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Help finding a coolant leak (pics)

BlackGT97

BlackGT97

New member
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

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next question. is this a bad intake gasket?

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and is this what you guys did with your IAT sensor?
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anyone know what this line is so i can check all other lines for leaks?


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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.
th_GEDC3682.jpg
 


Hey homey....you can delete your first two posts. You just posted three posts with the same pics. That motor is dirty as chit, I would clean that engine so you can see where it is actually coming from
 
Without a tensioner and coolant elbows, you are going to have a little leak happening on the passenger end of the motor. Meanwhile the motor is too dirty to tell if that leak preexisted.

That hose you point to is the power steering line.
 
that appears to be the lower intake manifold gasket, the valve cover gasket, and possibly the timing cover gasket leaking

Your IAT sensor should installed in your intake tract before the TB. Meaning it ahoudlbt be just sitting in the engine bay it needs to be physically sticking out of the intake tube.
 


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.
 
jpmiller said:
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.
Click to expand...


mines leaking and its not in the oil either, or coming out the tail pipe. but it will be someday.
 
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.
 


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 :).
 
bps02gtp said:
you can tell by looking at the end seal of the LIM gasket that its either old and shot
Click to expand...

The end seal only seals the lifter valley (oil splash areas) from leaking out and or causing a vacuum leak into the crankcase. I'm unsure how that helps you tell if your gaskets are shot. Please explain

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.
 
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.
 


bps02gtp said:
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.
Click to expand...

To look at a end seal that's potentially dirty and has nothing to do with the actual LIM to head sealing surface and try to make a determination doens't seem any tougher than looking at where the LIM meets the head and seeing the color black or silver.

Maybe I'm being an ahole??? I'm having trouble understanding how the endseal (rubber) can look so that it's determined a different gasket should be replaced.
 
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.
 
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