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leaking coolant

P

pacothetaco

New member
I have a 98 gt, 142k and the low coolant light came yesterday then started leaking coolant. I finally got a chance to crawl under there tonight to see where it was coming from but the leak stopped. I can see drips, but I'm not sure where it could be from so I'm hoping for some suggestions. the pulleys have no coolant on them except for the bottom of the power steering fluid bottle. Ive dug around the forum and I'm thinking timing chain cover gasket?
also the pan below the accessories had a bunch of coolant sitting in it.

i also snapped some pics of where the coolant was hitting or sitting here:
http://i46.tinypic.com/1zoxau8.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/p8v38.jpg

Thanks for any all help.

update: so looking under again i cant see where its coming from unless taking out the passenger side fender well but the leak is directly above the oil pan and dripping down.
 
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still an on going problem i went to jamaica for 2 weeks and had my dad take it to some shop he knew who had fixed some crazy issues with his trucks(w/e). guy said he pressure tested it and the LIM gasket was failing big time so he replaced it. i come back, top off my coolant. two days later bam im low on coolant again. i calll the shop guy told he'd pressure test it again see if something leaked. tested and the cap was leaking. so i replaced that, but the coolant is still leaking. and the coolant is only leaking when im driving.

so i know the elbows are underneath the alt bracket, are they visible without removing anything and if how would you make some easy viewing access?
 
Well if he replaced the lim gasket then the coolant elbows should have been replaced already unless he reused them but they almost always break when taking them out. They are part of the alt bracket so just look for plastic 90* elbows running from the bracket into the engine. They are visible but a little hard to see. Is it still an external leak? If so the water pump and lower radiator hose are possible. If not it's possible the lim gaskets weren't done right. Does the oil have a milky appearance?
 
so i looked again today and im not seeing any external leaking i see there are spots next to the one coolant elbow under the bracket where its green but it looks like it leaked before but nothing obvious there i couldent see the second elbow(i guess you cant?)

but what i am seeing is small deposits of coolant above the back valve covers and once again im not sure if they were there before.

but im looking inside the cover and oil looks greyish.

and now im also getting a p0171 code after i added more coolant. and my cruise control no longer works.

ugh i think im gonna have to tear it apart my self since all the mechs around do sketchy work.
 
update
sorry isent grey - i used paper to recheck its like dark brown , my flashlight is one of those firefighter see through smoke ones and i im guessing i was seeing a relection of light off the oil.
 


filled up to the top of the neck. drove 25 miles then low coolant light came back on and there is no coolant dripping on the street when parked.
 
hmm... thats a pretty bad leak and if you can't see coolant leaking its probably internal. LIM wasn't done right or possibly the head gasket is leaking. Maybe that's causing your po171 lean code?
 
yeah my Elbow was leaking Coolant like a month ago
140$ to have the dealership fix it.



they said my LIM needs to be replaced.

gah
 


blah been awhile but i fixed the issue. first of all the guys who did the LIM job did a sh*t job. i had multiple connectors not plugged in all the way as well as vacuum tubes cracked and you could see where the shop guys tried to those heat seal rubber covers and completely messed up on one vacuum line and closed it up awesome! anyway the issue was a leaking coolant elbow from the blind side of it so i could not see the leak. but i wiggled it and it started leaking out of the side i could see. anyway 4$part from AZ no leaks now finally. also my cruise control cable was left off and stuffed down so i dident notice they had failed to reconnect that.

also if I'm checking for vac leaks i read about people using wd40 or a spray bottle but im a little weary of just spraying the sh*t out of my engine so do you spray along the tubes and look for bubbles or something?


BTW Big thanks to everyone on the site for the help there's so much useful information about every little thing on here.
 
Glad you finally got the leak fixed, and that is exactly why I don't let anyone else work on my car :th_laugh-lol3:.

You spray the wd40 (or whatever you're using, you can also use silicone spray, maf cleaner, carb cleaner, etc) around any place you suspect a vacuum leak and you see if the engine idles up or down. If it does than there is a vacuum leak.
 
So, I have a 2000 GTP. Not sure if I have metal or plastic type, yet. I went to pick up the elbows today. They were both plastic. The dealer says the 2000 only ever had plastic (best he could remember). I will get started tomorrow mourning. I will update then.
 
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