Alright, here goes... I don't even really want to tell this story but ...
After a few months of having no way of getting around, I have been trying to buy a car from the local Craigslist. Working 3-11 has not made this an easy venture. I went to look at a 1998 stratus in Ohio, (about 30 mins from where I live in PA) Had to find a ride there... pay for their gas... ect ect.. Got there late, girlfriend was tired, ride was in a hurry to go home, and the car battery was completely dead. after trying for about a half hour to jump start it the guy offered to trailer it to my house... since I didn't yet have a plate to put on it I took him up on his offer. He assured me if I had a battery to put in it, it would start right up; If it didn't he would buy the battery off of me and trailer the car back home. I went home (stopped and bought a battery on the way) He got here, we put the battery in, it fired right up and we drove it off the trailer. after he left I went to inspect it a little further. It fired right up again. although this time I heard a whine coming from the engine compartment. I opened the hood and removed the rad cap, and it was bone dry. checked the reservoir it too was empty. So I shut it down, and went and got antifreeze. The engine was off as I dumped the antifreeze into the water neck. almost immediately I could see it running onto the ground as fast as I was putting it in.... it looks like its running out from somewhere near the water pump... is there a freeze plug near there?? it looks like its coming out to fast and too much to be a weep hole leak....any Ideas?

 

134 views, and nobody can tell me where the freeze plugs are on this engine block? alright, Haynes manual here I come I guess.

 

So since I've got no replies to my question, and no way to get to a parts store for a Haynes manual,, I've been staring at pics of this engine online. It doesn't look to me like there are any freeze plugs under the timing cover. I know that there is a weep hole for the water pump... but it seems to me that it would be hard for this much anti freeze to leak this quickly out of the motor through the weep hole.... is there a freeze plug or something like that on the head maybe? .
I'm getting ready to go back out and lie in the snow and look while my wife pours some more into it and try and see if I can pinpoint the leak. wish me luck and pray its a hose or some ****

 

i'm not 100 %sure not very familar with the 2.4 i think the freeze plugs are on back of engine, if antifreeze strarts coming out immediately i would suspect a bad hose ,or hole in radiator(or drain plug leaking) with antfreeze running along frame or hose. you can find online manuals haynes doesn't have yours,alldatadiy.com is good 26.95 year thats what i used shows everyhing

 

well, I laid under the car today, while a buddy poured antifreeze into the car, I took off the upper timing belt cover, but didn't see anything from there. got under it and all I can tell is its running out from under the lower timing belt cover and off the oil filter... fast and a lot of it.. more then I would think a weep hole could run.. but I maybe wrong... although looking at everything from up top and underneath, I can pretty much say that replacing the water pump is not going to be an easy job...about an inch and a half between engine and frame rail. funny thing is the engine runs great! ( with no anti freeze)

 

replacing the Water Pump on the 2.4 is really not that difficult. Once you remove the Passenger side Motor Mount, you'll find that you can jack the Motor Up and Down a few inch in order to access whatever you need to remove.

 

So the girlfriend drove you out there and the wife helped you diagnose it?

 

I know that there are freeze plugs on the side of the engine that faces the firewall. That's where I have a leak. By the way, is there anyone out there that knows a technique to be able to get to one of these without pulling the engine?

 

Hi, I do own an Stratus 2006, 2.4L and I've made some fixes by myself on this car.
Have you tried by checking if the radiator drain plug is still on it's place? You'll need to pull off the front fascia to get access to it. This plug is located on the passenger side.