taa99sts Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 I've been chasing a coolant leak for the past several months and can't seem to eliminate it. All hoses and connections look clean and ok. The leak makes its way down around by the oil and transmission pan onto the exhaust pipe that leads from the front manifold. You can smell it after the engine has been running awhile. The size of the leak is about 1/2 gallon every 1000 miles. I've tried a couple tubes of bars leak gold, but that didn't seem to help much. Any suggestions or thoughts? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growe3 Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 Not to be a wise guy, but you say "....they look clean and OK..." Have you actually used a screwdriver (or 5/16" nutdriver) to verify that all of the clamps are tight? There are two short heater hoses, about 3" long, below and to the right of the throttle body. The screw clamps (4) are awkward to get at, but could be loose. Use a strong light to carefully examine the engine from the top. Look for small puddles of coolant on the engine and transaxle. Often the leak is just above the puddle (not always as wind can move it around). Another source is a pinhole or razor cut that only leaks when under acceleration. I have had both conditions. 1. One of the small heater hoses noted above, would only leak at high speed when it was under extra hard flow conditions, after I tightened the clamp it was fine . 2. I also had a month old lower radiator hose start leaking from a razor cut. I presume the auto parts store scratched it when opening a shipment with a utility knife. Only cure here of course was to get a replacement hose . -George Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 I to have been chasing a very small leak. Much less than yours. When I pull in the garage I can smell antifreeze as I walk past the front of the car. I found a few drops on the floor under the pump area last year and after a coolant change and sealant tabs all was well..... for a while. Now it's back to the same old thing. I am suspecting the pump seal is seaping. It's impossible to see. I can only smell it and see a drop or two on the floor. If I move the air box out of the way and get my fingers under the pump housing I can come out with a drop on my finger tip which is why I suspect the pump seal. Looks like I'll get a chance to try out my home made pump socket soon. Maybe that is where yours is leaking from. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted May 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2004 Added a couple more tubes of bars leaks and still have coolant loss. No sign of coolant on garage floor, only signs of where it drips and runs past the transmission pan. The only time I can get it to leak in my garage floor is by warming up the engine and then reving it up. Sure enough, it starts to drip right behind the oil pan by the exhaust pipe. The heater hoses are dry, nothing can be seen from the top to be leaking. Still confused on what to do next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franey Posted May 8, 2004 Report Share Posted May 8, 2004 IF it is on the drivers side on the frount manifold , it is probably your water pump leaking out of the bottom of it. When mine went bad this is where i first started noticing water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted May 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 Water pump is clean, it was replaced less than 10K ago. The leak is underneath the center of the engine. Thanks anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 Did you check the radiator itself? Maybe it has a small hole or dent or something like that. It's a possibility.. otherwise it's a hose .. 90% of the time it's a hose, the other 9% it's a seal and maybe 1% of the time it's the radiator itself unless it's damaged. go get a blacklight, you can see antifreeze really well under a blacklight :0 might help you localize where it's leaking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 Ahh forgot to look it's a 99 so it's dexcool.. harder to see under uv but still should show up... another way is to clean everything off as much as you can and then run the car at 1500 rpm or so by putting a book on the pedal and just watch it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted August 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 Latest Status, Took car to dealer to peform pressure leak test. Unable to pinpoint leak because it's above the transmission somewhere. They suspect a cracked block. Now they want to drop the transmission to verify. $1200 to just verify it! Any suggestions? Very frustrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschunke Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Unless your financially independent avoid the stealer at all cost. I had a similar leak a few weeks back. Coolant was dripping from the transmission pan, but it was impossible to locate the source and I too thought it was the block. Fortunately it stopped leaking after replacing the water pump cartridge. Just because your water pump is only 10k old doesn't mean it can't be leaking. And besides, how do you know the water pump is dry? Mine appeared dry also. But it's nearly impossible to see back there. Some claim to have spotted a leak by using a mirror. If you give it time the leak may get worse and eventually reveal itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted August 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 The leak is bad already, about 1-2 quarts per 400 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted September 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 Finally noticed a puddle of coolant on top of engine block under the intake manifold and appears to be leaking from the head gasket. Anyone have an idea how much it should cost me to replace both gaskets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted September 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 I added it to the upper radiator hose. However, I've had to add so much coolant lately that it has all probably diluted by now. I could add more. Any other thoughts? Thanks for the reponse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiden_kai Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Finally noticed a puddle of coolant on top of engine block under the intake manifold and appears to be leaking from the head gasket. Anyone have an idea how much it should cost me to replace both gaskets? If in fact it is leaking from the head gaskets, you probably have a head bolt or two that have lost their clamping torque. We see a fair amount of this on these engines and the only real fix is to replace the head gaskets, and repair the threads in the block. It's hard to say what it will cost you, but I'd be ready for a bill that exceeds 2000 dollars. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted October 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 Update; Removed the intake manifold to get a closer look. Coolant definitely leaking between cylinders 6 & 8, pooling under the starter and finding its way through the weep hole into where the flywheel is and then making its way down to drip onto the exhaust crossover pipe. Also. had remnents of mouse nest on the other side of the engine block. Question is, should I be concerned with the coolant leaking into the flywheel area? Either way, looks like a head gasket repair job to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted October 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 A picture of my mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted October 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 Another with the starter removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 I wouldn't worry about the fly wheel area. It probably drains out the bottom but it certainly does look like you are in for a head gasket job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted November 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 I pulled the engine and it appears the leak is from a crack in the block under cylinder #7. Question now is, what are my best options? Try to get it fixed, find a used one, rebuild, or buy new one? Thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Geez, someone else just had the same problem not a month or two ago. I hope this isn't contagious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted November 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Thanks, I'll look into it. Do I still need to remove the heads and completely disassemble the engine to have this done? Is there anything else I should look for? Here's a picture of the same area after a little clean-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taa99sts Posted November 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 One more picture, then I'll call it quits with this discussion topic. Upon further cleaning and inspection, the crack runs from the middle of cylinder #7 in the valley, through the flange where the starter attaches and all the way around to the other side. I think I need a new motor. Ouch!!!!! Uuuugghhh! Where should I try to find one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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