Leaking everything!!!

[dwd1985]

Yes, I had read your post, but unfortunately, a few things came up, and then it was dark and cold outside, and I ddint feel like crawling around on my cold concrete driveway trying to feel along the radiator and such. But anyways, here is the scenario as of now:
I left it sitting for about 8 hours yesterday, and could not get it to leak. This was with temperatures in the high 60's, and a cool engine. I did take it for a trip around the blcok, just to get some circulation, but to no avail, still no leak.
I left it overnight, and right before I went to bed it still hadnt leaked. When I woke up this morning I checked it out, and sure enough, it was dripping again. The temperature was probably in the mid 40's.
I drove it to work (a 10 minute trip), no overheating, no nothing.
I let it sit at work for about 10 hours, and when I got back out there, sure enough, it had leaked out almost everything. However, the radiator was still full. Temperatures today were in the high 50's.
I added more coolant, warmed it up, and no leak. So I drove home. The fact that it only seems to leak after it has been warmed up or when it is cold outside, and not when it is a warm day with a cool engine leads me to beleive it is a cracked hose. I just wish I could find the hose or connection. But the weird thing is, the hose at the front of the car that leads directly to the radiator is slmiy like it has been leaking, yet where it drips is nowhere near this hose.
Also, I knew that you should normally add the fluid to the reservoir, and not the radiator, but the fluid level in the reservoir was full, and the radiator was empty. I figured it was worth a try.

[Earthworm]

If there any coolant on the bottom engine cover? What about below the battery box or the "rail" below the coolant overflow reservoir beside the engine?

[dwd1985]

Yes, there is coolant in both of those areas, but after jacking it up again, and spending time trying to duplicate the leak, I have finally relented and am taking it to a shop. My SVX finally had a problem that I couldnt fix on my own. I will post as soon as I find out what the problem is. Also, the oil leak seems to be coming from the left side of the oil pan, so I think it might just need a new oil pan gasket. And I am goign to order the power steering ring, and put that on, and hopefully that will solve that leak. Hopefully, 2 of 3 leaks will be fixed by then. Does anyone know of a proper procedure for putting on that PS ring?

[SilverSpear]

before taking it to the shop, try to take out the radiator and check if you can pinpoint a cracked hose. even you can fill it up water and seal the upper and lower hoses to see if the radiator is leaking from somewhere...

[dwd1985]

Well, I already took it to a shop late on Saturday, otherwise, that would be a good suggestion. The only thing is, I figured out why the radiator was low that one time. There are 2 seperate leaks. One seems to be coming from right around the coolant reservoir. The other is a very very small leak in the front radiator hose. That hose kept getting slimy after I would wipe it off. It is a very small pinhole leak, and after the shop figures out what the other leak is (and I figure out if I can repair it or not), then I will just replace that hose. But I am sure there are two seperate leaks, and the major one is definetly not the radiator.

[Earthworm]

Someone has previously mentioned the connection to the coolant reservoir is the cause of the leak.

[dwd1985]

I just got diagnosed, and apparently, I need a new water pump to take care of the coolant leak, and for the oil leak, I need new cam and crank seals and a new valve cover gasket. Estimate right now is $569.39 for the water pump and cam/crank seals, and $218.31 for both valve cover gaskets. So since I do most of my work myself, and would like to try to do this myself too, how difficult is this, and is this something that someone who is relatively amateur can do themself? Has anyone ever done this before who can guide me through a process for this?

[SilverSpear]

Your problems appeared as i have told you so far... the water pump, the cracked hoses. you can do most of the work by yourself... but i dunno about the cam seals and crank seals. Which ones you mean by that?

[mbtoloczko]

Originally Posted by dwd1985

I just got diagnosed, and apparently, I need a new water pump to take care of the coolant leak, and for the oil leak, I need new cam and crank seals and a new valve cover gasket. Estimate right now is $569.39 for the water pump and cam/crank seals, and $218.31 for both valve cover gaskets. So since I do most of my work myself, and would like to try to do this myself too, how difficult is this, and is this something that someone who is relatively amateur can do themself? Has anyone ever done this before who can guide me through a process for this?

There are quite a few recent threads on R&Ring the t-belt, the waterpump, and front engine seals. There is a guy who as a pretty good how-to on his website. I was working on a how-to, but I can't find it at the moment. Might be on one of my computers at home.

[dwd1985]

Ok, so from looking through my search results for each of the items I need replaced (Water pump, Cam seals, crank seals, and valve cover gaskets) that I can probably do this all by myself, with the exception of the valve cover gaskets. So, can anyone tell me what parts that I need to order for the rest? When looking at those ridiculously useless black and white drawings on subaruparts.com, I have realized that it is nearly impossible to figure out what is what. Also, while looking at the water pump pictures, there are alot of other parts there, and it made me start to wonder if I needed to order just the pump itself, or if there were other parts that I would need to replace with the pump. So if someone who has ever done these replacements can give me any information they have (such as part #'s and how-to's) I would greatly appreciate it.

[SilverSpear]

I suggest you take out the water pump, see what parts are damaged from the assembly, and go to a local dealer and replace them. As for the engine seals, you have to take out the timing belt to replace them. Do you know how to get it back? it has a part similar to a small piston which you have to compress in order to put it back. It's not an easy thing to do, especially the timing belt thing and the covers gaskets... You must require professional help

[dwd1985]

So rather then risk screwing things up by doing this myself, I have decided to just let the shop do it. So let me give a word of advice to everyone. If you need subaru parts, use 1stsubaruparts.com. The shop was originally quoting me $120 for the water pump, but 1stsubaruparts has it for $86, and only about $10 more for shipping. And that isnt all, every part the shop told me I needed, I got them to give me the part numbers for, and I looked them up myself, and got them for much cheaper then the shop was charging me. So I told them I would order the parts, and they could install them. All in all, the shop wanted about $500 for parts, and im getting the same exact parts for alittle under $300 shipped! It can save you alot of money, so I highly recomend using them, even over subaruparts.com, because even their prices were higher then 1stsubaruparts, and their shipping was ALOT more then 1stsubaruparts.

[mbtoloczko]

If you have the correct tools, its really not that hard to do the waterpump, seals, and t-belt. If you have alternate transportation, then its even easier. I thought the hardest part was effectively tightening the crank pully and cam sprockets to the correct torque. The tool I made got the job done, but it took two people to do it. Its a little stressful getting out the seals too, but I trust myself more than the average mechanic.

I just uploaded the how-to I was working on a month ago. Here is a link:

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/fil...czko/31558.pdf

[SilverSpear]

The trick Mychailo is with the belt tensioner adjuster... this is the hardest part.
dwd really needs the correct tools to do it

[dcarrb]

Others should be aware that not all shops take kindly to a customer bringing-in his or her own parts, and if they DO use your parts, they may not guarantee the work. Worth checking first.

dcb