ok... not really good at diagnostics... but here is what is happening and what i have done...
i purchased a 96 lt1 hatchback... runs great!!! well thought so at least... i was about 60 miles from home one night and the coolant light came on... i pulled into the nearest gas station purchased some coolant and filled the overflow... which got me home...
the next day i went out started her up and i could not find a leak anywhere...
my pastor is a mechanic with the local school district so he offered to put a pressure test on it... he did, and NOTHING... not even as drop of water or loss of pressure...
well after trying to figure what i had done differently that night, a friend of mine and i decided i needed to recreate the drive that got the light to come on... what i had done differently that night was to run the heater...
i lifted the lid the next morning and turned the heater on and whoa-la... the leak emerged, but since it was daytime it was difficult to see from where it was coming you could just feel the belt slinging water... that night i again turned the heater on and looked for the leak... and you could see it dripping down at a decent rate about where the heater hose inputs into the water pump, or the base of the water pump... so still not sure where leak was coming from...
tonight i tried to recreate the heater instance at church so my pastor could give some input and NOTHING... could not get it to even drip... BUT the dang low coolant light came on... not a wet spot on the motor or under the car... !!!
has anyone experienced this mysterious leak and have any idea where to start? (need the smiley that bangs his head against the wall)

 

Its the LT-1 water pump leaking on your 1996 Corvette.

Needs to be replaced.

Brian

 

thanks brian... i was hoping for better news... but appreciate the help...

 

Good news is the opti is vented so you haven't killed it yet.
It still could get excessive coolant in it and kill it so get the waterpump replaced ASAP.

Good news is its not that hard of a job. One bolt is behind the power steering pully, it has enough holes in it to get a socket and extensions in there to remove it.

Good luck!

 

Look at the condition of the OPTI as well. I don't have an LT, but from what I've ready about it, if you have the chance to inspect and possibly replace while you already have the water pump off, take it.

 

well... its done and i did most of it myself... thanks for the assistance in diagnosing the problem...
i found a video on youtube and obtained the procedure... and when i needed muscle i had some great neighbors... and a friend walked through most of it on the phone with me...

 

..... Never open a radiator cap when its hot / or the car has just been shut off ... that being said ; pouring coolant into the overflow jug does nothing at all to remedy the low coolant in the radiator , particularly when there is a leak ... you must wait 'til its cool enough to re-fill the radiator itself ... the cooling system requires a vacuum to pull water from the overflow into the radiator and that won't happen if there is a leak in the system ... path of least resistance and all .....................

 

UPDATE... i changed out the water pump... it was leaking from the rear seal of the bearings...
just wanted to thank you all for your assistance...
it was not an easy job but i managed to do most of the work myself... could not have done it with out the assistance of a friend on the phone... and yall telling me where to start...