02 Intrigue coolant leak questions

I have recently had to add coolant and noticed that there is what appears to be coolant on the driveway, near the right front tire after sitting overnight. I'm not yet that familiar with the cooling system on this car, and do have the factory service manual. I assume it may be the water pump, but are there any other coolant lines or passages that could be the source? I have checked the radiator hoses and they are like new. The car has 78,000 miles. If it is the water pump, are there any tricks or any thing to watch out for in replacing it?

Thanks,
Tom

If it is the water pump, it is a bit of a chore. you will have to remove the power steering pump as well, which is a bit of a pain due to the fact that one of the water pump bolts is behind it. You won't have to take the pump all of the way off, (don't disconnect the lines!) just remove the bolts holding it on. In order to get at the pump bolts, you will have to get to them through the acess holes in the pump pulley. You will also have to remove the alternator, belt, and tensioner assembly (which has a waterjacket on it as well). You might want to look and see if the leak is coming from the plastic bypass elbow from the block to the tensioner assembly waterjacket. This is a probable leaker after a few years, as the plastic tube becomes brittle and fractures, it would seem like a water pump leak from the location. Symptoms include the smell of coolant, but none visible on a warm engine, and with the engine off, you will see coolant on the top of the balancer pulley. There is plenty on this forum about the pipe, do a search under coolant leaks, waterpumps, etc. I am sure you will find the answers there. If not, I can go into further detail if you need. Most of us have messed with this issue at one time or the other... Good Luck!

mine was loosing coolant for months without any visible leaking on my driveway...turns out it was the water pump but all the coolant was pooling under the engine somewhere and blowing out on the highway. FIY leak stoping additives will not work for a water pump leak....

Thanks for the replys. I'm going to dive in this weekend.

I've been adding coolant to my car every 1-2 weeks 3.5L It goes from hot to less than cold when its hot

I've been adding coolant to my car every 1-2 weeks 3.5L It goes from hot to less than cold when its hot

sounds like an air pocket in the cooling system from a leak. The coolant temp is measured outside of the engine, so if theres no fluid being pumped up, it will be measuring the temperature of the air bubble. Either that or the impellers have broke on the pump and its not properly moving the fluid through the system. Either way cooling system issues are important as it doesnt take very long without engine cooling to blow a headgasket or something..

Do you have any odd sounds coming from the belt area of your engine on cold morning start ups ? many times, a squeaking sound can be the sign of a failing waterpump.

Do you have any odd sounds coming from the belt area of your engine on cold morning start ups ? many times, a squeaking sound can be the sign of a failing waterpump.

Nothing other than the normal secondary AIR pump that goes away after a minute or so. When coolant gets low I do hear a 'gurggling' sound inside the car from the area of the heater box. Have checked the engine oil, looks normal, not 'milky'. Do not notice any funny smells either. Did not have an opportunity to look at the issue last weekend. will try tonight. Also, I haven't noticed any leaks on the garage floor since I originally posted, maybe it fixed itself? (Yeah, right!).

I hope I'm not too late with this but I had this problem for a LONGGg time and it turned out to be the $12 Coolant Cap. I changed the water pump and several other items at a healthy cost till a mechanic found the cap was not holding pressure correctly. Good Luck.