Pls help: chick with a coolant leak

[Beckweed]

Hi there,

I had a coolant leak at the flange on the driver side about 5 weeks ago. It was obvious w/ a big puddle of coolant on the garage floor.

Now I have another leak on the passenger side. I’m trying to figure out where the leak is originating. It is a very tiny leak about 4 drops of coolant on the garage floor every morning and a minuscule decrease of coolant in the tank.

Looking under the car the best I can see is it may be running down the front corner of the oil pan on the passenger side. The only thing above it I can think of is the water pump (replaced 39k ago w/ metal impeller). Took the timing belt cover off and shined a flash light down there, but I still can’t see where the leak is actually coming from. I felt with my hand down around the water pump and it felt dry to me. I didn’t feel any residue or wetness. I tried to follow the leak trail, but there is no visible pink/white residue that you normally see when there is a coolant leak…just the few drops on the floor every morning.

The thermostat looks fine. Replaced that about 20k ago b/c it was leaking and it was an obvious leak at the flange also.

Is it that hard to tell when there is a leak from the water pump or the o-ring?

Is there anything else in that area that it could be?


Thanks for your time.

Becky

[L33]

For starters, take it out and up to temp.. In your garage open the hood, smell, look and listen. Hot coolant going to atmosphere usually produces steam and also makes noise. Use a flashlight and mirror. Even the slightest amount of steam will fog up the mirror. Good luck.

[mark_gober]

I've been working on my nieces and hers had a very small leak at the heater core. The connectors have metal clips that hold the connectors in place. You can slide those down and the the connector just pulls straight off. Inside the connector are o-rings (one on the input and one on the output hose) One of her o-rings was pretty damaged. I removed it with a dental pick and replaced. It was quasi-difficult to find the correct one. I had to purchase an o-ring asst. from the parts store that went to a chevy engine. It had exactly the right size o-ring. I put it back together and it works great.

I concur with beckweed's suggestion. I used a flashlight at night to locate the leak. I could clearly see steam in the light.

Hope that fixes it.

Sincerely,

Mark

[VWBubba]

Some leaks, especially water pumps tend to leak more when running as the spindle turns on the seal. Try looking again with the engine running but be very careful regarding fingers, hair and clothing, keep them away from the belts and pulleys. also be careful after you have brought the engine up to temp, the cooling fan can kick in even without the engine running or ign on.

Steve

[Beckweed]

Hi there,

Just wanted to update this in case there is someone out there with the same problem. I do have a leak coming from the heater core connector. It is flowing like a faucet now so it is rather obvious. I am going to the dealer tomorrow to buy a new coupler b/c I figure I won't be able to find the right o-ring size.
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Thanks you guys for helping me out. I hope to have my car fixed and back on the road by tomorrow night.

Becky