sayow

Timing belt and water pump installed... one drive belt tensioner assembly and new radiator later all appears well.

Car starts up and is smooth as the day it drove off the line, save for a little tapping that is clearly outside the engine and fairly minor but noticeable. I tell the mechanic that is not how it sounded before the timing job and he agrees.

He crawls under the car and tells me that there is some plastic piece that is making the noise and he proceeds to go to work making the noise stop. 2 hours later, no noise but now I have a small drip of coolant coming from the underside of the car.

At this point, shade tree mechanic time is over and I just took it to a reputable place here in town where they put it on a lift and clear as day, the drip is coming from the very bottom of the crank pulley "housing".

They are going to keep it over night and get there tomorrow AM (1.8 hours R and R). I am praying its a simple O-Ring or the like.

On the plus side, even with new tensioner assembly and radiator I am well under 1,000 total with TBelt kit and labor and the car runs fantasic (save for the leak)

That total will climb tomorrow, but the dealer wanted 1800 which sounds almost reasonable at this point...

LScowboyLS

well I hope you are under $1000, the OEM Aisin timing belt kit is $200 and a radiator is less than $200 aftermarket, and this boob who is helping you is clearly not worth $600 - lol

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

For major stuff like this, always go to the dealer or reliable mechanic. A back alley mechanic just isn't worth the saving or hassle

YoshiMan

Sounds like a leaky water pump installation to me. If it leaks, it'll travel down inside of the timing belt case and pool around the crank pulley, which is what you are seeing leak out.

sayow

OK dumb question time.

Someone explain the proper way to install the gasket and high temp sealant.

Is it:

A) Pump + Gasket + Sealant

or

B) Pump + Sealant + Gasket

or

C) Pump + Sealant + Gasket + Sealant again

sayow

For the record, I believe its A but it almost looks like my "mechanic" (I am having trouble calling him that now) chose B

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

either water pump or (more likely) the upper radiator hose is leaking and it's dripping down the timing cover.

LScowboyLS

for the record, I am not a fan of FIPG (permatex, sealants, whatever) - these are installed on water pumps, oil pans, tranny pans in Japan using a robot - you, nor your "mechanic" is a robot, so folks often end up with sealant going where it shouldn't

I use a good old Fel-Pro gasket for all of these applications and nothing ever leaks on me! - and I never have to worry about sealants sqeezing into the transmission pan etc, as Yamae discovered inside of his transmission from an earlier mechanic.

I might put a tiny dab of sealant in the corners of critical areas on a water pump job, along with the gasket, depending on how well the gasket and sealing surfaces were made, but I have never used sealants on a pan, and never had any leaks or worries.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

agreed with cowboy. the aisin pump i received from ebay came with a preformed gasket, so there should be no reason to use FIPG sealant. the only time i used FIPG was for the thermostat housing.

Shmee

iTrader: (3)

As already stated, most likely a leaking water pump. Upper rad hose, thermostat housing or damaged hose could also cause a small leak.

sayow

And all of the above would result in leaking at the crank pulley?

I left the car at the "real mechanic" overnight but I am heading up there first thing in the morning.

LScowboyLS

the appearance of leaking at the crank pulley - the coolant dribbles down and appears to be coming from the crank pulley, as it is the lowest point, but the leak is from something higher up - there is nothing behind the crank pulley itself that carries coolant

sayow

Update:

Leak was at the thermostat housing... thank god I do not have to tear the front of the engine down to get to the pump!

All is well and now I can concentrate on some interior work (new leather on seats, ECU, new wood shifter, new head unit).

Thanks for all the help guys, I love you all and this forum