Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas of how to locate a possible coolant leak in my Pajero (Same 6G72 as TS era Magna's). The things which I have done to try and locate the leak are:

- visually checked when the motor is hot and cold to see if there are any visible leaks from hoses, fittings etc

- pressure test done twice with no noticable leak detected

- TP (?) test done to check if head gasket is leaking (checks for exhaust gases)

- oil is fine and not milky

- radiator cap and thermostat replaced

Are there any other ideas on where it could be going? It loses about half a litre per 100kms and I have run out of ideas on where the water could be going.

Another thing is, when the car is hot, the top radiator is hot to touch (which I would have expected) although the bottom radiator hose is only warm.

Thanks for reading!

Ok, this happened to me once while putting the heads back on the engine.
I left the bolts out to hold the water bar (goes in the back of the water pump) and it leaked pretty bad.

Obvioulsy once i had tightened it, it was fine, but theres an O ring there that could possibly be shot, or could be coming from the water pump?

Just an idea

If the water pump was leaking, the leak would be obvious though wouldnt it? As in dripping down to the floor as there are no visible drips on the floor at all.

If the water pump was leaking, the leak would be obvious though wouldnt it? As in dripping down to the floor as there are no visible drips on the floor at all.


Yeah, guess so...dunno just a thought.
Have you got it on stands? Id just leave it idling for like 10 minutes with a light underneath to see if theres anything.
Cause if its not getting burnt (your exhaust fumes white?) id have to be dripping out somewhere

The pipe that runs under the inlet manifold, can I visually inspect this or does the manifold need to be removed?

Also, if the water pump is leaking, will this show up under the car, or does the timing cover need to be removed to inspect this?

Thanks

worse case scenario is that you have a blown head gasket and it is actually going into the cylinder and burning off.

worse case scenario is that you have a blown head gasket and it is actually going into the cylinder and burning off.

Yes but if it was he's exhaust smoke would be white.
So if hes exhaust smoke isn't white, thats not his problem.

With my car tez i had the inlet manifold removed.
Filled it up with coolant and started squeezing the top hose and keeping an eye out for a leak, and surely enough i found all of them that way

Might take off the inlet manifold on the weekend. Does it require a new gasket as I want to get all those bits instead of having to chase around parts on the weekend :doubt:

Ive dropped it off at a mechanic today to see if they can source the leak. Its really starting to get to me! If they dont find it, I'll take the inlet manifold off and check all that plus the water pump.

Edited : no white smoke, just blue smoke at idle from the valve seals. :)

it doesn't always blow smoke with a gasket gone though. when my falcon did a head gasket i had filled the radiator up 3 times before i saw any smoke. and the smoke was only when i initially started it if there was water in the cylinder and it was on it's intake or compression stroke. if it was on it's exhaust stroke then it would just dump the water out into the exhaust and slowly boil it off as you drove.

but check all your hoses first. but you could always pull out the front 3 spark plugs to check to make sure there is no sign of water in those 3 cylinders.

Yeah I mean the more and more I think about it, it could be a small leak which is buring away, although the symptoms dont really seem to indicate a blown head gasket.

Any other ideas before I pay a mechanic $$$$ to pull it down to have a look

Still no resolution with my water leak. I got the water pump replaced and its still using a bit of water. Are there any on car tests that can be performed to check if the head or head gaskets have failed or not?

What price range am I looking at to get the head gasket changed over :confused:

Check your interior carpets, could be leaking down from the heater core then through your carpet and onto the road.

Still no resolution with my water leak. I got the water pump replaced and its still using a bit of water. Are there any on car tests that can be performed to check if the head or head gaskets have failed or not?

What price range am I looking at to get the head gasket changed over :confused:

Ahhhh i can give you a rough price on getting HG's changed.
probably looking at $700-$900 depending on who does it for you.
probably about 2-3 days in the workshop too usually..

Could be a tight**** and use chemiweld.

what you could do is pressure test the cooling system overnight at a workshop


they pressurise cold
then pull out the plugs and look for coolant in the cylinders

the heads need to be pressure tested when removed (looking for internal cracks)
internal crack inside the block
check all the welsh plugs for leaks

the heater core again

for the problem you would expect overheating problems - air bubbles in the radiator

you replaced the cap thermo water pump nothing else to replace

There is no pipe under the manifold in the Pajeros, just on Magnas, so there's no need to take the manifold off.

The interior carpets seem to be fine. I have also stopped water from going into the heater core to see if it was the heater that was leaking, although it was still loosing water.

Ive got a pressure tester coming to me, so I will pressurise the system up and leave it overnight to see if there are any visible leaks externally. As for cheking for water in the cylinders, how do you do this?

Dont crank the engine without taking the spark plugs out first, ofter compressing the system.
As it may fill the cylinder/s with water and you will get hydraulic lock and you can bend rods... Mmmm Not good!