Coolant leaking coming from the front driver's side. What could be a cause?

269 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by mraussiedude, 20 d ago

mraussiedude

Discussion Starter · 21 d ago

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Hey guys,
I had a coolant leak for a little while now (puddles on the ground). At first I thought it was the heater core since my heater doesn't work and fogs up the windscreen. I have bypass it. Waiting for a mini break from work to install a new one I just bought.

But I notice it is still leaking (small puddle on the ground whenever I stop). I saw the dripping from the front drivers side.
I am thinking of the water pump, but previous owner had the timing belt change 12k ago (not sure if water pump has been done as well).
Also the radiator cap is shot so it could just be the overflow from poor pressure of the radiator cap that goes on the bottle. (I just bought a radiator cap, waiting for shipping).

Anything else it could be?

I have attached photos of the leak

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2010NitroHeat

· #2 · 21 d ago

I'm not that familiar with the cooling system on the Nitro yet, so I can't tell from the location of the drips, but it could also be radiator hoses?

When I first got my Nitro, a year and a half ago, the previous owner stated he changed the radiator. Shortly after I got it, I started to notice a drip. I was expecting the worst. It turned out, it was just a radiator hoses clamp that needed to be tightened down. Never dripped again after that.

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teahead

· #3 · 21 d ago

Could be a hose, could be a WP, or radiator.

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mraussiedude

Discussion Starter · #4 · 20 d ago

2010NitroHeat said:
I'm not that familiar with the cooling system on the Nitro yet, so I can't tell from the location of the drips, but it could also be radiator hoses?

When I first got my Nitro, a year and a half ago, the previous owner stated he changed the radiator. Shortly after I got it, I started to notice a drip. I was expecting the worst. It turned out, it was just a radiator hoses clamp that needed to be tightened down. Never dripped again after that.

Okay so I decided to change the expansion bottle metal cap (a trition recovery cap - 18psi, original one meant to be 21psi ... they didn't have it, so oh well). It actually held up really well on a 110km/h freeway and a full tank of coolant.

Most importantly, there seems to be no leak now and coolant level stayed full. So, my theory is that, the cap was faulty which is why it didn't sustain the right pressure needed causing the coolant to boil or overflow thus dripping in puddles on the ground (driver's top side). That area must be where the overflow tubing is located.

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