up being the problem).

 

Well i went out side to drive the car, the coolant buzzer went off. I check the coolant level and it was fine, the same level from when I last filled it. I decided to top it off, and the buzzer went away.

Drove it around, still heard the slushing water under the glove compartment, but no leak around I got back home.

Hmm...