Mysterious coolant leak..
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 792
Likes: 19
From: ME
Mysterious coolant leak..
Hi,
Just today did an oil change on my '99 hardtop and I was bummed to see a coolant leak - one drop from the front spring. Looking up I saw traces following the drivers side of the timing chain cover and then
couldn't see where from there. From the top it was really wet on the passenger side of the timing
cover. SO I thought it was the water pump but after 15 minutes of searching with mirrors the water pump really looks dry....(?!!?).
It's not a bad leak yet, I really only saw one drop of dexcool and the resevoir is still just about full.
What are some common coolant leaks in the water pump area? Has anyone had anything similar? Im at 75k miles right now and the engine is all original - no mods.
Just today did an oil change on my '99 hardtop and I was bummed to see a coolant leak - one drop from the front spring. Looking up I saw traces following the drivers side of the timing chain cover and then
couldn't see where from there. From the top it was really wet on the passenger side of the timing
cover. SO I thought it was the water pump but after 15 minutes of searching with mirrors the water pump really looks dry....(?!!?).
It's not a bad leak yet, I really only saw one drop of dexcool and the resevoir is still just about full.
What are some common coolant leaks in the water pump area? Has anyone had anything similar? Im at 75k miles right now and the engine is all original - no mods.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,843
Likes: 16
From: Howell Michigan
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11
Most likely the water pump shaft seal. You may not see it there as it can be thrown when the engine is warm and running. Normally the leak only happens when the cooling system is up to full pressure, 15 psi.
Changing the water pump is one of the more easy things to replace on the Corvette.
Changing the water pump is one of the more easy things to replace on the Corvette.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,389
Likes: 3
From: somewhere shooting my assault rifles
I betting its the pass side water pump gasket leaking and not the pump itself or anything else. Could barely see my leak from underneath. $5 gaskets and it as fixed. Left the pump alone even though it had 45K on it.
Last edited by Z06supercharged; Apr 14, 2010 at 06:59 PM.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 792
Likes: 19
From: ME
Nice! Well what I did for today was just clean it up and I'll check it
out in a few days and see where the fresh leak is coming from. Great ideas guys - thanks for the help! Now hopefully I can fix it!
