Thanks for your replies, the information about the water gauge being 1/2 way and steady is a real help.
The temp. gauge behavior caused the dealer to look into the seals and drains on the shaft of the water pump. The seals were replaced and the special 'orange' cooling fluid was checked for air pockets and level. Even after that the gauge behavior is the nearly the same, it goes lower on stopping or engine-to-idle when coasting.
The water pump shaft enclosure has a couple of holes that allow for some drainage of that area where the shaft extends towards the outside of that housing. If you develop a water leak around the shaft of the pump then water will 'weep' out the holes. Here's the kicker - you will not see an obvious water leak just some white stains around or below the water pump shaft. This could really zap your engine accorrding the service writer. Water leaves the system slowly without any obvious steam cloud, you may not notice the temperature rising, and on a hot day it could result in damage.
I have smelled an odor like anti-freeze for the last several months when I would run the fan or heater and have mentioned it to service. It seemed to come and go. No one there could find anything wrong, it may have been leaking all this time.
The car has been at the dealer for a week, they have not called me yet today, it's nearing 5 pm here. I guess the next thing to check is if the water pump or temp. sensor are broken.
|