car losing coolant!

[misledxcracker]

alright, well i took out the thermostat due to it sticking (didnt put in a new one, i'm running without one) and i resealed the housing with Permatex.

 

problem is... i used the wrong kind of permatex and didnt even notice, until i was driving down the road and the temp gauge hit the H. keep in mind, i also have my radiator fans running full time with a switch inside the car, and also it now doesnt even have a thermostat.

 

i drove the car maybe... 2 miles to get it back to my place with it REALLY close to the H, but it didnt reach it again. I easily pinpointed that the Permatex i originally used just blew away, and there was coolant all over the engine and everything else. so i put the right kind of permatex, and it doesnt leak anymore... well from the thermostat housing, it doesnt.

 

now it's leaking from the driver's side, on the front of the engine. i cant tell where it's coming from, and it's actually only a really small drip. i have a strong feeling that it's coming from the water pump, but the water pump doesnt make any bearing noise, nor does it really leak when the car is running, it only leaks when it's turned off and parked.

 

it's not overheating anymore, it doesnt smoke, no oil in coolant or coolant in oil, but it's dripping coolant from the front of the engine and it's getting annoying.

 

i figure i need to pressure test the cooling system but out here in Los Angeles, the mechanics make you pay to just use their crap for a few minutes! maybe theres something else i can do to make sure it's the water pump before i start tearing it apart?

 

oh, and it's a '88 dl 4-door with 102,000 original miles... so im hoping the engine isnt bad after i overheated it

 

any suggestions would be great... thanks!

 

Gary

[stngllhm]

your more likely to overheat with out a thermastat the water will flow to quick thoughout the system not giving it enough time in the radiator to cool down. as far as pressure testing the system the autozone here has a loan-a-tool program yours might as well. just a thought.

 

stan

[misledxcracker]

I've been running the car without the thermostat, and been driving it 60 miles a day from LA to San Gabriel... and it doesnt even go 1/3 up the temperature gauge... it seems fine to me.

 

I eventually want to get a low-temp thermostat to put in since I'm doing a 1600 mile round-trip road trip soon.

 

I pressure tested the radiator finally, and it's coming out of the water pump. Yet the water pump still works... Is there a kind of rebuild kit or something for the pump?

 

Also... Does anyone know of someone who actually knows Subarus around the LA/Pasadena area?? I took my car in to a regular independent mechanic to replace the axle, and the axle gave out in 3 days! He said it was the wrong size axle, and put another one in... now the "new" one is clicking all the time

 

Thanks for the help