Overheating

[Logbear]

I might have a couple things wrong. First the engine has been overheating and losing coolant for a few weeks now. I'd just take a bottle of water and add it at work and drive home, and add some at home and drive to work. I found a puddle of water under the car after work the other day and figured I better do something for real.

I looked around and found water dripping from under the water pump area. So yesterday I took the outer part of the water pump off, and it looked OK. The gasket was whole and looked OK, so I put it back in. I also checked the thermostat. That looked OK too so I put that back in. When I started the car I noticed dripping water again. I looked really close and found it leaking from the rear of the thermostat housing. I pulled it and found that a small piece of old gasket was on the engine side right next to the stud. I scraped it off really clean and put it back on. Started the car and the leak at the thermostat had stopped.

I drove a few miles and the engine heated up more than normal and idled kind of funny. I checked the oil and it looks like a milkshake on the dipstick. When I take the radiator cap off there is a water drip under the water pump. With the cap on the drip stops. I suppose that means the radiator cap is good and sort of hold a vacuum keeping the water from dripping out. With the engine running there is a leak and a very small fine spray of water coming out of the water pump area.

So, should I take the water pump off again? And take it all the way off this time to check the seal against the engine to get the leak to stop. But the big question is... Do I need to do a head gasket job?

I'm trying to convince myself that somehow water got into the oil from the leaking water pump and my head gasket is just fine. The engine runs good but there is a little bit of white smoke.

Any suggestions?

I have the FSM and the head gasket job doesn't look that hard. I haven't found a write up here though. If I do it maybe I'll write it up.

[ARCHINSTL]

White smoke (generally) = ... well, you know what it equals...
Been there, done that on the '83 T4WD and the '88 Dodge/Mitsu p'up..
Tom M.

[toughtercel]

white smoke and milkshake in dip stick , mean coolant leaking in the engine , let hope it a head gasket job because i did that once when i bought the car years ago ,month after bought the car it over heat and white smoke , did head gasket job include machine the head but did not test for crack that one mistake I made then all that installing still over heat , that really upset me when buying some one else problems, it can be head crack or block crack . Only way solve the problem, before I buy rusty insurance car ,test drive ,let it idle for fifteen min while the rad cap remove if doesn't boil , good motor. Paid $200 for whole car include spare parts if needed .

[Petros]

there is an inner seal in the water pump that leaks out the hole under the water pump (behind the pully). you likely need a water pump, they are cheap, get a new one from NAPA, they have a lifetime guaranty and do not cost much more than a rebuilt one (that will not last in my experience).

Sounds like you wasted the gasket, they can be fragile is run hot too long. It is not too hard but there are a few things you should do that I will write up for you that area not in the FSM. I have been meaning to do it for some time, and I have done it some 4 or 5 times (for different reasons). I know all the tricks and how to save time.

You should get a new T-stat while you are at it, get a good one, the cheap ones are junk (NAPA or the dealer sells good ones).

You might be able to put off the head gasket if you use the Barrs leak head gasket repair liquid (NOT your normal stop-leak, which will not work). It costs about $10 and it take overnight to cure, you must follow the directions.

Good luck.

[Logbear]

OK, a new water pump is in. It's easier than I expected. In hindsight I should have found this problem as soon as I was having coolant loss. Since I had milkshake like oil, I sort of suspect a head gasket problem. With the repeated overheating episodes I had with the coolant getting low it wouldn't surprise me if the head gasket suffered. I went with the Barrs head gasket repair fluid. I just completed the Barrs fluid process and now I'll let it sit overnight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I report on the final outcome.

[Neu]

About the head gasket repair fluid, it didn't seem to work, but his head gasket did keep working, so maybe it did.

[toughtercel]

i hate those stuff "BARRS" , one time friend of mine bought the car , few week later one of the hose explosed , replace the hose and color of anti freeze is brown then had a funny feelinhs , week later same problem and crack the head . that how seller cheat on selling cars .

[Logbear]

It's been 3 weeks since I did the Barrs treatment. Either my head gasket wasn't bad to begin with or the Barrs stuff is a miracle worker. At any rate the good old Tercel with 327,000 miles on it runs like a top. No leaks at all. 30 MPG. 90 mile round trip commute every day. I'm not going through as much oil as I was before the Barrs treatment. Not sure why, but I like it. The oil is perfectly clean and oily.

[Neu]

If you do the barr's treatment the right way, there is hardly any, if any, left after you do the many, many flushes that it says to do on the bottle.

[Petros]

Hey logbear,

With that many miles on that engine, maybe it is time you took one of those spare engines you have sitting around your place and rebuild it. I can help you make it "better than new". With the amount of driving you do it might be a good idea rather than to wait until the barr's leak gives up.

With one of your spares rebuilt and ready to go, you can swap out the old engine with the fresh one on a Saturday, and be driving the new engine to work on Monday.

[teenahlake]

How about a cheaper part # for the fan thermostat relay. is there an equivalent part to be had for less