Very slow coolant leak

Tiny
JEFF713
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 TOYOTA AVALON
  • 6 CYL
  • 169,000 MILES
My 2001 Avalon has 169,000 miles and has had a very slow coolant leak for several years now. It is slow enough that I have simply added 6 ozs. Or so of coolant to the reservoir every few months. (I never filled it to the MAX line, usually kept the level about half way between min and max. Now that my bottle of coolant is empty I'm thinking it might be time to find the leak.
I replaced all hoses and replaced the coolant almost a year ago and have never noticed any leaks or coolant on the parking pad. I understand that most water pumps have a "weep hole". The pump is original. How do I confirm if the pump is bad or not? Any other ideas?


Sunday, March 27th, 2011 AT 4:18 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
When leakages are minimal, you would not notice any leakages from under the vehicle. Signs of leakages would be oxidation at leaking points, usually the joints of hoses.
A pressure test would indicate where the leakage is coming from.
In fact most water pumps has 2 weep holes, one on top and the other at lower portion. If you don't see any dripping from the lower weep hole, it is not leaking. Usually the leakage would be bad if the water pump bearing is failing and has excessive side movement.
If the pump seems to be noisy during running, it should be failing.
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Sunday, March 27th, 2011 AT 5:59 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Just to add to this one I would also check the radiator cap it could be weak or leaking pressure below it's rated pressure rating. The radiator cap is usually over looked. Hope you had a great weekend and have a great week KHLow2008.
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Monday, March 28th, 2011 AT 1:54 AM

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