93 grand am Intermittent coolent leak

[joslinm]

bought a 93 Grand Am with a quad 4 about 14 months ago and can't find any problem in the coolent system. About 2 months after I bought it, my son was driving it and when he parked it coolent was puddling on the grond. When it cooled off he put almost 2 gallons of water in it to fill. The car never did this again for 6 months. Same problem. By the time I get to look at it, there is absolutely no sign of a leak. Never a drop where we park it. Twice in 14 months. Any ideas?

[richtazz]

wdhat side of the car was the puddle on?? If it was on the passenger side, the heater core may be leaking and it's coming out the drian. The factory heater cores had plastic tubes that were epoxied on. When they get older, the epoxy can get soft and allow coolant to escape, then when the car cools off, it re-seals itself. if it's from the driver's side, I would suspect a water pump. They will start to leak intermittently, when the impeller seal starts to go. You have to reach a certain engine temp for them to start leaking, so if you use the car for short trips, it won't leak for quite a while. Then, the right circumstances are reached, and voila, leak-o-rama.

[Mike1964]

The water pump bearings will cause coolant to come out of the weep hole.My car leaked out of the water pump and then stopped for a while.Did this twice.If the bearings are just starting to go bad ,it can be an intermittent problem.
If the leak is on the back of the engine ,take a mirror and look under the exhaust manifold on the passenger side.You will clearly see the leak if it is the water pump.
Good luck

[joslinm]

I may have found the problem. Looks like the cooling fan's wires are all burned up. Asked the son if the overheating was in traffic and he said yes. Is this a simple swap for a new fan? Looks pretty easy. Also would this cause the AC compressor not to work? Thanks