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Coolant leak - Need some help

L

lawadm1

New member
2005 GTP

So what I thought was an oil leak at the oil filter, ended up being a coolant leak somewhere, and I am unsure where to start. Possibly the water pump? But I'm not having overheating issues. And it's not a very big leak wherever it is. I've checked the top and bottom radiator hose, and no leaks there. Below is a picture from underneath the car and the picture is upside down, so the oil filter is to the left in this shot.
 


lower coolant elbow is my guess. follow the outer tube on the alt bracket to the block, feeling for wetness. engine off of course, your treading the belts to reach in there.
 
Thanks. I forgot about those things. From 1-10, how difficult is it to do yourself? 10 being the hardest.
 
Thanks. I can't see the picture in this thread. I'm looking for the 3rd bolt holding the tensioner assembly.
 


If you still can't see the leak, the easiest way to see it is to clean that side of the engine off, pour in some uv dye form your local auto store, and a uv light and glasses and it'll light up like a Chrismas Tree! (yes, I've been saving that joke all year)

I had a mystery leak here and it ended up being the crappy hose clamp for the overflow reservoir. Best thing to do though is to clean the area and see where it's coming from.
 
I finally found the last bolt, feeling around. I replaced both elbows, so we will see what happens. The funny thing is, it didn't look like they were leaking. Oh well, the car has over 100k miles now, and I don't believe they've ever been done before. If it continues to be a mystery, I'll do the dye test that was suggested. Thanks for all the help. Wasn't too bad of a job...just a little messy.
 
if its still there the water pump could be the next step, you can feel wetness under and behind it, it leaks form a small hole back there.

worst case is its the timing cover.

could even be a heater hose.
 
Scottydoggs said:
if its still there the water pump could be the next step, you can feel wetness under and behind it, it leaks form a small hole back there.

worst case is its the timing cover.

could even be a heater hose.
Click to expand...

Yup! Welcome to the wonder that is our coolant system. Thank you GM DEX cool!
 


Well, it looks like I'm going to have to go with the dye kit. It's still leaking somewhere, but it's not a huge leak. The belt the alternator is on is squeaking because there's some fluid getting sprayed on there from somewhere. What a pain in the a** this has been. And I think it's leaking the most after running the car, and then it cools down. I'm hoping it's not the worst case scenario previously mentioned (timing cover).
 
Scottydogs mentioned the small hole in the back of the water pump. What's the best way to visually spot that? I thought there was just a gasket and that's it.
 
lawadm1 said:
Scottydogs mentioned the small hole in the back of the water pump. What's the best way to visually spot that? I thought there was just a gasket and that's it.
Click to expand...

there's a "weep hole" that will dribble coolant when the water pump is going bad. Google the water pumps to see it's exact location. No easy way to see it other than use an inspection mirror. I'm a big fan of uv dye
 
lawadm1 said:
2005 GTP

So what I thought was an oil leak at the oil filter, ended up being a coolant leak somewhere, and I am unsure where to start. Possibly the water pump? But I'm not having overheating issues. And it's not a very big leak wherever it is. I've checked the top and bottom radiator hose, and no leaks there. Below is a picture from underneath the car and the picture is upside down, so the oil filter is to the left in this shot.
Click to expand...
Could be the,water pump it is right above the oil filter. Mine was leaking and was dripping on the ground on passenger side of car so it could very much be the water pump. What motor

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It's the 2005 GTP engine. And it's definitely somewhere around the oil filter, because that's what I thought was leaking until I got underneath the car and saw the green coolant. I'm going to use the dye as suggested, and probably focus around the water pump. I have 103K on the car, and the water pump is still the original as far as I know.
 
lawadm1 said:
It's the 2005 GTP engine. And it's definitely somewhere around the oil filter, because that's what I thought was leaking until I got underneath the car and saw the green coolant. I'm going to use the dye as suggested, and probably focus around the water pump. I have 103K on the car, and the water pump is still the original as far as I know.
Click to expand...
Yea i got a 02 with 212,000 and,thats what mine was the,water pump

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I have had the o-rings on the heater hose connections to the alternator bracket leak also. Lube them up good with Vaseline. Same general area of drip. Mine would only leak after engine shut down.


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I'll check those as well. Thanks. I does seem to only leak after the car has been running, and then is shut off. But it could also be little drips while it's running, and then eventually works it's way down to the ground later on. Hopefully the dye test will tell me, or give me the general vicinity of the leak.
 
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