XtheEdgeX Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Hi All. I'm a new Caddy owner, and new to this site. I bought a 1996 Deville a few weeks ago, with only 33K miles on it. It's a beautiful car, and I really like it. I've been searching topics, and reading a lot on here to learn more about my car. My biggest concern is the coolant leak that I have. It looked like it was coming from the tank's overflow hose. There was always a spot in the garage under where the hose is, and I get the "check coolant level" about once per week. I bought a new cap hoping that would fix it, but it didn't. By the way, it doesn't overheat. The other day, I got under the car, and can now see that it's not coming from the hose at all. It's actually dripping off the engine between it and the passenger side firewall, but I can't tell exactly where. My question is, if it turns out not to be the water pump, does anyone here have any experience with Amsoil's antifreeze? Here is a quote from their site - "Stops Leaks - AMSOIL Antifreeze & Coolant adheres to metal. It self-seals hairline cracks in welds and seams to prevent leaks, without additional stop-leak products or fibrous materials." I know a lot of people recommend using the tabs, but I'm just not a big fan of Bar's Leak. Last year, I used SteelSeal on a '93 Lincoln and was impressed with it. I had antifreeze in the oil, and was blowing a lot of water out the exhaust. After using SteelSeal, that car still runs good to this day. I e-mailed them, and they replied saying that it would work on my Deville, only to use regular antifreeze with it, and after the leak stops, flush the engine and install the Dexcool back in it. Sorry this is so long. Any comments are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 The water pump on your car is and the drivers side of your engine toward the front, it is driven by a small belt. So what you are seeing between the engine and fire wall is not your water pump. In that location however are heater hoses and heater pipes, you need to check both. The heater pipes cross the engine near the fire wall, mine were rusted badly (not leaking) and I replaced them. I have a 96 Deville. It is certainly possible that yours are leaking. The worst case scenario is that you have an external leak from the head gasket (you say its coming off the engine). It is possible for the pipes to leak onto the engine and from the bottom it looking like its coming off the engine. With this info take another look. Also, when you do find the leak fix it and make sure you use the GM Cooling Supplement Tablets. Diagnose and FIX the problem, don't try any 'miracle' cures from Amsoil. Proper diagnosis includes pressurizing the cooling system and dye that can pin point leaks the occur under pressure or leaks the run NEVER NEVER NEVER us anything but DEXCOOL, once you do, you plate the engine, and you will be on a 2 year / 24K mile schedule and you will loose the corrosion protection of DEXCOOL that goes 5 years / 100,000 miles. PAY NO ATTENTION TO THEM THEY ARE SELLING PRODUCTS Diagnose and FIX the problem Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtheEdgeX Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Thank you for the info and advice. I won't be able to do anything with it until Friday or Saturday. I'll be sure to post back if I find anything that may be helpful to pass on to others. I'll also make a call today and see if I can find the tablets. I don't know the history of the car, so I'm thinking that if I find the leak and fix it, that maybe I'll go ahead and replace the anti-freeze as well as add the tablets. Again, thanks. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Thank you for the info and advice. I won't be able to do anything with it until Friday or Saturday. I'll be sure to post back if I find anything that may be helpful to pass on to others. I'll also make a call today and see if I can find the tablets. I don't know the history of the car, so I'm thinking that if I find the leak and fix it, that maybe I'll go ahead and replace the anti-freeze as well as add the tablets. Again, thanks. Randy Randy, I will post a link to show you where the heater pipes are when I get a chance so you can better visualize them. In the meantime do a search under my name and heater pipes and you should find my threads, I replaced them at the end of the summer and have photos of them. But there are three hoses and clamps in the area and the cooling could be creeping. Mike Here is a quick photo of the rust Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 If it turns out to be the water pump shaft seal then you should replace the water pump. Chances are that if the water pump itself is leaking it will get worse and eventually air will be introduced into the cooling system which will cause temperature problems. As far as Amsoil self-sealing coolant, I've never heard of it before but it sounds interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtheEdgeX Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Thank you. I'll let you know what I find. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I would not put any snake oil in the car. Find the leak and fix it. I agree with BBF, from your description, it may be coming from the heater pipes that run along the backside of the rear head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 darn I'm good, here is a schematic of the area showing hoses and pipes that I had on photobucket. These pipes (#5 and #6) hug the rear CAM cover and are held by two brackets (#7) that you can see: Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtheEdgeX Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Very good info! Thanks a lot. I will definitely be looking at these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Rent/borrow a cooling system pressure tester - some parts stores have a free loan a tool program. You can pressurize the system when the engine is cold and then look for the leak. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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