water water leak

[debra pollard]

i have water leaking, drip drip drip drip2 drops per sac. it is coming out of a black plastic cover behind the harmonic balancer. thanks in advance for your help. i want to fix this myself...

 

[TrevC]

Hi Debra...suggest that this leak may be either from the waterpump or a core/freeze plug behind the cover.

Would definitely advise repairing it sooner than later as the frequency of coolant loss seems quite high and may lead to overheating.

Let us know how you get on with it

Cheers,  Trevor

[fhb5032]

Debra,
I'm not sure if there are casting core plugs, but the leak is most likely from the water pump. In any case, that cover is the timing belt cover  and to get it off and get to the water pump the radiator, hydraulic fan and pump, timing belt, and tensioner, harmonic balancer and a number of lesser parts have to be removed to get to the water pump - or the front of the block if it is a casting plug that's leaking.

Depending on the mileage, or the condition of the timing belt, you should replace a number components. They're not that expensive and it's better to do them all at the same time because of the labor involved.

It's not that hard a job, but quite complex and, if you want to do it yourself, start by getting a copy of the shop manual for that engine. They come up often on ebay and aren't very expensive and very useful if you intend to do all your own maintenance.I don't know much about the non-oem manuals - Haynes and the like, but because this is a very sophisticated engine it's best to go with the factory books.

I had to do the same thing last fall and it's reasonably straight forward - if you have the book.

Good luck.

Hugh