2000 3.8 with 76,000 miles. I've had it for a few months (3,000 miles or so)and have put in 1 gallon of anti-freeze since then. I just pressure tested it and lost 1 lb in 20 minutes but the engine was still slightly warm so I figure it was just cooling a little yet. No anti-freeze smell at the pipe or inside the van. No visible leaks. No codes and it runs great. I can see inside the radiator cap where the previous owner had poured in something like Bars Leaks. My next step is a compression check but the back cylinders look like a bear.
gas28man
09-26-2005, 11:26 AM
My first culprit for a slow coolant leak would be the water pump. It's tough to see any leaks there since heat tends to immediately evaporate whatever trickles out, but one time, on another car, I saw just a faint white coating below the bearing on my water pump right before it gave out, and this was probably the warning sign that there was a leak at the bearing, which was headed for failure. See if you see anything unusual on the underside of your water pump, and listen to see if the pump is making any noises as the engine runs (the pump should be near-silent). Those would be your warnings. And the pump is cheap, less than $35, and very easy to replace on the 3.8s.
Good luck and let us know what you find.
Rick
davet
09-27-2005, 08:41 AM
Thanks. I've had water pumps leak before also but I didn't check this one because I didn't see any fluid and I thought 1 gal was too much to just be seepage. I didn't think of the fact that it might be evaporating, good point. I'll check it today hopefully. That sounds better than a head gasket.
