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I have a coolant leak, I'm not sure where it’s originating from. [1988]
The coolant is not mixed with oil, it’s not coming from the weep hole. Maybe it’s dripping down from the WP gasket, but I don’t think so.
Can anyone look at the picture and video and give me an idea?
Since it seems to be off center of the water pump I understand the Idea that it's a Water Pump Gasket. But I would give the Front edge of the Intake a look First take a good look by the Alternator if your car still has the Injector Loom cover still intact Remove it and lift up the Harness you may find it very wet you may even find it wet in all 4 corners of the Intake.
wow, is that under pressure? Given the location of the drips I would say either coming out the bottom of the tb and dripping down the front, or, intake/heads/block gasket, or, waterpump gasket or a big crack in the block.
either way if I had the time space and resources, I'd be checking the throttlebody and mating surface between the front of the intake and the heads/block. Removing air pump and alternator to do so. if the culprit is not found there then I would pull the water pump
Last edited by VikingTrad3r; 03-05-2017 at 10:53 AM.
wow, is that under pressure? Given the location of the drips I would say either coming out the bottom of the tb and dripping down the front, or, intake/heads/block gasket, or, waterpump gasket or a big crack in the block.
either way if I had the time space and resources, I'd be checking the throttlebody and mating surface between the front of the intake and the heads/block. Removing air pump and alternator to do so. if the culprit is not found there then I would pull the water pump
Start high looking following Gravity and if need be pulling Accessories off to see the Block/Head connection, Somewhere it will show it's Ugly Source.
The leak in the video is after I poured coolant into the radiator, the car was not running, it just leaked out by itself.
I'm thinking the worst would be a cracked block, I hope not.
I'm the 3rd owner, had it since 2003, It has about 140K miles. I treated it like gold. I only put on a few thousand miles a year.
Earlier in the year, I detected a leak, thought it was the water pump, so I bought a new water pump & hoses. I didn't have the time to install it, but the leak got worse, until it was dripping like in the video.
Maybe, if the block is cracked, its due to heat, caused by low coolant. The coolant is not mixed with oil, so maybe that's a good sign.
At this point I don't know. I'll wait till the weather gets warmer and look into it a little further.
I've have a leak in almost the same area, bought a pressure tester from HF to locate it, Ck with a mirror if you can at the lower water pump bolt on that side right above the timing bracket. Mine is weeping out between the pump and block, not easy to see, ends up running along the cross member before hitting the ground.
I've have a leak in almost the same area, bought a pressure tester from HF to locate it, Ck with a mirror if you can at the lower water pump bolt on that side right above the timing bracket. Mine is weeping out between the pump and block, not easy to see, ends up running along the cross member before hitting the ground.
Good suggestion and you can rent one for free from AutoZone. A refundable deposit and you have 90 days. My leak was so bad that I only needed the day. The pressure will really help you find the leak fast.
if you do your own work, start tearing it down with confidence. start with the hoses under the tb a d check the tstat base! sounds like you already have a waterpump. it might be up near intake.
I've have a leak in almost the same area, bought a pressure tester from HF to locate it, Ck with a mirror if you can at the lower water pump bolt on that side right above the timing bracket. Mine is weeping out between the pump and block, not easy to see, ends up running along the cross member before hitting the ground.
Thanks for all the replies. I'll get a pressure tester and try to see exactly where the leak is coming from.
I checked the oil and the leaked coolant; both are clean and not mixed, so I hope it's just the WP gasket leaking.
Thanks for all the replies. I'll get a pressure tester and try to see exactly where the leak is coming from.
I checked the oil and the leaked coolant; both are clean and not mixed, so I hope it's just the WP gasket leaking.
Before you go there, dump some COOLANT DYE into the system. I'd double strength it, run it till warm and use the heater to circulate it all over.
Yours may be different since mine is an 84 but i just went through this !
In my case it was the water pump gasket, i didn't see the coolant leaking UNTIL i rented the moto rad pressure tester from autozone, i applied 15 pounds of pressure, and it GUSHED like crazy, i replaced the pump and used fel pro blue gaskets with water pump specific rtv. My old pump was working just the gasket was toast; looked like it was those paper gaskets that come with the water pumps.
But i decided to just do everything i could now while it's all apart.
Yours may be different since mine is an 84 but i just went through this !
In my case it was the water pump gasket, i didn't see the coolant leaking UNTIL i rented the moto rad pressure tester from autozone, i applied 15 pounds of pressure, and it GUSHED like crazy, i replaced the pump and used fel pro blue gaskets with water pump specific rtv. My old pump was working just the gasket was toast; looked like it was those paper gaskets that come with the water pumps.
But i decided to just do everything i could now while it's all apart.
Is this the Fel-Pro gasket? Do the gaskets have a coating over paper or it a flexable/rubber-like gasket?
Those are the ones, they will sell you 2 that are the same just trace and cut one to match the other side of the pump that does not have the extra hole.
It looked like they were coated paper to me not flexible rubber, but the original dark grey/black ones that come with the replacement pump disintegrated that i scraped off the old pump, so these have to be better.
One KEY is NOT to slather rtv on them. Just use your finger to coat one side, place them on the engine, then coat the water pump and THEN install.
Otherwise there will be WAY too much rtv and just make a big mess.
Here's 2 thoughts, use them if they make sense. First assuming you have a L98 and haven't bypassed the TPI, check the U shaped hose that goes from the TPI to the block behind the water pump. Had one crack by the fitting and it was a bit of a bear to track down because it was not obvious where the leak originated. The second is if you use something like the yellow-green Prestone antifreeze, get a small black light. That and some other brands fluoresce under black light and makes it a lot easier to track down. Dye works too but if it's already been wet you may be able to track down the leak without anything further other than taking a look.
Here's 2 thoughts, use them if they make sense. First assuming you have a L98 and haven't bypassed the TPI, check the U shaped hose that goes from the TPI to the block behind the water pump. Good luck.
Thanks, I had already bypassed the TB hose. I'll be getting the pressure tester today, and hopefully the results will show only the WP gasket leaking.
03-05-2017, 08:24 AM
Coolant Leak--Need Some Help
Start high looking following Gravity and if need be pulling Accessories off to see the Block/Head connection, Somewhere it will show it's Ugly Source.
