Hi folks,
I came across something odd that perhaps the experienced can shed light on.
I've got an intermittent coolant leak from a gasket. It strikes me as odd; I would assume that a leak would occur whenever the system is pressurised (engine hot and thermostat open in this case), not just sometimes.
The gasket is at the top of the engine, between the engine and a metal connector that joins onto the radiator hose. The leak occurs about once a week, and it loses about 200mL per leak, giving a nice green puddle on the driveway. It can go up to a fortnight without a leak.
FWIW the water pump is due for replacement; I'll be changing it, flushing the coolant and replacing the gasket in the next couple of weeks.
One guess is that the leak occurs when the engine stops with the thermostat open. The other theory I've heard is that it'd be from the water pump (due to the orientation when the pump stops) but I don't think that applies in this case.
Any thoughts?