Hopefully some of you guys can help me out. My 01' D2 is loosing coolant. But it's not consistent...I mean the puddles on the ground aren't consistent but the loss of coolant is very consistent. My driveway is negative sloped and I back into it (so the front of the car is higher) and there is no leaks. But if I park on level ground coolant will drop out the drivers side front...sometimes. My current situation:
loosing coolant
oil is clear (no milky or foaminess)
no check engine light or any dash lights
runs normal temp with no AC; AC on the needle will rise
112k miles

But lately I can drive about a week and then the coolant resevoir is almost to the bottom so I top it off. I've been noticing this for the past three weeks. I replaced the thermostat, throttle body gasket and resevoir lid about a month ago.

I talked a Rover Mech and he said that I should just get a new radiator. But school is in session and I won't have time to go until mid December when break starts. Can any of you guys recommend a good temporary fix or if I should just keep topping it off until I can replace the radiator?

The shop that the previous owner used to maintain the car did the headgasket bout 30k miles ago. Right now the oil is clean, no milk, no foam. Everything else seems fine. Just getting this coolant consumption. Temp gauge remains normal but if I turn the AC on the needle will rise. Also the viscious fan likes to turn on when I start the car but goes off in bout 30 seconds. Thanks in advance for the replies guys!

Oh I'm in Los Angeles. The shop that was recommended to me is over an hour away. If anyone has a shop recommendation in Los Angeles please let me know. Thanks again!

 

Obviously...this is not a D2...lol.

You need to get a pressure tester for the coolant system, warm up engine, pump up tester and check it out. Small leaks can be difficult to find, especially on an aluminum block. But I surely wouldn't throw money (rad) at the problem without investigating.

Brian.

 

1. Before spending money on parts, find out where it is leaking. Then you can buy the correct parts.
2. If the needle on the dash is moving at all past 1/2, you are overheating. You say you replaced the stat, was it the gray 180 deg unit?
3. The fan you are hearing for 30 sec is probably the SAI pump and not related to the coolant or overheating issues. The fan connected to the viscous clutch is always turning, more when it is hot if the clutch is doing its job. If you are still running the original, I would buy a Hayden 2991 unit before I looked at a new rad.
4. For now, watch the coolant and add often as needed until you can fix it.

 

So the crazy turbine sound is the sai haaha.

Anyways so an update. So it started dripping today and I checked underneath. The drips are coming off of these two rigid tubes that are next to the oil pan. Maybe its coming from somewhere else and just ending up there, I have no idea.

Oh so it drips when the car is running. But with engine off there's no dripping.

I looked at those stop leak additives but they all say not to add into expansion tank. Where can I dump this stuff in? I need to do something. I'm going through about a gallon a week of coolant.

What you guys think? The leak centered now and dripping pretty steadily.

 

Those lines are for the trans cooler so it is not coming from those directly. Looks like it's dripping from the front cover area so I would first check the water pump.

If it is the pump, you should replace asap. They are not too expensive and pretty easy to install.

I would definitely not add any kind of stop leak. Not a fan of that stuff in general and if it is in fact leaking from the pump seal, stop leak have no effect. Just add coolant (each morning if necessary) until you can pinpoint the leak and repair it. JMHO.

 

Looks like the water pump to me. The hardest part of changing it is cleaning all of the old gasket material off the engine side of the mounting surface. I changed mine a couple of years back. Easiest water pump I've ever changed.

 

I checked around the water pump and saw bad coolant residue. I replaced it last weekend. Was rough experience. The actual change wasn't bad, it was just that of all the days in SoCal it decided to start raining right after I pulled off the serpentine belt haaha. And then a bigger slap in the face happened. After installing the new pump and a new serpentine belt I put the fan back on and then the rain stops!

I seems to be good for now. The temp gauge stays just below level, I tried the AC on full blast and the temp needle doesn't rise. It still has the trickling water sound behind the passenger dash. But not leaking anymore. It was bad, last week I had to refill the coolant every day.

Anyways. Thanks for the replies guys.

oh, reply to red5:
I installed the low temp 180degree motorad tstat. replaced the expansion cap too.

 

You have air in the system. Several runs to operating temps, let cool, top off, run, cool, and top off again will usually fix the air in the system especially with your sloped driveway. However on some D2's it can be a PITA. Just depends on the condition of the cooling system.

One other very famous place a D2 leaks coolant is the silly throttle body heater plate which is poorly designed with just 3 screws vs a screw in each corner. I personally bypass all of my D2 throttle body heater plates and have a much better piece of mind knowing that's one less place for a possible massive coolant loss failure.

Although some people swear you must keep it or risk a sticking throttle plate (which I have never experienced and my H3 Alpha with a 5.3L V8 didn't come equipped with so I find it extremely hard to believe unless you lived in the artic or your throttle body was just really dirty and stuck in place due to that)

 

If you live in a cold climate, DO NOT bypass your Throttle Body Heater. I bypassed it two months ago, as the second gasket failed in 2 years. I read accounts of people that claimed to live in Alaska and have no problems. I call bull****.
I just drove my 99 D2 in the first real cold of the year (Minus 29 degrees celsius) and the throttle stuck open within four minutes of driving. So, please don't do this unless it's an emergency to get you home.

 

Hello all. I left work around 3am last night and left base with everything running just fine. Woke up this morning to find a POOL of coolant with a very steady drip. It appears to be the same exact place as the rover in the pictures above. Would the cause of such a rapid loss of coolant so fast overnight and the steady drip also be associated with the water pump? Thanks everyone, I sure appreciate any help.