Afraid of the answer.....

[robdelorenzo]

I am beginning to believe that the water pump impeller melted or broke based on the fact that there is a fine black powder in the bottom of the coolant tank now that it's cooled off overnight and is only about 1/3 full.
Do I try bleeding it first?
What do I do?
It's become a money pit and I think that I may have a clogged cooling system as the mechanic suspects from the meltdown.

Any advice?

Junkers will give me about $1500 for the car.
Is it worth putting the kind of $$ into it to see what's going on?
It's a 2002 with 145k that was run while completely overheated. It seems to me that even if I do get the coolant thing sorted out, are there cracked heads or cylinders in my future?

Is this the type of scenario where the temp gauge will not register a problem as going above 190 but if there is no circulation, the temp is actually a lot hotter and then that is causing the overflow to dump coolant once it gets hot?

I'm trying to stay logical and reasoned without losing my mind here.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

I
What do I do?
Any advice?

You mentioned a shop in Lawndale so I assume that you live somewhere in the South Bay. Thus, I'd highly suggest taking the car to Callas Rennsport in Torrance and they will get it working in no time. This may cost you a little bit but it will be well worth the money to get some peace of mind.

[robdelorenzo]

Yes, I do live in the south bay.
I have been going to Rob Wessels at Dutch Treat.
He's a good guy and has been straight with me all along.
A second opinion can never hurt, though.

911 Monty, I'm going to go outside and look at the car and shoot some photos for you.
Last night when I had the rear end up in the air (insert bad jokes here) I crawled under the car and saw the water coming out of the end of the drain hose from the coolant tank. That was the only place that is leaking.

I will report back shortly and yes it's 2 billion degrees here, too.
It's been like this for about a week now, but summer is always in Sept-Oct in Socal.

[robdelorenzo]

Yes, 911Monty.
There is NO DOUBT that is the hose that is leaking.
I saw it with my own eyes last night.


So I will now go and look through the drain hole and see what's going on.

[911monty]

Ok. Good. Is that coolant leaking from the seam?

[robdelorenzo]

I need to go check that next and will report back.

[robdelorenzo]

ok. Thanks for your patience. Here are a few photos and what I just did this afternoon and what happened:









I had the rear of the car lifted overnight with the bleeder valve open. I started the car and ran it until the cooling fans came on. I looked in the drain hole and did not see any fluid moving, but I did stick a dry screwdriver in it and it came out wet.

I do not see any obvious cracks or leaks in or around the coolant tank.
It did start leaking from the overflow as soon as I started the car.
I felt the hose coming from the engine and it was warm. The hose coming from the thermostat was not, even once the cooling fans came on. If the thermostat is stuck closed would this cause the coolant in the engine to heat up enough to where it then is spit back into the overflow? It's a low temp thermostat from Pelican that was put in about 3 months ago that may have been damaged by the meltdown. What would the symptoms be? The temp gauge rises to 180 or so very rapidly and didn't used to do that before the meltdown. If the water pump impeller is melted or missing, would I have these same symptoms as well?

What I simply have not understood yet is why it starts dumping coolant from the overflow as soon as I start the engine from dead cold. In this case it sat all evening.
The new oil does have it purring as it should, so now I just need to understand what's needed to keep it cool.

I appreciate the help. It's not Tuesday yet and I really believe that with your help and experience I can get to the culprit logically and without going broke?

Thank you!

[911monty]

Originally Posted by 911monty

Ok. Good. Is that coolant leaking from the seam?

This was post #84.