Check the water pump whip-hole, use a Q-tip and put in it to see if it catches any coolant, small leaks from there are hard to see unless it leaks a lot,, usually it starts with very small amount & then gives away all of sudden,

 

Put back on the original reservoir cap. Drove to gas station and parked. No drip. Filled up and drove 15 minutes at 55 mph. Parked. No drip.

Standing here waiting for a leak. No leak. Wonder if new cap not venting and forcing coolant out somewhere?

This drip did not start until I put my new $12 el cheapo cap from eBay on yesterday



Also, 1 bottle of Purple Ice did not lower temp 1 degree on this drive. Still 212 cruising and 215 max temp

 

My $8 Gates worked fine and stick to those or Stant. Found under radiator cap rather than reservoir. More Information for GATES 31331

New cap probably fine and making you aware of a problem, minor seeps can often develop into active drip type leaks once systems are tightened up and operating at correct pressure. I saw similar thing once my seeping reservoir was replaced.
......

 

Makes sense. Well, if I plan a project, what should I order in advance? Timing cover seal? Then if I open that up, new water pump? New chain? New seals? I'm cool with moving the compressor and alternator and going in the timing cover, just not sure what to do once I'm inside.

 

Diagnose, diagnose, diagnose.

You are most likely correct that the new coolant cap simply put pressure on the system and revealed the next weakest point. But it's not the problem; it's working as it should. Same thing happened after I did my headgaskets 5-1/2 years ago; suddenly I had a throttle body heater leak and blew out the bleed screw mount in my old-style upper radiator hose.

The front cover gasket on my friend's '04 DII failed a couple of years ago so badly that coolant ran out as fast as he could pour it into the reservoir. The local Rover-specialist shop that did the $700+ replacement said it was the worst they'd ever seen and they've seen a lot of Rovers.

That price for a gasket replacement shows just how much labor is involved in pulling the front cover. The oil pan has to come off too. I wouldn't do that unless the need is clearly indicated. That said, the other local Rover shop said they've seen some fractured oil pump gears in DIIs lately so if you have to replace the front cover gasket at some point take a good look at the oil pump gears and be prepared to replace them if needed. Or just replace them anyway as a preventive measure if you have the front cover off. And once you're that far into it a new timing chain and gears might make sense if you expect to keep the truck for a while, depending on their condition. Plus a front cover gasket job has the bonus of a new oil pan gasket too!

But more likely it is only the water pump. That's a much, much easier job. I helped a guy in my neighborhood do his a couple of years ago. Shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours at most; much less if you're experienced. Just make sure you know which bolt goes into each hole; they're not all the same length. And at least one needs thread sealer applied because it goes through a coolant passage. Just follow the RAVE instructions. And if you do need a water pump Disco Mike always recommended the brass impeller version made by Airtex and sold by bputah.com. They have them at a special price right now.

And finally, water pumps are not a scheduled maintenance item. Some don't make it to 100,000 miles without failing. My '99 is now at 153K and the water pump is fine. I remove the serp belt a couple times a year and check for play in the pump shaft by grabbing the fan and trying to move it up, down and sideways. And no weep hole leak. So far so good. But if I was going to do a long cross-country trip I might replace it anyway as a preventive measure.

Oh, and one more thing. Longtime forum contributor Savannah Buzz always made a point of saying that it's best practice to replace the fan clutch and the water pump at the same time. As he put it, they've danced together for years and years and millions of revolutions. If one is replaced and not the other the other often fails soon after. There are a lot of threads about replacement fan clutches that are more economical or better choices than OEM for the DII. Search for Hayden or Chevy Astro van.

But back to my first point - diagnose, diagnose, diagnose before buying parts. I especially like the Q-Tip test idea offered by BoM2oo2. Great idea.

 

Was just watching a video, good to see the water pump is outside timing cover- if that is the problem. Definitely much better than getting into and past the chain. Good call on the fan clutch too. I'll look into these. Also I need to re-read the q-tip instructions. Thanks.

 

Looks like directly below the alternator it's wet. Also dirty accumulation there so a likely source of a leak.

I just found a great How-to video for this. Wondering if I should order the pump and replace it regardless. http://www.roverparts.com/resources/...t-discovery-2/

 

Many thanks. What ever became of Disco Mike?

 

I'd recommend as part of your reconditioning project. Recently replaced mine at 97k, no leaks, functional, with clutch and belt off could tell bearing likely in need of grease. R&R of pump could've been a simple one hour job except for having to remove rock hard sealant used between gasket and timing cover. I used a Hylomar equivalent sealant on the long bolt threads and both sides of new gasket using an acid brush to apply.
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More Information for ACDELCO 252851
More Information for HAYDEN 2991

If you replace pump it's a good idea to drain and flush cooling system prior to doing so. I did more than once since local temps permitted driving without antifreeze. Used a gallon of white vinegar for cleaning and water, drove for a few days, drained, flushed, refilled with water and drove again until day was right for pump change. Thorough flush/cleaning of block and radiator resulted in a slight decrease in cruise temps and about 10 lower at idle.

You may want to replace the thermostat at the same time. Mine was slowly deteriorating beneath the top center hose. Temps dropped 5 F after replacement. Most vendors sell the aftermarket one for $20-30.
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You probably should get a replacement bleeder plug as well unless upper hoses recently done, BMW PN 17111712788 fits and many here recommend the brass ones. You may have read they often break or develop pinhole leaks.
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Those sound a bit high to me. My cruise is now 188-190 and max at idle has been staying below 200 per ScanGauge since doing the system mx on mine. You might also want to check your temps using a IR thermometer to check ECT sensor. Checked mine at sensor/manifold and found IR reading about 5 below the sensor output. Taking IR readings also good for assessing condition of radiator. Handy tool and fairly inexpensive these days.

Good luck finding/repairing your leaks, good to know you're monitoring your temps and level.
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All great points. Thanks!

Replaced radiator, t-stat, upper hoses, t-fitting and coolant all last year.

With no leak test kit, I am parked at home, waiting for the leak. It won't drip until after I park, wait, it cools a bit, will leak about 1-2 tablespoons, then stop leaking.

???????

I drove home, parked, ate a sandwhich, walked my dogs, still waiting for drips to fall so I can try and see where. Lol. It won't drip while driving or while hot.