My car is leaking coolant, enough so that I don't want to drive it. It's up on jackstands in my garage right now. I can' seem to figure out where it's leaking from!

I turn my car on, and it leaks from here, amounts varying to how much gas I give it



When I turn my car off, it begins leaking from here. Also I see white smoke coming from the exhaust here after the car was turned on for about 20seconds, just for the first time today I noticed it. Can't be good..



Something very strange I noticed, coolant pooled up on the top of the engine in these little dwellings, only on the right side. As said in pic I cleaned it then started up engine for maybe 30seconds, but it didn't fill up again.



Here is what else is important about this:

It has had very slow leak ever since October when I bought it. Last thursday I was driving for 15minutes(usually only 5 or so around town), and floored it the last 30 seconds then parked it. When I did vaporized coolant was billowing out of the hood and I popped the hood and could see it coming from somewhere around the engine? Also it was leaking profusely underneath. I drove it to school and back on friday, when the low coolant light came on; haven't driven since.

edit: I also know it has leaky valve seals because of white smoke coming out of the exhaust when I start it up and it's sat for a while. It's just strange that I saw white smoke coming from further up in the exhaust 20 seconds after it was turned on

My dad and I have both looked at it at least twice and have not been able to figure out where the leak is. It is also strange that it leaks from 2 different spots.

 

there are soooo many coolant leak points in L98s it ain't even funny.

First off, you need to R&R the intake manifold. That should resolve the worst of it. Check the coolant lines to the oil heater. It's the oil filter adaptor.

 

white smoke coming out the pipes? that is NOT oil. Oil is bluish.

More than likely, the coolant is seeping into the combustion chambers from the intake gasket.

Fix that ASAP.

 

If you and your dad worked on SBCs before, there shouldn't be much of a problem R&R-ing the intake manifold. Unless you wanna go do a oil cooler bypass by splicing hoses, that is your business. It won't hurt the car since I don't think LT1s had it. If you haven't done a TB coolant bypass yet, now is the time to do it. 2 other coolant bypasses I know are the heater core bypass and that oil cooler bypass. That should eliminate a lot of leak points right there.

BTW, what coolant temperatures is your car running at? I have a feeling that the previous owner before you never flushed the coolant before. Old coolant does a lot of damage.

If you ever get a chance, you might consider buying/renting a radiator pressure test kit. They don't cost very much at local auto parts stores, except at NAPA... When you pressurize the cooling system to about 18 psi, you should be able to find most of the leaks quite easily when you see fluid squirting from those crevices. Good luck.

 

This is one external leak point that can make coolant pools on top of the intake. The throttle body coolant line and the thermostat housing are two more. I'd check the core plugs on that side of the block. One could be rusted through.

 

Pacer is right... but I am betting the intake gaskets are bad, causing the coolant to weap into the intake ports.

 

Same problem solved with new intake gasket on my'90.