# Coolant leak



## stancho (Aug 26, 2006)

My wife's Altima has developed a coolant leak on the passenger side. I have not been under the car yet. Looking from the top I have not been able to see a broken hose or any obvious reason for the leak. It appears that the coolant is coming from the side of the engine rather than the radiator. Could this be a leaky waterpump? Or anything else? Any comments, suggestions or adivce are welcome. Thanks.


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## Ninety9GLE (Nov 1, 2007)

hey man, i have this same problem at the moment, the water pump is definitely to blame if the coolant is coming from the passinger side, but check the coolant resevoir just to make sure that's not leaking


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## stancho (Aug 26, 2006)

Got under the car today and the leak is in the vicinity of the waterpump. How difficult is to replace? Obviously the alternator needs to come out. Can a new pump be installed without removing the AC compressor? I've got a manual that says that the AC compressor has to come out as well. I am not sure I want to deal with that. Thanks for your input.


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## stancho (Aug 26, 2006)

After almost a year I finally went ahead and replaced the water pump which was starting to leak pretty badly. The car is now quieter - the pump bearing must've been shot. As an added bonus - no more antifreeze smell. All said, this really had to be done.
The job itself is not that difficult, however, it's a PITA due to the location of the pump. I ended up removing the drive belts and the alternator for access, then removed the pump pulley, and finally the pump itself. Then I used some silicone sealant on the new pump instead of the supplied gasket and slapped it on the engine.
Haven't noticed any leaks yet and hopefully I won't see any.


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## metro273 (Sep 16, 2005)

^^^Good job!
Doesn't it feel good saving ALL that money instead of giving it to someone else?...


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