Thread: Help finding a coolant leak (pics)

Im pretty sure I found my coolant leak (elbow) but i am a little skeptical that this could cause this much of a mess. when i seen it leak, it was just a couple drops.

first some pics of the puddles



next question. is this a bad intake gasket?



and is this what you guys did with your IAT sensor?


anyone know what this line is so i can check all other lines for leaks?




and this isnt a question, but here is the whole engine. keep in mind that this was a salvaged car and was rebuild by someone i would never go to for repairs. i bought this car from my cousine for 350 bucks after she recked it.

just gotta match up the pics with the questions.

well if the lim gaske or uim gasket is leaking, why isnt it in the oil??

and can one of you mods delete the second post to clean it up a bit. button is gone on the second post.

keith, the button is not there. and i fixed it today and bought some engine degreaser so i can keep an eye on it if it leaks somewhere else.

Those UIMs are notorious for small cracks. I would guess its a cracked UIM or intake gasket or both.

you can tell by looking at the end seal of the LIM gasket that its either old and shot or like the other guys said super dirty. my guess would be old and shot. my LIM gasket was pretty bad and i wasnt getting any in the oil. looks like you removed the coolant elbows. if you want, clean the fricken crap outta the engine bay especially the area above your water pump, and then for 5 bucks get new coolant elbows. install ur tensioner and what not and see if the leaks happen again. but you gotta make sure you clean it really really good. use rags to soak it up and/or an air compressor to blow it all out. if the leak comes back in the lower area, i would think the water pump is leaking. if it comes back in that groove on you LIM, i would think you have a shot gasket.

thanks for the suggestion o2gtp, but im one step ahead of you lol.

as you can see by the pics, it was super dirty. suprisonly some engine degreaser got all of it off. now i can check for leaks .

I guess i really cant explain but everytime ive seen them look like that the LIM gaskets needed to be replaced.

The way I tell if the gaskets are in need of replacement are to look at where the LIM meets the head. If the gasket isn't an aluminum one, then it'll need to be replaced at some point.[/QUOTE]

and yes thats definately the easy way to do it but i think that would be hard for someone who is unfamiliar with how the gaskets are.

oops i screwed that quote up ^^^ lol

ur not being an ahole. i completely get what ur saying. we just all deal with things different. i know i described to multiple people how to tell if you have aluminum or not and they just dont get it. not everyone who wants to work on these cars and/or is on this forum are handy.

i love working on my car. i may ask little questions about how to do something or what to expect, but that doesnt mean that the people who ask questions arnt good mechanics (not that your saying were no)

im happy with what ive done working on cars. nothing internal yet but one day.

ive done the rack and pinion, p/s pump, v/c gaskets, replaced brakelinkes/fule lines. fule pump, structs,sway bar ,control arms some electrical inside the steering wheel, wheel bearings, headlights, replace bumper. and alot of other things. i know its not even close to what most of you guys do.

if i dont have experiance with something that makes me want to do it more, and not take it to a shop. im still waiting to pull my first motor and trans.

anyway i love working on these cars. i know most things about how engines work
(note im not saying i know EVERYTHING).

in fact the only reason i posted the questions about the coolant leak is because i didnt even know there were those cooling elbows, but i learned something new and i fixed it, so im happy.

this isnt agianst anyone on here. just wanted it to be known that im a capable mechainc.