Re: coolant leak

["Nathan" <etherwolf@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Bummer. Sounds like the o-ring on the tube going into your water pump might
be losing its shape... this happened on my VR6 a year and a half ago in the
dead of winter. There's a 1-1/2" tube about a foot long that runs between
your water pump and your thermostat housing. It runs right along under the
lower intake manifold, which means you've got to pull the entire intake
manifold to work on the bastard. :-)

You should be able to see close to the end of this pipe from under the car,
so first thing I would do is get under there and look for the coolant drain
screw, which is about 1/3 of the way down the tube in question from the
t-stat housing... it's about 3/4" in diameter and is close to your oil
cooler (the little white square with a couple 1/2" hoses going to it, one of
which actually connects to the tube). From there you should be able to
follow the tube towards the passenger's side of the car, which is the end
with the water pump. If your hands come away covered in coolant, that's most
likely the source!

If you decide to tear into this, get an o-ring set for both ends of the
tube, as well as your t-stat housing (certainly doesn't hurt to do this
while it's apart, and o-rings are cheap). Otherwise expect to pay a small
ransom to get it fixed at a mechanic... there's a lot of time involved in
this one.

Hope that helps. Cheers,

# Nathan
1996 GLX

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jose Gomez" <gomez.jm@verizon.net>
To: <jettaglx@igtc.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2002 3:35 AM
Subject: coolant leak


I've got a small coolant leak from the engine somewhere underneath the
manifold which I can't seem to locate without taking the manifold off. Any
one have any ideas what it might be?

Thnks

Jose
95glx