Found my Coolant Leak - Lanos 1.5

[ChrisHarding]

Hi Guys

My coolant that disappears very slowly (like 250ml over 100kms) is at last rearing it's ugly head...I have a little green puddle directly under the motor on the timing belt side so surely that must be water pump housing where it's coming from???? The hose going in there has been replaced and is dry!!
Ok, my big question is how do you change the pump!!! I took off the timing belt cover but you can't see anything cos the back of the plastic cover hides it. Do you have to remove the timing belt first before the plastic housing can come off??? Easy job or not ?? or should I get my local KMart service centre do the job for me????

The coolant MUST be leaking from there as everything else is dry and the little green puddle is pretty much directly below the timing belt housing.

Some assistance would be much appreciated!!

Chris

[benzino]

you have to remove the timing belt.

you should take the oppurtunity to replace the timing belt and tensioners as well if it is due.

however, don't do it yourself if you're at all unsure.
Also, assuming you're in Australia, don't go to KMart... they will rip you off

when I got my belt done, I went to a local mechanic and was charged around $300 including the belt etc
but before that, I got a quote for $1300!!!!!
if you get quoted over, say, $450 or $500 the mechanic probably doesn't want to do it (or is scared by daewoos!)

good luck
-Ben

[MMamdouh]

removing an old water pump from the block could be a real pain in the ass... i say leave it to a professional

MMamdouh

[ChrisHarding]

Thanks Guys

I don't really want to tackle such a job anyway...if the belt has to come off then I'll let the pros do it!! Yep, KMart is usually a ripoff but our local branch is run by a buddy of mine and he charges me less than other mechs. It sounds like it would be really sensible to change the pump and the belt!! I bought the car at 165,000kms and it's at 178,000 now...I have no idea whether the belt was changed a few weeks before I bought it or at 100,000kms....a broken belt causes havoc so I'll get that done too!!!

Thanks again for practical advice...other than the coolant leak the car runs sweetly!!!

Chris

[Puddle31]

i have a 1.6 and the last time i had a timing belt change i had a leak there too. when i finally found it, it was from a coolant line above and behind the timing belt cover, on the top of the engine. They put the hose back on but did not get the clamp over the fitting correctly. it ended up being a 30 second, free fix rather than a big deal. wipe everything down and work your way up the motor to see where it is coming from first. you may save yourself some time and $$.