DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums banner

OMG I need help ASAP!

692 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  White97Sport 
#1 ·
I went into the garage just now and looked underneath the Trep (3.5L), and there's antifreeze dripping off the front cross-beam in front of the oil pan! I crawled under there and I could see that there's antifreeze dripping all over the bottom front edge of the engine!!! As far as I can tell, it's coming from the seam at the front of the engine where the dark cover behind the belts and pulleys attaches. It drips down to the oil pan, then to the structural member in front of that, and then to the ground.

Is my water pump dying?! I'm not sure what else it might be, but I'm hoping someone's got another idea. In the past couple months, I've sometimes been able to hear a slight, intermittent scraping or hissing sort or sound coming from the engine compartment, but I couldn't isolate it, as I could only hear it with the hood closed. Was this my water pump on its last legs? I haven't really taken the car out in the past few weeks, as I've had it apart for my stereo install and and doing a few other things. I was thinking maybe this is just one of those little temporary leaks that happens after a car sits for a while, but there's a lot of fluid coming out, and it's all over the bottom front edge of the engine. As far as I can tell, my hose connections are fine. And I've noticed no leaks of any kind before today.

I don't have the time to replace the pump myself, as I've got to drive myself and a friend back to college on Thursday morning, so I'll have to take it to the dealer. Any idea how much it usually costs to have the water pump and timing belt changed at the dealer? I need to do something about this first thing in the morning, because like I said, I've got to drive back to school.

Thanks for any input, guys.

Aaaaargh! :mad:
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Sounds like the front seal on the water pump is gone, the water pump on this engine is under the front cover and is powered by the back side of the timing belt (just like the Mitsu 3.0 in my LeBaron) if you change the water pump you should also change the timing belt as it is a pretty big job to get in there to change these parts, also be careful about the cam timing as if you are off by even the slightest amount it can cause many problems..
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top