mx22

Hi guys,

Just got back from a small drive in my 928. Just regular city driving - had to pick up wife from doctor; all in all maybe 20min of driving tops. After dropping her off, I took my daily driver to a gas station and when I got back, there was a small puddle under the driver's side of front bumper. Not really sure what it is - looks like plain water - no color or smell.

See attached images. That's right after I brough my daily driver back to the garage, maybe 15min or so after parking 928.

Any idea what that could be?

P.S. I did have to pass over a huge pool of water in the middle of the street near my house. I hope that the remains of that water dripping down, though I'm not too sure I'm that lucky...

Thank You!

jleidel

lower radiator plug?

Imo000

That's not the water you ran into. What colour is it, does it taste sweet?

Bertrand Daoust

Take a look at your coolant reservoir.
Is the level still ok or lower than it shoud be?

If it is lower then look at:
1) Drain plug - it is on the passenger side of the rad.
2) Coolant hoses - 2 big, 2 small. As it seems to come from the driver's side as you said, take a close look at the lower section of the big one coming from the water bridge to the driver's side lower section of the rad.
3) Water pump - look over the oil pan, at the bottom of the central timing belt cover and around there.

Good luck.

mx22

Just went back and it is still dripping slowly - so yea, that's not water...

No color to it and about taste - hmm, I don't think I like the idea of tasting it.

What's my next step? Changing the whole radiator?

awdmoke

Probably not necessary, as it's unlikely to be the radiator.
As Bertrand said, check the radiator hoses & drain plug. I doubt it's the water pump from where it seems to be dripping. Look for leaks while it's still hot & you have pressure.

Bertrand Daoust

First, try to see were it is leaking.
If you can't see exactly where it is coming, do a pressure test.

the flyin' scotsman

The rad hose that attaches to the lower rad DS would be my first suspect. If the drain plug is leaking it will run in that direction so 2nd possibility.

After those 2 are inspected and if found good I'd hunt everywhere...............its amazing what path a leak of any kind will follow.

Bill Ball

You can taste it. If it's standard ethylene glycol coolant, it will taste sweet. A finger tip taste won't do any harm at all, although 5 ounces will definitely kill you. I was involved in treating ingestions several times when I worked in hospital.

mx22

Ok, went down and took a look again - still dripping

Coolant level in reservoir looks to be fine - see picture.
Drain plug - doesn't look like it's leaking

How in the world can I check the hoses? It's too cluttered in there, I could not see anything from above. Do I need to raise the car and remove one of the pans?

The last picture is looking straight down on the driver's side of radiator. You can kind of see ground in there with a bit darker color then the rest - somewhere approximately right above is where it leaking.

Jim Devine

What does it feel like?- coolant will be slightly oily
feeling.

Mrmerlin

I would guess it s the lower radiator hose clamp

mx22

Bill,

Well I won't try that... I've tried smelling it again - smells a bit sweetry. It is not as green as what's in reservoir - maybe extremely dilluted, almost to the point of having no color. And it's not exactly clear either - has a bit of a bit of cloudiness to it...

Thanks!

Bill Ball

It's in the location of the lower radiator hose fitting. Do you see drops on the bottom of that hose near the clamp? Use a mirror and flashlight to get a view from below. Or jack that corner of the car up. The clamp screw slot usually faces down.

Stromius

Good bet on the clamps. You should check that they are all snug.

Now about that coolant - there's some good opinion that you should use GL-05 which is yellow to clear versus the green stuff, along with distilled water. Zerex makes it and it's available at the autoparts store of your choosing.