Well, it's leaking coolant... (Added pics)

RichXKU · 01-27-2006, 05:27 PM

So after being parked for 6 days (well closer to 2 weeks) I hop in the car to run to the store (about 2.5 mi) and start smelling antifreeze. On the way back its worse, now with steam coming out the right side of the hood.

I get back and see coolant drips way down on the right side of the engine, but absolutely no way to tell where it's coming from. After idling for a few minutes there's only 3 drops under the car, but most of it appeared to be steaming off.

So much for sleeping in Saturday morning.

snobnd · 01-27-2006, 07:37 PM

That's weird!??! I wonder what's up with that?

RichXKU · 01-27-2006, 08:12 PM

I will update when I find out. I doubt they will be able to take me tomorrow, so we'll see.

rasetsu · 01-27-2006, 10:12 PM

I had a coolant leak from the plastic expansion valve. That's the coolant tank above the turbo next to the intercooler. Dealer replaced it under warranty.

RichXKU · 01-27-2006, 10:15 PM

Thanks, it's definately leaking right below the secondary coolant tank area, just can't tell where.

Out of curiosity, is your turbo coolant tank the metal or plastic one?

rasetsu · 01-28-2006, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichXKU

Thanks, it's definately leaking right below the secondary coolant tank area, just can't tell where.

Out of curiosity, is your turbo coolant tank the metal or plastic one?

I bet you have the same problem as me then. My leak was coming from the top of the expansion valve. I saw the coolant stains on the side at first and thought it might have been due to the STi high pressure cap so I started the car and watched it as it idled and saw the coolant ooze out from a micro-fisure (sp?) from the top of the reservoir. The crack was completely invisible to the naked eye. I dabbed away the coolant and I could see it bleed out again. It got worse pretty fast as I started smelling the coolant inside the cabin after a day.

Unfortunately, my tank is the plastic one. It's funny because when I bought my car and saw that it was plastic, I had a feeling that it could give me problems. I requested that the dearlship replace it with the aluminum one, but he said they couldn't because they have to replace it with the same part for warranty and Subaru didn't make the plastic ones anymore anyways. The service writer said that the plastic was supposed to expand better, but agreed that it wasn't anywhere as durable as the old metal ones. They didn't give me any trouble about the STi radiator cap either. I got a Legacy GT loaner and the tank on that was plastic too.

Pitcherman · 01-28-2006, 01:30 PM

^^Hmmm so I wonder what that means for us 04 guys that have the metal ones? If it cracks they have to replace it with a metal one (according to what that guy said), but they don't make them anymore (also according to what that guy said). I think you got the run around.

RichXKU · 01-28-2006, 02:30 PM

Last report, they were taking off the intake and surrounding parts to get to whatever it is that is leaking. It will be there at least through monday.

And yes, the smell was pretty nasty because it was dripping onto something hot and coming through the vents. blech!

More to come monday!

Titleist71 · 01-28-2006, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitcherman

^^Hmmm so I wonder what that means for us 04 guys that have the metal ones? If it cracks they have to replace it with a metal one (according to what that guy said), but they don't make them anymore (also according to what that guy said). I think you got the run around.

the metal resv. won't crack.

rasetsu · 01-28-2006, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitcherman

^^Hmmm so I wonder what that means for us 04 guys that have the metal ones? If it cracks they have to replace it with a metal one (according to what that guy said), but they don't make them anymore (also according to what that guy said). I think you got the run around.

Run around or not, they weren't going to replace it with a metal one because my car never came with a metal one. There is no TSB out for the problem that I could find at the time like the one that is supposedly just started for the 2006 engine mounts so I had nothing to convince them otherwise. I'm pretty sure it's policy for service departments to replace faulty parts under warranty with the same part unless a TSB is issued just like how they replaced the clunking 2004 struts with the same struts again. I even offered to pay for the metal tank and he said they couldn't order them anymore, but like you were saying, I'm sure they could have sourced one somehow if they wanted to.

The only problem I've read about on the metal ones was that back on the GC chassis, the tanks used to be coated in black, but the coolant would eat away the coating and cause it to peel off inside of it and so Subaru went with the aluminum looking ones for the bugeyes and 2004 through mid 2005 STi's. I had an August 2004 built STi and they had already gone to the plastic tanks by then obviously.

Personally, I think the metal ones just costs more to produce so they went with a molded plastic unit. I should probably look for an aluminum one from a wrecked car to keep it on hand just in case. I've never read of anyone having a problem with the aluminum ones. If it ain't broke, Subaru shouldn't have changed it.

This might not even be RichXKU's problem though. Maybe his is as simple as a leaky coolant line.

rasetsu · 01-28-2006, 10:23 PM

It must've been based on production date because I've seen several 2005's with the metal tank before too, but all the new STi's at the dealership had plastic tanks.

I was pretty glad they took care of it under warranty like they should without any questioning and gave me a Legacy GT for a week as a loaner car.

***wdb*** · 01-29-2006, 09:39 AM

Rich, sorry to hear about your troubles and please let us know what they find. I *think* I have smelled coolant once or twice, but it's very faint and I've never been able to tell for certain that it was my car. Now if I notice it again I'll have a place to look (turbo coolant tank).

RichXKU · 01-31-2006, 09:26 AM

Update from the dealer. All they said was they found a leaking "water pipe" and had to order one from Subaru, which means another 1-2 days until it arrives.

Now I'm not sure if "water pipe" is their fancy term for radiator hose, or if theres some other sort of metal pipe in there. Either way this is taking a while considering it isn't a major piece of hardware.

RichXKU · 02-01-2006, 04:58 AM

Wow... no kidding. I've never seen a setup where the coolant was carried externally from one part of the engine to another. Thats what they must have been talking about then. It's kinda scary that something that important can fail at 4000 miles.

***wdb*** · 02-01-2006, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichXKU

Wow... no kidding. I've never seen a setup where the coolant was carried externally from one part of the engine to another. Thats what they must have been talking about then. It's kinda scary that something that important can fail at 4000 miles.

There are several possible explanations for it. Running a pipe instead of building enough extra meat into the casting would save weight and casting complexity. Or it may have to do with the split crankcase and simplifying the buildup for production purposes.

As for it failing at 4K miles: perhaps only the seal failed, and the service department is just being thorough.

01-27-2006, 05:27 PM	#1
RichXKU Professional STI Driver Car: 05 CGM STi Fav Mod: JDM Air Spencer Location: Berks PA Posts: 497 Join Date: Jul 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	Well, it's leaking coolant... (Added pics) So after being parked for 6 days (well closer to 2 weeks) I hop in the car to run to the store (about 2.5 mi) and start smelling antifreeze. On the way back its worse, now with steam coming out the right side of the hood. I get back and see coolant drips way down on the right side of the engine, but absolutely no way to tell where it's coming from. After idling for a few minutes there's only 3 drops under the car, but most of it appeared to be steaming off. So much for sleeping in Saturday morning. This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad. Last edited by RichXKU : 02-02-2006 at 04:41 PM.

01-27-2006, 07:37 PM	#2
snobnd Junior STI Driver Location: Oregon Posts: 148 Join Date: Aug 2004 Trader Rating: (0)	That's weird!??! I wonder what's up with that?

01-27-2006, 08:12 PM	#3
RichXKU Professional STI Driver Car: 05 CGM STi Fav Mod: JDM Air Spencer Location: Berks PA Posts: 497 Join Date: Jul 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	I will update when I find out. I doubt they will be able to take me tomorrow, so we'll see.

01-27-2006, 10:12 PM	#4
rasetsu Spec C Club Car: 05 Subaru WRX STi Location: Frisco, TX Posts: 2,268 Join Date: Nov 2004 Trader Rating: (1)	I had a coolant leak from the plastic expansion valve. That's the coolant tank above the turbo next to the intercooler. Dealer replaced it under warranty.

01-27-2006, 10:15 PM	#5
RichXKU Professional STI Driver Car: 05 CGM STi Fav Mod: JDM Air Spencer Location: Berks PA Posts: 497 Join Date: Jul 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	Thanks, it's definately leaking right below the secondary coolant tank area, just can't tell where. Out of curiosity, is your turbo coolant tank the metal or plastic one?

01-28-2006, 01:30 PM	#7
Pitcherman Village Idiot Car: 04 JVP STi Fav Mod: Blitz NUR Spec R Location: B.F.E, Texas Posts: 7,914 Join Date: Apr 2004 Trader Rating: (3)	^^Hmmm so I wonder what that means for us 04 guys that have the metal ones? If it cracks they have to replace it with a metal one (according to what that guy said), but they don't make them anymore (also according to what that guy said). I think you got the run around.

01-28-2006, 02:30 PM	#8
RichXKU Professional STI Driver Car: 05 CGM STi Fav Mod: JDM Air Spencer Location: Berks PA Posts: 497 Join Date: Jul 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	Last report, they were taking off the intake and surrounding parts to get to whatever it is that is leaking. It will be there at least through monday. And yes, the smell was pretty nasty because it was dripping onto something hot and coming through the vents. blech! More to come monday!

01-28-2006, 10:23 PM	#11
rasetsu Spec C Club Car: 05 Subaru WRX STi Location: Frisco, TX Posts: 2,268 Join Date: Nov 2004 Trader Rating: (1)	It must've been based on production date because I've seen several 2005's with the metal tank before too, but all the new STi's at the dealership had plastic tanks. I was pretty glad they took care of it under warranty like they should without any questioning and gave me a Legacy GT for a week as a loaner car.

01-29-2006, 09:39 AM	#12
*wdb* dances with roads Posts: 5,021 Join Date: Apr 2005 Trader Rating: (8)	Rich, sorry to hear about your troubles and please let us know what they find. I think I have smelled coolant once or twice, but it's very faint and I've never been able to tell for certain that it was my car. Now if I notice it again I'll have a place to look (turbo coolant tank).

01-31-2006, 09:26 AM	#13
RichXKU Professional STI Driver Car: 05 CGM STi Fav Mod: JDM Air Spencer Location: Berks PA Posts: 497 Join Date: Jul 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	Update from the dealer. All they said was they found a leaking "water pipe" and had to order one from Subaru, which means another 1-2 days until it arrives. Now I'm not sure if "water pipe" is their fancy term for radiator hose, or if theres some other sort of metal pipe in there. Either way this is taking a while considering it isn't a major piece of hardware.

02-01-2006, 04:58 AM	#14
RichXKU Professional STI Driver Car: 05 CGM STi Fav Mod: JDM Air Spencer Location: Berks PA Posts: 497 Join Date: Jul 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	Wow... no kidding. I've never seen a setup where the coolant was carried externally from one part of the engine to another. Thats what they must have been talking about then. It's kinda scary that something that important can fail at 4000 miles.