Curious thought on Coolant.

[Notanothersk8ter]

Is it bad to store your car without Coolant fluid during the winter?

[Forest Gump]

if the block is drained it is okay.

[mas]

could split the block. could split the radiator end tanks. could pop out freeze plugs..
could put some coolant in it.

[Notanothersk8ter]

What do you mean? And I would put coolant but it leaks. And I don't have the time to repair it at this time of the year.

[dbest671]

You're not going to be able to drain the block without moving the front turbo to get to the drain plug, the rear is a little more accessible but still not a task I would want to do... trust me it's a PITA. I would be worried about rust/corrosion TBH.

[Grandpa Poser]

What would worrie me more than rust is the water pump seal drying out and becoming brittle, think there's a conditioner you can add first.

[Steve '93ES]

Not just the seal, the bearings themselves are at risk. I'm not 100% sure about ours but many (most?) water pumps have the bearings exposed to the coolant, and use the coolant to lubricate and cool the bearing. Draining the coolant for long periods runs the risk of pitting and corrosion ruining the bearing which will make sort work of the pump.

Where's it leaking? Any chance you could temporarily seal it up?

[Notanothersk8ter]

It's been over a month. Think it'll be rusted by now? If it is. What are some solutions to get rid of it? And what conditioner?

It's leaking in the O ring behind the thermostat. The water plump housing. Could I seal that up temporarily? Or what should I do?

[speedy25]

Pull off the right side manifold. After that you can remove the tube and replace your o-ring.

While someone else may know better All the water pumps I have removed over the years only had their bearings expose to coolant after failure. I recognise in the quest to make things super crappy cheap that may have changed.

The best part about an antifreeze product is that there are additives to protect from corrosion. Mostly corrosion clogs up heater cores and then radiators, but it also interferes with cooling efficiency. Use a flush product to clean things out after repairing your leak(s) and then fill with antifreeze.

-SP