Thread: Cant pinpoint where my coolant leak is coming from ??

For the last couple months I've been having to put some coolant into the reservoir every few weeks. Not much but maybe a half quart. I don't see any on the ground anywhere but it has been wet/snowy because its winter. Lim gasket have been replaced with an aluminum one (a year ago) and UIM and elbows all were replaced. Oil is fine, isn't burning it.

Places that I have checked.

Coolant elbows (upper and lower)
Passage way between LIM/gasket area (not sure if thats what its called but the thing under the TB
around the water pump (cant see that well even with a mirror)
Reservoir tank
Reservoir tank hose
Radiator area and upper/lower hoses

Now I did find coolant all over the power steering pump when I was looking from underneath the car. See picture : http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6b394c1f.png

I cannot figure out where the coolant is coming from though. Someone said maybe the weep hole on the water pump. No clue where that is. Again, can't see that good even with mirror by the water pump.

Anyone know where this coolant is coming from?

i can give you a quick tip that helped me find it in like 12 seconds. go get a uv dye detection kit. i know, its like 40 bucks for the fancy stuff and light, etc. if you have an LED flashlight, it will counteract with the dye, still turning it green, even in daylight. pour it in the rad, drive it around for a bit, open up thermostat, the norm...then pop the hood with it running and check it out. bright green clues where it leaks. thats who i found out my rad cap was at fault...

it also helps if you do this after dusk. real easy to spot.

^^^ second that... Also with it being right above the PS pump, I'd say the elbows didn't seal good. I went through 3 sets in 6 months because I did piss poor job installing them... I finally bought the last set and when I installed them I used a fine grit sand paper and shined all 4 holes the best I could then I used a little 3in1 oil on my finger tip to rub in the holes lightly to lube up the holes before I put the tensioner back on. It hasn't leaked since...

Water pump could be seeping.

Originally Posted by stealthee

Water pump could be seeping.

where can it seep from? someone said to check the weep hole but I cant find anything.
after looking and listening some more I noticed that there is a noise coming from the water pump area. it making a hi pitch screech.


I double checked the elbows and I dont see any obvious leaks. im thinking based on where I found the coolant and the noise coming from that area that is probably the water pump.

here is a video of the noise. http://s1127.beta.photobucket.com/us...1e8af.mp4.html

The weep hole is behind the pulley.

Best way to check the water pump is to remove the accessory pulley and grap the pulley and check for excessive play. If there is play, the pump needs replaced.

So take the belt off and grab the pulley and see if there is play in it?

So far I can't pin point the leak but thats got to be where its coming from.

Yep, I had a similar issue. I thought it might have been my elbows leaking again until I looked closer. I too had trouble locating the weep hole with a mirror. Took the belt off, wiggled the pulley and there was definite play.

Good thing for you if you are NA, so you don't have the supercharger and its belt and ilder to deal with. The hardest part I had to mess with though was getting the power steering bolts out, and then back in.

Yeah i heard its a PITA to locate the bolt. Don't you have to turn the pulley until you line up the hole on the pulley with the bolt?

Well I'm having surgery tomorrow so I probably won't be able to work on it for a couple weeks but once I can move around again I'll check the WP closer. There only like $40 bucks so I might just go ahead and replace it. Based on the noise and the fact that I can't find the leak anywhere else, I'm assuming that is it.

Take a look at where the heater hoses come into the tensioner assembly from the heater core. Feel back there and if it's wet, the o-rings in them may be bad.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Take a look at where the heater hoses come into the tensioner assembly from the heater core. Feel back there and if it's wet, the o-rings in them may be bad.

Felt back there and its all dry.

I also took the belt off this morning and checked to see if there is any play in the WP pulley, it seemed pretty firm, almost no movement. I also stuck my finger behind the pulley to see if it was wet and its bone dry ??

I also found coolant puddled up on the skid plate when looking around by the front of the engine ??

I have NO idea where this coolant is coming from. The upper elbow look like it may be leaking, but im not sure. Its hard to tell, if it is its definitely not a fast leak. Maybe it only really starts to leak while I'm driving, lets say on the highway? IDK ??

Even if it was the upper elbow how do i get coolant to puddle up on the skid plate and how did coolant get on the power steering pump?

Totally lost.....

Check the water pump bolts, some of the bolts go into water jackets and can seep if not sealed.

Might be upper rad hose or hose from rad neck to overflow. A leak there could leave coolant on skid plate. It might be hitting belt too and spraying on water pump. How does underside of the hood look?

Front skid plate? Can you elaborate. The end tanks on the radiator are tough to diagnose because it's nearly impossible to see them.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Front skid plate? Can you elaborate. The end tanks on the radiator are tough to diagnose because it's nearly impossible to see them.

I have had 2 GTP's that had a rather large front skid plate (plastic) under the subframe at the front. It blocked off all underneath access to to areas like the bottom of the rad. If the end tanks are leaking or the hose has a split or the overflow is busted at the end tank, coolant can drip down & sit on the skid plate until you start throwing these pigs into a few corners at which time the coolant flies off the skid plate and mother nature sucks it back. Might be a slim possibility but I have experienced it when my overflow hose leaked & all the air being thrown around from the pulleys & belt was spraying **** all over the place. If the coolant he sees is localized to only the power steering pump area then I would retract my suggestion unless he has two simultaneous leaks?

Oh..that big dumb thing.

Ok, so I've looked into this further.

I took a piece of dry paper towel and stuffed it under the upper coolant elbow. I drove to the store and back and checked the paper towel. It wasn't soaked but it was partially damp. It kind of smelled like coolant, not sure how any other liquid could get up there.

Here is a picture of the elbow before I took it out for the drive. http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...ps67a4c9aa.jpg

@Billboost

Here is a couple pictures of where I can see coolant puddled up on the front skid plate. So I have coolant there and I found coolant underneath the power steering pump (picture in previous post)

http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...ps302a062f.png

http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/...ps105231f3.png

What do you guys think ??

I think the pic in post one shows oil.
I think these two pics show a moist motor mount, which is completely normal on a 3800.

Are you honstly leaking coolant?