Slight Coolant Leak

[sir john]

Under the LS to drain the engine oil today and I noticed a few droplets of greenish water hanging from the front of the engine sump. It tasted sweet so assume coolant leak.

The car has been standing in the workshop for a couple of weeks but reversed out and back into the workshop (to get it onto ramps) just prior to finding these droplets.

Nothing else was wet. Just these few droplets. Is the water pump in the middle of the engine right at the bottom?

[ColinBarber]

The water pump is basically central. The bottom pulley is the crank.

[sir john]

That sounds like it Colin.

The fluid level has always droped by about an 1" in the expansion tank then no more. If i top it up, it drops again. Always seemed a bit strange to me.

I thought that maybe it was firing out what i didnt want, but now i have found a potential leak im thinking of using an additive.

What do you think?

[ROYT]

Your not supposed to drink the coolant............

[steve2006]

I wouldn't consider tasting any liquid with a geenish yellowish tint paricularly if it was warm!

If it's been like that for a good while , hasn't got any worse and the pump isn't making any unusual noises I would leave it until the cambelt is due then do the whole lot togther.

[Malc]

Strange, I had the same problem with my Mk2 and could never think that the waterpump was leaking coz it never dropped any further ! even after just leaving it for months ........ I put it down to evaporation or pressure build up that popped the excess out of the header unit until it reached that critical level.

Wouldn't the level just continue to drop until the tank was empty ( and more ) if the waterpump really was leaking ?

Malc

[sir john]

I first noticed it in Feb 2010. I maked the expansion tank with a line and date. If i top it up, it drops to this level and no further. I thought no more of it.

It was finding the droplets of coolant hanging from teh sump that got me thinking.

I think ill keep an eye on it and do nothing until something goes wrong.

[Malc]

I lived with mine exactly like that for 3.5 years and nothing ever untoward !

Malc

[sir john]

Its leaking more now. Got back from a drive to suffolk and back (650 miles +) and I had to put water in it. Bugger!

That was tuesday. Now, Friday, its dropped back to its old level.

Time to keep an eye on it. Glad I took the AA Breakdown Repair Cover last month.

[Malc]

I suppose the expansion tank cap is OK ? on my 92 LS400 the rubber insert was a bit dodgy and that caused fluid loss from the expansion tank

Malc

[sir john]

I suppose the expansion tank cap is OK ? on my 92 LS400 the rubber insert was a bit dodgy and that caused fluid loss from the expansion tank

Malc

Hmmmmmm. Thanks for that Malc.

Could be worth looking at. The drips so fluid on the sump are the worrying thing though.

[Titch LS]

I thought that coolant for an LS was Toyota 'red' ? Did earlier models use green then? I know that red is recommended as it's meant to preserve gasket seals and the water-pump seal. Seems strange to me that your coolant is green.