i have a small coolant leak coming from around the water pump. i took the pump off (bought it about a month ago), inspected it making sure it wasnt broken, installed it again and put in a fresh new gasket and put sealant on it and the leak was still there. i took it to a mechanic and he told me that there was some rust eating away at the timing chain cover. does coolant flow through the cover? when i took my water pump off i did not notice any part for coolant to go in or out. my dad is skeptical, he says that no coolant even touches the cover, but im not really sure. is the mechanic lying to me, or is what he is saying make sense? thanks for the help!

 

A worn timing chain will often wear a hole into the timing chain cover, which can allow coolant into the engine, but it should be in the oil, not dripping on the ground. If your oil shows no signs of oil, I doubt that is the problem. Did you put RTV silicone on the threads of the water pump bolts before installing them?

Take care,
-Chris

 

Coolant DOES go through the timing cover. There are 2 holes in it about an inch around. One on the drivers side and one on the passenger side. It has to go through the timing cover to get from the water pump to the engine!

 

True, but I would still suspect coolant in the oil before on the ground.

Take care,
-Chris

 

lookslike there is a little coolant in the oil. looks like i need to replace the timing chain cover then, thanks for the help!

 

this probably wont help but..
when I rebuilt my mustang my pump leaked to. I just cranked the bolts tighter and it stopped. I used the real sticky brown sealant on both sides of cover and gasket when assembled. Unorthadox maybe, but it worked.

 

Looks like pkrwud and I replied at exactly the same time. One thing just popped in my head that made me think. Donate- your mechanic said that rust was eating away your timing cover. You might want to look at that yourself, because your timing cover is ALUMINUM. Aluminum may corrode, but it wont rust! Just thought I would throw that in. Good Luck

 

I had exactly the same problem! Water leaking, no water in the oil (or oil in the water). It was a big PITA to spot, but when we did, it looked like the timing chain cover was corroded and leaking from the corrosion. It turned out that a previous owner had the timing chain cover off and broken off the two bolts that sit exactly where the two coolant passages are. The stupms were stuck in the block and what had looked like corrosion was actually a gap between cover and block where the water was coming out. Due to the bolts sitting on the outside, it apparently only leaked outside and not into the engine. You can see the two bolts on my truck-page.
No more water leaks now

 

well i took the timing chain cover off today. there was no rust, but the aluminum had been eaten off by the rusty water in the coolant. i found out that apparently this happens when you run water only through the coolant system, instead of a water/coolant mix. i should have it all back together by tonight, so hopefully this will fix my overheating problemthat ive been having for the past month (and have NOT been able to figure out!!!).