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Reply With Quotecheck your oil cap..if its a "milky" color...then its probably a head gasket
maybe the radiator is squirting fluid out to the side of your motor?
I had been leaking (slowly) coolant for a week or two, this just started after my idler sensor died, which led to my tranny being fickle, and then this. I never had so many issues all at once before, I don't know if they're all somehow related, but anyways, I'll try to describe where the leak is coming from as far as I can tell.
I just got an oil change yesterday, and the leaking seems to have increased right afterwards, my dad noticed a puddle so I looked under the car. The coolant is coming down around the oil filter and dripping from directly below the oil filter. From where I can tell, it starts from behind/between the alternator and the engine, it's visibly damp where the head meets the block (I think it's the block and the head at least) I'm going to spray off the engine bay at the car wash and take pics if that helps get a better view of the leak area.
Weird thing is that the radiator was almost full, it took less than 1/4 gallon of 50/50 to top it off, my resivoir however was bone dry.
Does this sound like a head gasket to you guys?
check your oil cap..if its a "milky" color...then its probably a head gasket
maybe the radiator is squirting fluid out to the side of your motor?
If it's not overheating, it's not a head gasket issue. It's very odd for a head gasket leak to be external. Very odd. I've seen it a few times but usually with oil. Even with a rare external leak, you'd still lose coolant in steam form, and subsequently overheat.
You've gotta describe the problem better and figure out what to look for. I honestly can't tell you what it is without also knowing if/when it's overheating. Are you driving the car for extended periods of time or is it doing this just sitting in a driveway? Once it warms up, the liquid you see seeping out shouldn't be liquid any more.
Doesn't sound like a head gasket to me, you'd have seen head gasket issues a while ago. I'd bet you have a coolant bypass hose that is leaking, that or your water pump weep hole is seeping coolant. If that is the case you'd need to replace the water pump, serpentine belt, and timing belt for good measure. But more information would be good to have.
no overheating, ever, and if i'm driving it's usually well over a half hour at a time. no smoke when i start it, the only thing that's happening is green antifreeze dripping from the oil filter/water pump/alternator area, I can't give you anymore info cause that's all there is.
And randomly today, after I washed the engine bay, I drove the car 20 miles to my mechanic and when I popped the hood, nothing. Bone dry (in the way of leaking). This morning I had a puddle, I stuck my finger in it to make sure it was coolant, and it was, bright green, can't mistake it, and later, just nothing. I looked for a long time too, around the water pump and alternator (which were earlier covered in the stuff) and around the oil filter and I could not find any trace of leaking coolant.
I guess I'll have to wait until my car spews another puddle to try to pinpoint the leak again. This car has and I'm pretty sure always will be a head scratcher in terms of maintenance and problem areas.
it's your water pump.
mine did the same thing. looked like it was coming from the head but the pump shot it up. everything you described i had and a new water pump fixed it.
if it were the head it would overheat.
"DSM's, making people mechanics since 1985"
Originally Posted by polishmafia
flipping mitsubishi dealer, i just had my timing belt done and they said they inspected the pump, only to find out a couple months later it goes kuput. i'll quote the guy here "the majority of galant water pumps will and have outlived the car"
They didn't inspect shit. Lazy ass dealerships. Just replace it yourself... they're only $50-75 remanufactured.
god i hate changing water pumps......
yeah, aren't they a bitch to change?
They SHOULD have done the water pump along with the timing belt, just for this reason.
Doesn't mean they didn't inspect it TJ, you know that.
Dave, you can't "inspect" these water pumps anyway, you know that. The most you can inspect is if they are leaking or not. And that tells you about jack shit. They could have kind of sort of checked the pulley for any play, but they usually make a racket, or don't. Point being, they should have recommended replacement of the water pump based upon the mileage and the opportunity, instead of bullshitting the customer. They only stood to make a bunch more money by tacking on 3 hours of labor to replace something that is right there anyway, when doing a timing belt job.
Dealerships are the devil. Plain and simple.
they didn't check mine either when i had the t-belt done.
then 20k after the timing job, the water pump went and i had to replace everything.
"DSM's, making people mechanics since 1985"
There are so few independent shops around here nowadays, dealerships are no more a devil than Tuffy (who proved they can't even do a tranny flush and fill properly) or Midas (who charge 190 bucks for a flex pipe and 5 minutes labor) type shops.
At least I can do my own brakes and other misc items.
when i had it blow it cost me $1400 timing job, balance shaft belts, all new belts, water pump, new main seal, and a horde of other shit. it was actually a decent deal. i had no choice because i needed the car for school.
just make sure whoever does it knows what they are doing
"DSM's, making people mechanics since 1985"
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2002 Mitsubishi Galant GTZ
1997 Mitsubishi Galant DE
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