i have a 2004 cavalier with the gmpp sc kit i have noticed the coolant has been going down (about a liter a every 2 weeks/1200km) the car has 90km on it i have no coolant puddels under the car i did a oil change the other day and noticed the oil is frothy and there is a orange tint to it. the car is not over heating at all it runs at normal temp i was looking for some input or help
Thank you
Id say head gasket. Maybe not bad enough to destroy the motor or overheat it yet, but definately not the water pump. The water pumps job is to pump water, the end. All they eventually do is leak. As well your oil should look oily, not questionable like frothy.
I 3rd head gasket. change them soon although the leak isn't that bad. i wouldn't chance it on waiting to do it
Ok thanks for the input but when the water pump gets bad will it leak in to the oil
Rich Grayo Jr. wrote:brandon mackay wrote:Ok thanks for the input but when the water pump gets bad will it leak in to the oil
no. no it won't.
Depends on how it leaks.
Vehicles such as Honda with a timing belt, will if the seal around the pump goes bad will leak onto the belt. It wont show up in the oil since of course a timing belt is lubricated by oil
A vehicle with a timing chain is different story, seal goes bad it will mix the oil because the chain is of course lubed by the oil
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
Rob wrote:Rich Grayo Jr. wrote:brandon mackay wrote:Ok thanks for the input but when the water pump gets bad will it leak in to the oil
no. no it won't.
Depends on how it leaks.
Vehicles such as Honda with a timing belt, will if the seal around the pump goes bad will leak onto the belt. It wont show up in the oil since of course a timing belt is lubricated by oil
A vehicle with a timing chain is different story, seal goes bad it will mix the oil because the chain is of course lubed by the oil
Wow never thought of that, good point. Pull the plugs, if they have rust on them it is 100% headgasket.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, December 01, 2010 10:48 PM
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I'm going to assume you made a typo and you don't actually think the timing belt in my honda is lubricated.
- Your not-so-local, untrained, uncertified, backyard mechanic. But my @!#$ runs
I 4th head gasket. The water pump generally leaks outside the timing chain cover.
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still no over heating it barley looses any coolant now i havent noticed any antifreeze in the oil but i can smell a little bit of it when i run the car for a while
Your headgasket is probably bad. Like everybody else said. Run a compression test. A bad water pump or timing chain isn't going to let antifreeze into your oil.
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The replies of "the water pump only pumps water" its not that isnt completely true. Depending on your Engine, ie the 2.4 is a gear driven pump. If the bearings fail it will straight leak coolant, if the gaskets fail it will leak oil INTO the coolant. A catastrophic bearing failure will do the same. But like was said pull the plugs and look for rust. this is a big fix, if left too long you can wash out the cylinders or even hydraulic the engine.
