Coolant leak?

[ukrkoz]

i have 07 TCH with 56 000 miles.
saturday i have noticed that coolant level in expansion canister was at the bottom mark.
i filled canister up to top mark. did not drive her much over the weekend, but slid 2 cardboards underneath.
checked on them today.
of course, them new coolants, one can't even tell if it's coolant or not.
there are several stains with some clear fluid on cardboard, right next to driver side wheel.
they are right below hybrid drive.
for what it is, i could not tell if it's water or coolant. what happened to good old green or blue stuff?
i could not find any obvious leaks, etc. there's minor streak down along driver side hub. but it's been raining here, so there's no telling..
what can possibly leak on that side? HSD has it's own coolant, but it's red, would have been obvious. also, its level was OK in its expansion canister.
radiator hoses, esp bottom ones, run all the way over there, but i could not spot any leaks, or sediments. she does not smell of burnt coolant driving.
any ideas? of course, all this has to be right underneath that high voltage box for HSD.

my wife's LexusRX300 dropped coolant level in expansion canister down to mid between the marks 2 weeks ago. maybe because it was cold outside. i topped it to the upper mark, and it stays there. not sure if the same caused level drop in TCH. i'll monitor, but start freaking out.

[98CamryLE]

Check your water pump. My hybrid just went back to the dealer due to the water pump leaking. (55K miles) When I talked to the service writer, he said it was a common problem with 2007+ Camry models.

The good news is that it is covered under the 5yr/60K mile power train warranty.

Good luck.

[ukrkoz]

of course it is. so far, i have not noticed ANY drops under the water pump side of the engine though.
i'll keep monitoring this. if coolant will keep going down fast, then to dealer she goes. i was planning on doing pre-60K warranty check up on her anyway, just in case.
what a shame if it's water pump. what happened to Toyota's quality? and i have creme-de-la-creme one, built in Toyota city. shouldn't be any better than that.

[ukrkoz]

it is water pump!! thank you!! i was looking for puddles underneath, and all the time it was right into my face!! and no wonder it leaks, as they stuck engine dampener right onto the pump housing.

[ukrkoz]

got it done under warranty by local dealer. 7 30 am till around 2 pm.

reason there was no leaks underneath was that it was dripping right down onto the pully and belt, and that was spraying it all over the engine.

[cmartinez96]

Originally Posted by ukrkoz

got it done under warranty by local dealer. 7 30 am till around 2 pm.

reason there was no leaks underneath was that it was dripping right down onto the pully and belt, and that was spraying it all over the engine.

Glad you caught it before you were past your 60K mark. I got lucky and noticed the pink stuff and low level in my reservoir right around 58K. As was said earlier, I'm not that happy with Toyota's quality today like I would have been 10 years ago.

[98CamryLE]

The service writer I talked with said that the water pumps that are being installed to replace leaky ones are redesigned and won't leak prematurely. I got the feeling that he was just blowing hot air, but I haven't looked into it yet.

[ukrkoz]

well, take a good look at pump housing. WHO IN THE WORLD WILL CONNECT ENGINE MOUNT TO IT? you know how much torque it puts on that aluminum housing? and there is not a gasket, but sealant between engine head and housing?
they gave me 12 mths warranty. i am very tempted to have it replaced again withing 11 1/2 mth.