Coolant leak on motor block on leaf 2018

[Thetank]

I went to the dealer last week to get my front camera changed, and while inspecting the vehicule, the saw what seemed to be like a coolant leak on the motor block. Nothing big that would drip on the ground, but still, there are traces of the blue coolant liquid on the block. Repair costs amount to 4000$+ not counting the labor because it seems I would need to change the whole bottom part of the block
( part 292C0-5SA1B).

After speaking to the dealer that sold me the car ( different dealer) he seemed to say that it was highly improbable to have a coolant leak at that spot. and after speaking with some technicians, some believe it is an external leak that might deposit on the motor block. So I got a whole range of different opinions on this... I was wondering if any of you here do have your opinions and experiences with a similar trouble..

Here are some pictures of the leak.

I went to the dealer last week to get my front camera changed, and while inspecting the vehicule, the saw what seemed to be like a coolant leak on the motor block. Nothing big that would drip on the ground, but still, there are traces of the blue coolant liquid on the block. Repair costs amount to 4000$+ not counting the labor because it seems I would need to change the whole bottom part of the block
( part 292C0-5SA1B).

After speaking to the dealer that sold me the car ( different dealer) he seemed to say that it was highly improbable to have a coolant leak at that spot. and after speaking with some technicians, some believe it is an external leak that might deposit on the motor block. So I got a whole range of different opinions on this... I was wondering if any of you here do have your opinions and experiences with a similar trouble..

Here are some pictures of the leak:

After the 1st dealership inspection:

[img]https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn235/Frank_DH/956AE120-5D2A-4763-B97F-598C0ED93B5A.jpeg

This morning, a week after having cleaned it up good to see how the issue progress:

And here is the part the 1st dealer is considering to replace:

If anyone can help me shed light on this, I would really appreciate before spending lots of money on this issue if the actual problem is something else...

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[GerryAZ]

If the car is operating normally, I suggest that you carefully clean the residue away and then watch for fresh leakage. The coolant recovery bottle is visible in the photos above the area of concern so someone could have splashed some coolant on the power distribution module when adding coolant to the bottle. Also, if the coolant bottle was overfilled, thermal expansion of the coolant would force some out of the overflow which could also end up where the residue is in your photos.

Make sure to keep the coolant level between the minimum and maximum levels marked on the bottle (when cold). I have had no coolant leaks on any of my LEAFs (over 50,000 miles on 2011, over 80,000 miles on 2015, and over 67,000 miles so far on 2019). I have added small amounts of coolant because of loss due to evaporation, probably one or two times on each car.

 

[MikeinPA]

Might be a gasket leak. A good view of the gen 2 gasket is here at 11:20 minutes in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzA5cpI-zNg

Edit: Yes, do as Gerry suggests. Clean up the area thoroughly and then observe. If the leak is coming from the area the gasket is supposed to seal, you should be able to see it seeping out from there. If so, maybe consider some stop leak. Something that is approved for EV cooling systems if such a thing exists yet.

 

[Thetank]

Thanks a lot, it indeed seems to be a leak from that gasket. I am going to get it repaired this week.

 

[MikeinPA]

Good then. Can you let MNL know how that went? Thanks.

 

[Thetank]

Hi there,

Sorry for the long delay, I was hoping to come back with good news, so I was waiting.

** I am explaining the situation how I understand it, i might be off on some points!! **

I got my leaf to the garage early July, and the repair was supposed to be pretty straightforward.

Remove the top half of the electric motor, change the "carbon gasket seal", add a manually applied seal, and VOILA!

But when the technician put it back together and started the car, he was hearing a sparkling sound. He opened it up again and wanted to check where it was coming from, so he started the car, bypassing the cover switch. The sparkling was still hearable, and then the were sparks and fire coming up from the hole in the middle from what I understand. Probably when doing the repair , there was some coolant that when down where it was not supposed to.. So he grilled some components...

I am still waiting for a replacement part to be available and purchased by my repairman. So i am patiently waiting for the repair to be done.
Hoping it will be done soon and that this incident did not damage other components down the line..


Any ideas on what I should check once I get my car back? I was thinking of checking battery health with MyleafSpy, but there might be other things to look out for.


Thanks!!!

 

[MikeinPA]

Very sorry to hear this, and hopefully the arcing is isolated to one part.

This is why I prefer to do all my own repair work. I use mechanics only when absolutely necessary.

 

[Thetank]

Yeah..

I am pretty tech saavy normally and love to repair electronics. I would love to jump in a project like that, but I just don't have the time for it or the ressources to deal with it if something goes sideways ( like it did) !! I'll keep you posted when I do get back my car!