sneaky7980

iTrader: (15)

Long story short i was halfway through a 9 hour drive and starting leaking coolant somewhere out of the rear of the engine. It was within the first 15 minutes of driving when i went through a mcdonalds drive through. Looked under the car and it was almost a stream dripping off of the rear of the motor, running down off of the oil pan. I looked the best i could under the hood but couldn't see anything. I couldnt see anything wet from under the hood. Didn't see anything on the firewall.

I decided to try and nurse it home another 4 hours so i bought some water at walmart and hit the road. The weird thing is, i pulled over periodically to check the collant level and it stopped leaking. I drove it around a couple of miles yesterday to duplicate the problem and no leak!

ANy ideas on what to look for? ALso how could it stop leaking like that after it was damn near pouring out?

Its a stock engine A4 99 TA with 90k. Also i never picked up any smell from the heater or inside the car, only when the windows were down.

bjamick

iTrader: (31)

So you seen all this water pouring from the bottom of the car, yet when you check coolant it was fine?

Did you just come out of a car wash?

sneaky7980

iTrader: (15)

I actually just left my hotel parking lot. I was at a light and smelled a coolant leak and thought it was the POS behind me but just to be safe i checked under my car. It was def me leaking. More so at idle than when revving the engine.

sneaky7980

iTrader: (15)

Maybe i should clarify a bit. Smelled coolant leak, looked under car and it was almost pouring out. Checked level and it was low. Added water, drove for about 30 minutes, never ran hot, looked under car and no more leak. Level was fine.

jattgunman

iTrader: (1)

It's probably your water pump going bad, there's a weep hole on the bottom side of the pump where the coolant is coming from, mine did the same thing intermittently

bjamick

iTrader: (31)

Ok got ya, ya i would say it's the water pump most definitely. Just had a truck do the same thing, but kept pouring water out.

sneaky7980

iTrader: (15)

Isnt the water pump on the front of the engine with the rest of the accessories?

bjamick

iTrader: (31)

Yep, but it leaks on the back side of it and it will run down the block and get to wherever it can.

Answer this, how many miles are on the pump? And has it ever been replaced?

sneaky7980

iTrader: (15)

It's still original with 90k. Is there any kind of coolant crossover tubes aft of the intake manifold? I didn't see anything wet near the water pump when it was leaking. Car was parked at idle when it was damn near pouring out the rear somewhere.

bjamick

iTrader: (31)

90k is right about at the breaking point of the pump. Also yes there is a coolant crossover on the rear of the engine.

The truck that had this same problem was sitting at idle, and puking out what looked like 5 gallons a min.

transaman98

iTrader: (16)

My car had the same problem. Come to find out it was the coolant crossover leaking. If that is the case, fortunately it is an easy fix!