So.
This past weekend was a wonderful Quesnel race weekend. I started prepping the car on Thursday, doing alignment etc. During a shakedown drive I noticed coolant leaking from the water pump. Yes, the brand new oem pump that I just put in. So I guess I am pulling it all apart again.
But this time I was going to make sure it was not going to spill a drop.
As tedious as the job is, all went well.
Until I went to put the rad back in and saw this
My brand new fancy Mishimoto rad hose had been chewed up by my rad fan.. [/sadpanda]
So in goes the ugly old one
The water pump rtv wants 24 hours to set, so I waited til the next morning to add juice
And to pack up
Everything was running ship shape with no visible leaks, so I head out to my buddy's place to start our convoy south
First stop was in Chetwynd, where not a drop of premium gas was to be found
We had filled up before leaving, and should have no problem making it to Prince George
So we got some people fuel and kept on er
About half way to PG, right at the summit of the Pine Pass I noticed my temps climbing. Not spiking or becoming worrisome, but i was keeping my eye on them. Once they got to 100-110 degrees, I pulled over to add some water. It took some, but not a huge amount. I let myself dismiss it as maybe an improper burping job after filling the system that morning. I kept my eye on the temps like a hawk after that and they were cool as a cucumber for the whole rest of the trip.
Rolled into PG for some supplies and gas
And found out that the chevrons had no 94 octane. Man, this is starting to suck. I guess I will be staying on my 91 map this weekend
Shortly after PG (only an hour or so) we pulled up to the track in Quesnel
And found some other participants had already arrived
So we unloaded and started setting up camp
And then after a long day it was time for some beers and burgers
That night sucked, I had managed to melt a hole in my air mattress with the exhaust of a generator, and the duct tape fix only lasted so long.
But then morning was here and it was race day!
There were a ton of subarus at this event, a large number of them having been brought by Stu Ford of BXR PWR racing
This RA he brought was amazing. So fast, but so silent.
My buddy Jeff may have been trying to blend in..
The cars involved ranged from bone stock to fully race prepped
With mine falling somewhere in between
So it was time to get out and do some laps
After which I see that I am again leaking coolant from the water pump..
So up the ramps The Darkness goes so my fat assay can wiggle under and try to figure out what is going on
(special appearance by Lexus the Wonder Pup)
The little 90 hose that comes off the pump going to the hard line to the oil cooler appears to be dripping, and changing out the ittshay spring clamp for a worm clamp doesn't seem to help. I snag a ride into town to pick up a heater hose I can make work and get it all together and filled up for the 900th time.
More laps
More failures,
Same spot.
How, you ask? The nearest I can figure is that the coolant is coming out of the base of the fitting where it is pressed into the cast pump. So i will have to pull out the brand new OEM pump and put the old one back in
The rest of the event was still a lot of fun, got to do some ride alongs and drive other people's cars, but mine wasn't able to get back out while leaking coolant. I only ended up getting 3 runs in on the first day, but I was super impressed with the car. It was my first time out with a lot of new stuff, and just getting a feel for the car had me dropping about a second off my time each run. Even with only 3 runs I was in the top third for times, and I feel like I could have taken another second or so off and narrowed the gap.
We all had a great time with no major incidents. I have a local autocross next week that I hope to have my leak sorted out for, then another Quesnel weekend in about a month and a half, so I should be plenty ready and really see what this whip can do.
As for the drive home: there were no temp issues. A boat would have been a better vehicle