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water pump or coolant elbows?

06grandprix93

New member
Yesterday, I noticed that there was a coolant leak near my water pump. How can I tell if I need a new water pump or if it is the plastic coolant elbows leaking?
Tia
 


If you see wetness on top of the water pump around that elbow area then its the elbow but if you see wetness under the water pump area its the pump.
 
Well I would say just pull the stuff off and check the elbows not that hard. Otherwise you would have to put die into your system then get the special light and track it down. The die and light alone run about $40 where im at. It takes me 20min to change out the elbows and they are like $7. Even if I charged myself the $60hr shop fee its still cheaper to just pull it and look.

Changing out the water pump is a pita. I have done it when it was like -20 outside did it in a garage with no heat yeh it was fun lol.
 
If you see wetness on top of the water pump around that elbow area then its the elbow but if you see wetness under the water pump area its the pump.

Not always true I had a masive crack in one of my eblows and never seen water by it was always down under the water pump. Almost changed out the pump a 2nd time till I pulled the elbows and found the giant crack.

But yes you could check to see where the water is but it just depends on how much water the elbow is dumping out if it is alot it will be all over the place and you wont be able to tell exactly where the water is coming from. Plus the heat of the block tends to dry up the water by the elbows faster.
 
If you want to know which is leaking. Clean up the area and run the car. Then ... look. You should be able to see where it's leaking from. If you can't. Then buy an inspection mirror, another invaluable auto tool. Cheap and easy to get a visual of many tough to see places on a car.
 


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