Hey guys,

So my girlfriend has a 1999 Plymouth Breeze (which is the same as the Dodge Stratus) With a 2.4L Inline-4 engine.

Last year the coolant temp was all over the place so she had the thermostat replaced. Not too long after that she was driving along and it overheated. She called someone and it turned out the coolant cap (the pressurized one) had been leaking and she was very low on coolant. That was replaced and she was on her way. A little bit later her car was leaking coolant and nobody could find the leak, so her brother ran a "sealant" treatment as a patch. It has held for about a year, but now she has a small leak again and no heat.

So we have…

Late 2012
Replaced Thermostat
Replaced Coolant Cap
Cooling system sealer

Late 2013
No heat, small coolant leak

Her brother is insisting that it is a bad head gasket or cracked head. The car runs fine, has no coolant in the oil (at least as far as I can see) and with the pressurized cap off I don't get any visible bubbles.

Her car is at the point that the timing belt is due (~126,000mi), and the water pump is driven off the timing belt. My though is to replace the timing belt, water pump, all the hoses, flush the heater core, and see if it's still leaking. My hope is maybe either the water pump seal was leaking or a hose? There is dried coolant near the water pump, but I have not crawled under there to see for sure if it's coming from the water pump.

I don't want to change the head gasket on her car if I don't absolutely HAVE to, this car looks like a pain in the a** to pull the head! Any ideas/pointers?

Is there a surefire way to verify it's a head/gasket leak?

 

Did you test the coolant for hydrocarbons?
If there is combustion byproducts in the antifreeze it is a head gasket for sure.

 

I had heard about that, how do I test that? Is it a simple kit I can get at the parts store?

 

Not a cheap tester.
But the fluid is not expensive.
You may be better off to find a shop who has one.
They around $75 at NAPA IIRC.

 

Ouch, that's pricey. I'll look around, thanks. I'm hoping it turns out to be bad seals in the water pump causing the leak. Wish me luck!

 

Good Luck.

 

A garage would probably test it for $5-10

Maybe if they think they could get the job???

Like I said, the reagent is not pricey, but the unit it not worth it for personal use.