Trying to locate leaks

[Steven]

Hey all,

My parents are storing my D for me as I'm working across country and my dad said there is antifreeze and a bit of an oil leak. He snapped these photos today, any idea where the leaks might be coming from?

[sdg3205]

It's hard to tell from the pics. Oil is most likely from the crank pulley seal. Coolant could be from the water pump or hoses. You need to pressurize the system to locate the leaks.

[Lwanmtr]

Start simple..check to make sure the clamps on the hoses there are tight (yeah, mine started spewing coolant once and it turned out to be just loose clamps)

[eight8toy]

My oil leak looked similar to yours. It was the main crankshaft pulley seal. Like a $10 part but a real pain to change since you need to remove the muffler to get access. There are some good instructions on how to do it yourself on the forums here if you search for it.

Not sure about your coolant leak, hopefully just a loose clamp?

[Iznodmad]

How old is that water pump? Age and miles driven? There is a weep hole that will start to drip as the water pump is wearing out. It is your warning to replace before failing while driving.

[DMCVegas]

How old is that water pump? Age and miles driven? There is a weep hole that will start to drip as the water pump is wearing out. It is your warning to replace before failing while driving.

Ask a question, and you'll get several different responses. However, I'd start with the suggestion from Iznodmad as being the one you should follow first.

Oil from the Pressure Switch on the driver's side can leak from old units. It can also leak from the Sending Unit on the passenger side if someone incorrectly installed a replacement unit. Since most cars have now had these pieces replaced, you don't often hear about them much anymore. However, when the oil seeps out, it gets messy with all the wind below slinging it everywhere while driving. Certainly, yes, rear main seals can be a problem (behind flywheel), and front main seals have been know to go as well (behind crankshaft pulley). But I'd focus first on that water pump.

The coolant dripping all over looks way too clean. The oil/grime it's sliding down is probably baked-on, and it's not mixing with the coolant. It only looks wet because of the coolant on top of it. We also don't see any pictures of the floor below to see if there is any oil there to be 100% sure.

Now I'm not near my car right now to take a photo, but most all water pumps have what is called a Weep Hole. It sits on the underside of the shaft, behind the pulley, and normally looks something like this:





And here is a typical cross section of your average engine water pump:


As already stated, it is an early warning device to show when the internal seals of the pump are beginning to fail. The easiest way to see the hole is with a small mirror. Hold it under/behind the pulley and you will see the weep hole. Chances are, you'll also see that it's where the coolant is dripping out. While you're there, also shine a bright light behind the pump, and under the manifold to verify the VOD is dry, and that you don't see any coolant puddles there either.

[Steven]

Excellent information, thank you so much! I'll pass the info on to my Father.

Found water pumps on delorean.com, DeLorean Performance Industries and Special T. Any preference?

[Lwanmtr]

delorean.com or delorean performance ....not sure what Hervey offers (special t) and am usually a lil leary.

[bytes311]

I bought and installed Hervey's water pump kit about two years ago. All I had to do was ship the original unit back for the core charge.