Bendeco

Found a small amount of coolant on the floor below the passenger side near the firewall. Could it just be a hose or is that where the heater is.

jimmers

The heater core is under the passenger side dash. Is the carpet wet inside? Does the windshield fog up? Those are obvious signs the heater core is leaking.

Joe C

- what year car are we talking about?

Bendeco

1985.
It is leaking on the ground just between the passenger tire and the passenger door. It could be just a leaking at a clamp or something. I'm a crappy mechanic. I will do a little more investigating.

xrav22

It?s the heater valve ,I bet.probably leaked when you turn the car off.

AGENT 86

good chance

And or the heater core hoses at firewall

hcbph

Here's a little trick that 'might' work for you. After driving, wait a short time and take a look around the area you think it's leaking with a black light. Some antifreeze will light up under a black light. Might make it help stand out where it's coming from.

colter

Put coolant dye in the system, run it, then get out the UV light.

Purple92

As colter said - put some dye in the cooling system, drive the car a bit and look for the leak with a black light (preferably when it's dark out) - or pressurize the system with a pressure tester and look for / listen for the leak. You may get lucky and find a loose clamp or a deteriorated hose.

If the leak is on the ground / garage floor, and the pass compartment carpet up by the pass side footwell isn't wet - you are probably not looking at a heater core....

Bluezman

I hope you can get an answer on this. I have the exact same issue.

I've looked everywhere and can't find the leak. As far as I can tell, it isn't the heater core and none of the clamps have any antifreeze around them. I've checked every fitting I can find and every hose. Nothing is wet at all. But sure enough, I'll clean the antifreeze off the floor of the garage and in the morning, there's a small puddle.

It can't be from driving it because I can't drive my car right now. I topped off the coolant and noticed the leak the following day. It steadily drips on the passenger side behind the tire until the reservoir is about empty. Then it stops. I'll fill it again and it starts leaking again.

I though it was leaking out of the heater core at first because that is where the drip is. But I've removed the wheel-well and the small side panel (where the washer fluid tank is) and discovered that the drip seems to be running along the frame somehow from somewhere else.

I'm perplexed. I hope someone has ideas about this or the OP finds the problem because I'm getting nowhere with it. Sorry to hijack this thread but I almost feel liberated that someone else has the same problem.

Oh, by the way, my car is a 1990 convertible.

jsmn4vu

If the car is not being driven, and the reservoir is emptying but the radiator/block isn't, you've got a leaky reservoir.

darklordftt

Mine was leaking from there, as the plastic box had separated from the brass fill cap/neck. Had to purchase a new one. I could see it pooling on the rim of the overflow box and leaving a residue.

My old thread on the topic with pics

bac22

First, are you sure it's coolant? I've found the drain tubes over the years can get clogged up causing water to backup which always seems to affect the passenger side more then drivers. One tube is behind the battery and one on the passenger side both near the window intake vents. They are fairly easy to fine, but passenger side is a lot bigger then people expect, so easy to miss what you're looking at.

This thread show pictures of the tubes.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...be-length.html

Bluezman

Thanks for so much help. I hope the OP is reading these.

I'm sure it isn't the drain tubes because (this probably doesn't make a lot of sense) I have kept filling the tank with green antifreeze. The puddle is always green... And smells like pancakes with maple syrup. Not the worst smell in my garage, by the way!

But I digress.

Although some of you are thinking that this is obvious, I hadn't thought of checking for a leaky reservoir. I'll pull it and check tonight after work.

It would be a relief it that was it (no pun intended there).

The back story to this was that I had never noticed a leak before where the puddle shows up now, but I was always topping off the tank. My lower radiator hose was seeping and I thought that was where my coolant was going back when the Vette was road worthy. So I recently replaced the upper and lower hoses and filled the tank. That's when it started leaking on the passenger side. I guess tunnel vision made me think that the hoses or clamps were causing the leak since I had "touched" them while changing everything. It makes sense now that I think of it for the tank to have a leak. Its probably been that way for a long time.

...In fact, wouldn't a leak there cause lower boiling temps of the coolant? I mean, if so it would also explain another problem on my list...

This might turn out to be a great day after all!

darklordftt

I would just open the hood and let the car run until you see something leak/drip 1st, before pulling anything off.

Bluezman

I think you're right. Running the car is something that has only been an option for a few days. I just recently put things back together so it would start. I'll check that first and go from there.

I guess hoping that it will heal itself isn't really going anywhere.

JamesThatGuyy

I'm going to guess and say it's your coolant resevoir. Mine recently starting leaking where the metal opening sticks out of the plastic container (leaking between them and out).

If it is, copper sealant is a good temporary fix until you get a new one. A new resevoir will run you somewhere around $100.

For me it looked like it was running out of the hose that feeds from the radiator. Run your car and stand there for a little bit (leave the cap on so it will build pressure). If it is as bad as mine was, it will leak without the cap.