Intermittent Coolant Leak.

[thetroublemaker]

Sometimes my car leaks water, other times it dosent.

Sometimes when i go out to it having been out during the day there is a puddle under it maybe up to 50mls.

Other days nothing at all.

The leak is running down the block/coming from the bottom of the a/c condenser if it drips onto that.

It is very difficult to see line of sight up from there or anywhere around that area. The drip would suggest somewhere in line with the thermostat housing.

It is not leaking from either the thermostat housing join where the thermostat fits, or the hose there or the temp sender.

However i note with interest that the thermostat housing has been attached to the block with some black gunk (possibly gutter sealant) in addition to the torx screws. I assume this is a water channel and therefore this is pointing at the problem eminating from here. How easy is it to change this part with alll the other ancilliaries in situ?

If it is not this - is there any other points that i should investigate?
Edit/Delete Message

[JUDGENINJA]

If my memory serves correct :

You can unbolt the thermostat when cold and you loose only a bit of water if you're carefull.
the black gunk maybe hiding something, cos a new thermostat comes with a sealing ring, so no gasket is required.

I'm wondering if the black gunk ain't hiding a cracked housing or something...

But as always we're diagnosing things blind so it could mean absolutely nothing...

[The Flying Banana]

Is it defo coolant ( green or blue ) or is it not just the air conditioning unit condensation accumulating and then dripping off.....the refridgerant ( Sp ) is at a lower temp to the outside so the canister collects condensation on it then drips off..quite common on AC equipped cars...if its intermittent , is it only after the ac has been on or on humid days ?

[t5owner]

Is the black gunk on the thermostat top housing part i:e where the hoses come off of it or on the housing to block mating face as there should be a gasket fitted there the main housing is held in place with 3 large torx screws bit of a dog to get off me thinks without first removing a few other bits to improve access to the lower and left hand side screws

Cheers

stuart

[dreadly]

My mate had this problem, his thermostat had been fitted without a gasket, as the engine cooled the metal contracted and the thermostat housing started to leak after the car had been parked up.
Try fitting a new thermostat, there fairly cheap.

[thetroublemaker]

it wasnt the thermostat or gasket - turns out it was the overflow hose from the expansion tank to the thermostat housing had perished. :D