Hello, I 'm new to this forum, so please forgive my ignorance of correct practices. I first posted this in "new member", now have copied it to here.

I have a 2004 Sebring LX sedan with the 2.7l engine.

I am trying to repair damages to front end after my son's encounter with a 60+ lb dog.
Took out front fascia (not the issue right now) and cracked lower driver's side corner off the radiator and bent up the AC compressor.
Have installed new radiator, and was trying to figure out how to fill it...I know, I'm an idiot. filled it partway thru the upper filler neck (2.5 qts) then started it, thinking it would pull coolant into the engine from the overflow bottle. Ran for a couple of minutes (not very long, concerned with heating up the block), shut off and nothing (of course).

Once I finally figured out to overfill the overflow bottle with a tall funnel stuck in the filler neck and crack the bleeder screw, proceeded to put in about 1 gallon more.
Started it up again to warm it up, and finally got the heat gauge off of C but have a steady drip of coolant off the front passenger side oil pan stud (smaller diameter than oil pan bolts, 6mm I think) when it is running, stops shortly after shutoff. I did not bring the car up to temp enough to start the coolant fans as I wasn't sure what is going on.

Think I have trouble, but not sure what. any ideas?

 

My guess is that when you cracked that bleed screw loose, you stripped out the female fitting that the screw goes into. The splines on that fitting are very small and the plastic they sit in is not very strong. If you had read up on that part in the forum here you would have learned never to touch that bleed screw. It's there so the guys in the plant can get the air out of the system in one shot when filling the cooling system. For us shade tree mechanics, the best way is to pour in as much coolant as we can and run the car for a few warm-up and cool-down cycles to let it bleed the air out by itself, then top up as needed.
Anyway, now what? If the leak is where I suspect it is, you're going to have to replace the coolant outlet manifold. That's the name of the part that holds that bleed screw. The part is available on the aftermarket. Search the web. Using the search term "gear wrench" search the forum for a very long thread on the subject and how to replace the part without removing the upper intake manifold and what tool you'll need to do so.

 

Thanks for the quick reply, but I'm sure that it is not the coolant outlet manifold, as my son just had it replaced at Thanksgiving. It was cracked and leaking coolant and he was at college, so I couldn't fix it for him.
It came loose very nicely, so I put a clear hose on it and filled the overflow bottle (with funnel jammed in) till I had a bit coming out the hose. I wonder if the short time (10 min max) the car was run without coolant did something to the water pump?

 

Let's hope it's not the water pump because it's buried behind the timing chain and requires a great deal of labor to change. Usually when it leaks, the coolant winds up in the crank case and contaminates the oil. Keep your eye on the engine oil. If the level starts rising and it turns to a chocolate milk color, then you have a major problem.
It could be that you just spilled some antifreeze on the top of the engine and it's taking its time working its way down and cooking off. Let's hope so.

 

Thanks, I'll try warming it up for a bit later today when I get home. Will post update this evening.

 

Oops, didn't get to work on Sebring last night, will try again for this evening!

 

Bummer...not sure what it is, dripping/leaking pretty steadily. Increases as it warms up, stops (pretty much) when it cools down so it is a pressure leak of some kind. Have been watching the coolant outlet manifold, and it seems to be staying dry. Hold down bolts are tight, not leaking around bleeder screw. Stumped

 

Coolant Concentrate for Leak Detection Kit

 

Happy day after Christmas! Thought I would post a link to show how fast and where the coolant is leaking from:

Top side of manifold is dry, as is the coolant outlet manifold. Hoses are good, as are clamps, kind of at a loss, any ideas would be appreciated!!

 

Yep, it's the water pump. Having it fixed by my local mechanic. Thanks for the ideas but I'm going to pass on this repair.
Happy new year!!