The 2004 "R" is back in action. After replacing the water pump, thermostat, supercharger belt and accessory belt all the coolant leaks are gone.

But know the display say engage parking brake, so I guess I'm not done yet!!

 

Not so fast, after I got the car put back together, I let it idle in the garage to check for leaks and everything seemed ok, but when I took it out on the road steam was coming out from the hood and blowing thru the ac vents. Getting ticked off at this car.

 

Doesn't sound to be the car so much as the repair?

 

I would pressure test the cooling system when cold. The STR has a LOT of hoses because of the intercooler and other stuff. You will have a tough time poking around when the engine is hot. Just no room to work.

You need to change ALL the hoses. The last one I have to do is the under SC one and so far at 114K miles it's still on the original one. Just a lot of work for that one.

We have several great threads with the hose part numbers listed as I think there are 22 hoses. A search might save a lot of looking too.

If at this point you have NOT changed the DCCV. Please do it when you have all the hoses off as it's much easier!

And flush the heater core every which way but loose too. They are known to build up debris over time.
.
.
.

 

Damn no thanks button for this statement on the mobile version John.

Very well stated, thank you!

 

After I get this coolant leak pinned down, I still have that pesky restricted performance issue to deal with. But that I can live with for now. I do believe it is the dreaded supercharger hose that is the culprit. I will find out this weekend. Someone suggested replacing all the hoses which isn't a bad idea but when your retired things get a little tighter.

 

Success at last! whoever said that spotting a leak is tough is an understatement! It ended up being the small hose coming from the reservoir on the engine side. It was an ever so small hole, while idling couldn't detect any leaks, but out on the road the coolant leaked down on the exhaust system and started smoking. I can see why the SC belt will go at some point. The engine heat drys the rubber out and becomes brittle. What would be wrong with using a 1/2 galvanized pipe and using hose clamps on the very ends to complete the connection?