Car trouble :(

tm2008, Jan 20, 12:20am
hi my nissan sentra 1996 1.8l has been losing power when driving (for about a month now) on and off, not all the time. now today we went out and came home and it started reeving higher than it normally would when i didn't have my foot on the gas. popped the bonnet and steam coming up around the back of the engine and water leak underneath. on the verge of overheating. not sure what is there (at the back) that has anything to do with water! do you know what it might be!

have checked levels, water oil coolant etc and all good.

mugenb20b, Jan 20, 12:54am
If you are an AA member, give them a call. But, on a 1.8 litre engine (SR18DE I'm guessing) there are many water hoses behind the engine, as well as welch plugs. One of the above may have sprung a leak.

franc123, Jan 20, 1:04am
The coolant level can't be all good if you've got steam coming from what sounds like underneath the intake manifold, the only other reason steam would be coming from there is if someone had squirted it with a hose. You have c hecked whats in the radiator and not just looked at the overflow tank! Get it to a garage or radiator shop for a pressure test. It could be that the head gasket has let go and is now leaking externally, or internal pressure has burst a hose under there.

tm2008, Jan 20, 1:26am
thank you both :) i'll go and take a better look once everythings cooled down properly. if its the water pump, would it be causing a leak from the rear of the engine! i think the waterpump is near the front of the engine so it's not that that is stuffed.

mugenb20b, Jan 20, 2:00am
The water pump is where all the drive belts are, so right hand side of the engine bay.