Antifreeze leak information

[brothapig]

I would like some advice. My car has developed an antifreeze leak. Here are the facts:

-111,xxx on the clock
-car leaks antifreeze
-no puddles, drips, or anything inside of the engine compartment (I know, bad sign)
-did a coolent system pressure check, and confirmed leak, but did not see or hear any leaks
-no apparent change in oil
-very slight smell of antifreeze while running, but definately there (can't tell if it is raw antifreeze I am smelling, or burning antifreeze [is there a difference?])

Questions:
-what is the most likely source of the leak (intake manifold, head gasket, water pump, etc [i.e., is there a weak point in the LT1 as far as coolent leaks go?]
note: I have not done a compression test, although I will probably hear that as a piece of advice, right?
-would anyone recommend Stop-Leak? Would it hurt my engine?


If stop leak won't hurt my engine, I guess I would like to try it, because if it doesn't work, I'm guessing I'll need a rebuild?


Thanks for any advice.

[Thomas L. Parker]

Could be a heater hose

I had a leak that was hard to find. A heater hose was leaking at the firewall. It dripped right onto the exhaust pipe so there were no puddles at any time. Just happened to smell it and catch it in the act while the engine was running. Looked on the passenger side and sure enough, drip, drip, drip right on top of the exhaust pipe. Sizzle and away goes the evidence. Tightened the clamp and solved the problem.

Hope this helps,

Tom

69, 93A4, 93M6 all Z's

[BrdWAtti2d]

Could also be a leaky heater core, check the passenger side carpet for wetness, check the backseat floorboard as well since the water seems to flow to the back. I had one of these leaks and it wasn't obvious until the core erupted onto the floor and I got stuck in BFE.

[00 Ragtop Z]

My vote would go for the water pump gasket. Had this happen on my ragtop. I have heard from others that this has been a common but not widespread problem. The coolant leaks at pressure from 1-2 of the water pump bolts. Almost impossible to detect when parked and engine had not been running. Look around at the bottom right (drivers side) of the water pump, and look for liquid marks on the streaming back under the engine under the front subframe.

Good luck

[brothapig]

Thanks guys. I like these "hard to spot, but easy enough to fix" suggestions. Now I just need to pray it is one of these, and not a head gasket, right?

[BrdWAtti2d]

A leaky head gasket "should" be easy to spot, you would have:

Water in the oil, milky colored oil on the dipstick

Oil in the water, check the radiator fill hole for oil floating on top. Stick your finger in there (when the car is cool of course) If your finger comes out oily, you have a problem.

White smoke from exhaust and/or water drops coming from exhaust.

[01Y87]

hey, 00ragtop, that is almost exactly what is happening to me! I had the water pump replaced at the dealer and even when i picked up the car there was a puddle in their parking space! I couldn't show it to them because they were closed...but I thought maybe some had dripped from the leaking before they replaced it and got caught up in the frame.

So the next day I got under it and degreased/hosed everything, it looks like a brand new car underneath, and still, when the engine runs I get a little drip of bright red/orange liquid. From what I can tell, it is coming from the lower right (or drivers side) like you said and dripping onto the p/s pump which is right below it, then off that onto the p/s pipe which bends to a hose, then off that onto the rack & pinion, around that onto the crossmember (on which the rack is mounted), then sliding to the rear of the crossmember and off onto the ground.

I'm just disappointed that a GM dealer would not have tightened it properly.