coolant issue

**GramCracker** · 05-26-2008 10:09 AM

This morning I went to drive to work and upon starting my car, the coolant warning light immediately appeared on the driver display. I peeked under the hood only to find that the coolant reservoir was basically empty. I have no idea where the coolant went. (I topped it off 2 weeks ago or so) As far as I know I do not have a leak. There are no liquids on the ground under my car at any time (thats why I feel I don't have a leak). Anybody have any suggestions or hints as to what might have happened, or if there is a leak? Anyone?

Thanks,

Graham

**Daft** · 05-26-2008 10:26 AM

Very possible that your auxiliary coolant pump (after-run pump) is leaking. They start leaking from the plastic pump body and gradually start to leak more and more until one day, it just dumps coolant like crazy.

This is a very common issue on the 2.7T and you can usually find evidence of the pump leaking by taking the front engine cover off (V6 Biturbo one) and shining a flashlight into the areas under the intake manifold to look for pink/white crust. The coolant tends to pool up on the divots in the top of the engine block. Once it evaporates, it leaves the crusty residue. Most times the coolant will never drip onto the ground or belly pan if the leak is small. You will smell it though. After a drive, stop the car, leave it running and open the hood. You should be able to smell the sweet smell of coolant coming from somewhere under the Y-pipe.

Here's a shot of the crust:

If you find this, you have two choices:

1. Replace the bad pump with the same kind. (This pump can fail again since it is a bad design)

2. Buy the coolant pump relocation kit and move it to the front of the motor near the alternator.

Relocation Kit Details

Relocation kit pump:

Pump installed in above alternator:

**GramCracker** · 05-26-2008 10:57 AM

Yea, I noticed a sweet smell like the one you described. How hard would this be as a DIY, how much for the pump or relocation kit, and how long would it take a shop to do?

EDIT: I took a peek, and there is some white crusty-ness going on under the intake manifold.

**Daft** · 05-27-2008 09:23 AM

Here's an Aux pump article from AW: http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng69.shtml

The relocation kit ran me $155 from the dealership. The replacement pump for the regular location is over $100 from most parts websites.

As for the labor costs, I don't know for sure. It took me several hours since I took my time. Some people have said that it can be done without removing the intake manifold. I'm not sure how it can be done this way since it's such a small area to get to with the manifold in place. I also took the liberty in replacing my intake manifold gaskets with phenolic spacer gaskets for an added bonus. Not sure if they are really helping too much but, I'll take all the reduction in IATs I can get at this point.