I have a '99 Sunfire GT (2.4L),with 75,000 miles, which started loosing coolant recently. The coolant drips down from the driver's side, off of the transmission/transaxle. I jacked up the car in attempt to determine exactly where it was coming from. It appears to me that it is coming out all around where the exhaust manifold attaches to the engine. It especially seems to be coming out through the bolt holes. I took two digital pictures that can be viewed at:
http://www.oss.buffalo.edu/~pautler/leak/
(www.oss.buffalo.edu/~pautler/leak/)
The pictures were taken from under the car, looking up.
With the engine running, I can actually see a little bit of "bubbling" around the bolts.
I'm guessing that this is indicative of some sort of gasket failure. Can anyone help me out with regards to diagnosis, corrective measures, and approximate cost? I do a lot of my own minor repairs, but I'm pretty sure this is a case where I'm going to need to take it to my local garage (and/or consider just getting rid of the car, depending on the cost).
Thanks!!
-Joe
it wont be coming from the exhaust manifold gasket, I can gaurantee you that. The exhaust gasket doesn't cover any coolant passages on the exhaust side of the head. I'd check the coolant lines that run up from the the thermostat housing and back around to the drivers side of the engine, or your headgasket. Those are my suggestions...
I agree with cmunn, it won't be coming from the exhaust manifold. My guess is that it's leaking from the head (head gasket is toast) and down onto the exhaust manifold. Do you ever see white smoke coming out of your exhaust (not the typical condensation smoke that comes when you start your car in the cold nor the bluish smoke, which would be oil)? If so, that's definitely indicative of a bad headgasket b/c that would mean coolant is getting into the cylinders.
From your visual observation (seepage at exhaust flange)
there apparently is a crack in a water jacket that extends
into an exhaust port...
Thanks for all of the tips so far!
The coolant sure seems to be leaking out from around the exhaust manifold, and through the bolts that attach the exhaust manifold to the engine (see pics referenced in original post). I am certainly a novice with regards to this sort of thing, but it seems like somehow, somewhere, coolant is leaking into the exhaust pathway, and getting blown out around the exhaust manifold.... and also appears to be getting blown out the tailpipes as well.
Could a breached "head gasket" result in that type of scenario?
Somebody else, who isn't familiar with the specifics of my actual engine, was asking me if there was a "soft plug" in the area of the leak... something about a hole in the block that would have been used to remove the casting sand from the mold during manufacturing, and then plugged with some sort of metal insert. I haven't looked that up in my service manuals yet, but I figured I'd mention it here in case anyone could definitively rule that in or out as a possibility.
I'm not sure what "water jackets" are...but I'll look that up in my service manuals too, as soon as I'm done with this post.
I can't say that I've noticed white smoke coming out of the tailpipes, but then again I've never looked. I'll take a look at that.
Thanks again for all of the tips!!
-Joe
I'm wrong...
I clicked to enlarge the head, and yes, there is a freeze
plug (part #38) at the front of the head...
Not close to the exhaust manifold, though....
