where can the coolant leak be?

[harmankardon35]

This pesky coolant leak has been bothering me for a while now...and it just got bad enough today for me to do something about it. I can see coolant collecting under the engine below the A/C compressor, and it looks wet all down the side of the engine. But I cant see the leak. A mechanic told me he thaught it was the lower coolant line or the water pump....I was suspecting the watrer pump but today i could see smoke coming off the header for the #6 cylinder (or #5, the front right) and it was antifreeze burning around there. The upper hose looks to be not leaking either. Kind of a ghost leak. Somebody told me here that the plastic elbow the lower coolant line conencts to it prone to leaking, and it does look wet around there too. Problem is, it looks wet everywhere! I hate using stop leak additives as I have seen their destruction. If anybody has a 3800 cooling system diagram that would be a great help! any suggestions appreciated.

thanks.

[rob_3800seriesII]

i would suggest getting a leak detection kit. their only a couple bucks . ive never used one myself but i guess they just dye your coolant with a flourescent liquid that you can see coming out with a black light. this way you can diagnose it correctly and not replace parts that dont need it, you know. hope this might help!

[harmankardon35]

Well, I found the original leak, fixed it, and I still lost boatloads of coolant. Yep, its the water pump. I just picked one up for $90 and 10 dollars back when you return the old one. What steps are involved in changing this. Any tips to make things easier (maybe removing that fuse box?)

[alejmr]

if your engine it's a 3800 series II you're facing a UIM failure and/or LIM gaskets this issue is not a matter if it will happen but when... you can get an aftermarket upper intake manifold and a lower intake gaskets in aluminum.... get the oil out of your engine ASAP "see smoke coming off the header for the #6 cylinder (or #5, the front right) and it was antifreeze burning around there"......... my 2 cents

[harmankardon35]

Originally Posted by alejmr

if your engine it's a 3800 series II you're facing a UIM failure and/or LIM gaskets this issue is not a matter if it will happen but when... you can get an aftermarket upper intake manifold and a lower intake gaskets in aluminum.... get the oil out of your engine ASAP "see smoke coming off the header for the #6 cylinder (or #5, the front right) and it was antifreeze burning around there"......... my 2 cents

Oil is clean, and the exhaust does not steam or smell sweet. Im thinking if the UIM is not a matter of if but when it will go...then mine should have been replaced by now with 190,000 Miles on it. High miler and it runs great...just coolant pissing out from the water pump. Im not sure what that smoke was...likely oil.

[alejmr]

that's good news then, do you have any lights on the dashboard? change the water pump now that you have it along with the coolant elbow and give us the outcome. Good luck!