josediablo

When I came up with a P0125 (among other emission codes) and read some of the posts here, I went back to look at my coolant levels and did find the overflow reservoir at low level. Started the car and kept it running for at least 10 minutes before i noticed a drip of coolant below the vehicle on my garage ramp. I jacked up the vehicle today and tried to trace the drip as best I could and could only trace it back to the left corner of the engine (driver side rear) just above the transmission. It appears it may be leaking from the gasket at the lower corner, but i cannot be certain, as I cannot see beyond and above that corner.

As information I just had a garage change out my rack and pinion and have a strange feeling that they knicked something in the process of removing the power steering connections. I don't know much about the locations of the cooling piping. The leak starts just when the engine has warmed up and stops after another 10 or 15 minutes. I'm glad I did go under the car to check for leaks, bcause i found the right rack and pinion boot had twisted, probably when they did the alignment. The nuts must not have loosened the clamp on that end.

Does anyone have any idea where this leak could be coming from? Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

Baetke

One possibility is the throttle body. The throttle body has 2 hoses connected to it to circulate coolant through it to keep it from freezing up. They are about 1/2 inch in diameter and are located under the throttle body. If you can't find them I might be able to locate a picture and post it.

Baetke

code58

It's actually the IACV (idle air control valve) Always a possibility they messed one of them up somehow. Some mechanics (I know there are a lot of good ones) are about like trained monkeys. Can you imagine what that picture would look like. I spent most of my life in automotive work and can tell you for a fact, there's a lot of damage done while a car is in the shop being worked on, and rarely ever do they take responsibilty for it.

thomas1

On mine it was the intake manifold leaking...There was crust around the thermostat housing by the starter, the fluid would migrate to the rear drivers side of engine I guess with the air flow through the engine compartment. Look closely on the drivers side of the engine in the valley between the cylinder heads and see if you have the same problem.

RX300CE

You're 100% correct, they messed up and they don't take responsible for what they did, I am not pro but I have all basic tools, I rarely take my cars to auto repair shops only something I could not do it .

thomas1

here is picture of mine when it was leaking I thought it was thermostat, but turned out to be intake manifold gasket. (hey better than a head gasket) the fluid would drip on top rear of transmission housing...

josediablo

Thank you for your responses. I have a guide map now on what to look for. Really appreciate it. Will follow-up as soon as I've checked it out. Thanks again. Baaetke, if you can find the pic. of the IACV would be much obliged. As for trained monkeys, I think that needs a full thread running about 10 pages long, and even then we might leave some stuff out. That's why it must be made mandatory to inspect your vehicle at the garage that did the repair before you take it home. It's sort of a final check before accepting the vehicle back. As a former sailor, when your vessel went into dry-dock, you very often had problems coming out of dry-dock that you never dreamed existed, like untorqued bolts on a main sea-scution valve. Do you know how many guys it takes to stand on the valve chest to keep the valve flange seating so you can torque the bolts? Of course, in the meanwhile you better have all your emergency bilge pumps working to pump the bilges so you don't flood the engine room!!! The good part is after the marathon session is done with, and your watch is over, you meander to the "officer's bar" (British Flag vessels only) and then spin some more stories over a few pints of whatever is on tap!!! Oh the good days!!

thomas1

The right rear corner of the engine block (drivers side) was where mine dripped...The engine is slanted toward the firewall and thus the fluid goes in that direction....get a flashlight and look between the valley of the cylinder heads and make sure you dont have the same leak I did.....If it is get a six pack or whiskey of your choice....

Baetke

Here is a diagram showing how the coolant flows throughout the engine. You can see where it flows through the throttle body where I circled it in red.

Baetke

Here is a picture showing one of the coolant hoses going to the throttle body outlined in yellow.
The hose outlined in red is NOT a coolant line. It is part of the IACV system. The other coolant line does not show up in the photo but you should be able to find it by inspection. It is the third hose connected to the throttle body.

josediablo

Thanks everyone for all your input. I took the car back to the same garage who did the steering rack and pinion and told them about the leak. I had to take it back to straighten out the right side steering boot which had a twisted because of their screwup when aligning. Because they knew they had screwed up and did not want to tick me off, they corrected the twisted boot, found the leaking hose (which they must have known about when they took the rack and pinion out, but did not mention which one specifically) and tightened the clamp, and even fitted the front and rear air fuel ratio sensors (which I bought on-line Denzo) all for no charge!!! So far so good 50 miles since the sensors were changed and no Chk Eng. light on.

Again thanks all.

thomas1

Hey good job and thank you for the feed back on the solution....