I've been noticing for a while that when I wash my car (I always check fluids, tires, etc.), I always have to top off the coolant....just a little bit.

Being aware of this, I soon noticed that it was/is leaking from the back-center of the engine - about the sane amount as the A/C drips water - which is what I always thought it was.

My car was at the paint shop, sitting (I assume - I hope) for nearly two weeks. When I picked it up, my DIC was warning me of low coolant. The reservoir was pretty much empty.

Knowing that this leak could be coming from somewhere else and simply exiting at the back-center of the engine, near the firewall, I figured I'd ask you guys and see if you've dealt with this before, or at least have some good guesses.

Thanks

 

the coolant flange is back there and is the prime suspect. you may want to replace the coolant tank, also, which will crack over the course of years. Look for coolant flange write up in diy. Yours seems to be leaking fairly fast. make sure your hoses and coolant temp sensor are well seated back there. the job kind of sucks. good luck

 

As soon as I saw the title, I instantly thought coolant flange. Real PITA to get it to sit just right and not leak.

 

make sure you get the cap and clip that holds it for the port on the coolant flange
that doesn't have the sensor in it. The clip is very important. Trust me on this. o_0

 

Of course it had to be some odd issue in the most fucked up spot to work with! smh.

Thanks for all the quick replies guys!

Much appreciated.

 

Thought the same thing.

 

Okay,

So I ordered the flange, an O-Ring and plug.

Does anyone know where I can find a good AWM DIY?

Thanks

 

It's pretty straight forward once you get in there and look around. A couple screws hold it to the head, a couple screws hold it to a metal tube, and a sensor. Get some Motrin, because your back will be sore by the time you're done from bending and reaching.

 

I figured the actual labor would be easy, but it looks like it's going to be a serious bitch to get back there and access it. I was hoping someone/some DIY had a trick to getting at it easily.

 

Update:

I bought a new flange, 2 O-rings and a new CTS.

I was able to successfully put that PITA on properly w/o any issue (this is after removing almost every part above and around the area).

I put everything back together, filled her back up with coolant and took her out for a test drive. Got her up to operating temperature, then went hard for a bit, making sure I had maximum pressure on the cooling system. Everything ran fine and stayed at perfect operating temperature.

I got home. Parked her in the driveway and waited to see if she would drip...and damn it, she sure dud. Worse than before.

I figured I did something wrong, but come to find out, my work was flawless, but the back hose plastic connector has a crack in it. That was the problem all along. I didn't even need to replace the flange, CTS, or the O-rings (but at least I know I have good/new ones now).

I'm working on a fix for the hose connector today, since it's not an easy hose to replace (it runs up and behind the firewall into the cabin).

Anyone know anything about replacing that PITA?

Thanks