kens96 Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Just went out to lunch and noticed coolant leaking from the unside of the engine on my Eldorado. Quick look from up top it appears to be the lower front of the engine. Coolant is dripping from the crossmember on the ground towards the front of the car. Car is parked on a slant towards the rear that's why suspect something up front. Can see that it is not the radiator, hoses, and doesnt seem to be the water pump. Can somebody point me in the right direction? I'm topping it off with DI water and going to try to make home the 25 miles. to get it up on ramps for a better look. Thanks Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens96 Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Got it home with no issues, Have it on ramps now cooling off. Removed all the shrouds on top and below and there is nothing leaking. Waiting to see if cooling it down shows the leak. I did loose about a 1/3rd of a gallon in the parking lot at work. It appears that the white chaulky stuff is coming from the water pump area but it is hard to tell if this is new since last month I had to replace the small hose that comes off the water pump housing and goes to the pipe system that goes around the backside of the engine. Do these water pumps leak from the bearing pulley side that the belt drives? Can't see back there but that's my best guess for now. Anyone experienced with these water pumps please chime in. I know they are not standard and need special tool to remove and replace them but I've never done it. and want to kknow what to expect. Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 On a 1996 the water pump might be due if it's original. However, losing that much water would be difficult unless it bled down all day while you were at work. Thus I would say that a hose connector or hose is more likely. However the white stuff is probably dried antifreeze, and that is what you see around a slow coolant leak. The water pump is driven by one of the cams on the front bank, and is on the back of the engine, which is the driver's side, as you know. On FWD engnes the water pump is nearly always on the front of the engine, of course. I haven't changed the water pump myself but there are plenty of us here who have. Bruce has one that he lends to members of Caddyinfo forums like yourself. Instructions on how to use it will come with the tool. The important thing to remember is that it is basically a wrench adapter to unscrew the pump from the valve cover, and I believe that it has a let-hand thread because of its direction of rotation, but, again, instructions on its use will come with the tool. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens96 Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Thanks Jim, Its been sitting for 3 hours and no leaks! I had the dealer replace the pump in 2004 about 70K miles ago. To note the car did sit for a week before I drove it for the first time today. I had a Chevy that use to do this after a long sitting period but it had a weep hole in the pump and you knew right away where it was coming from. If you drove it daily it would stay dry and not leak. I found the receipt and the parts are guaranteed for life! I called the Caddy service manager and he said he would take care of it Monday. I'll keep checking for the leak through the weekend and if it doesn't show up have them replace the pump under the guarantee. At this point it looks like the only place it could have come from since everything else is dry and the radiator and hoses are all relatively new within the past 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 A white chalky residue is dried Dex. Yes, if the pump is going to leak, it will be from the seal on the back side. You'll need an inspection mirror and a flashlight to see back there. The other option is the front cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonETC97 Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Be sure to check the hose connection to the coolant expansion tank. It's "under" the tank, and the clamp is slightly tricky to get to. Mine had a minor leak, and would leak off the cross-member, just as you described. Tightening up the clamp fixed it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens96 Posted September 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Just about 9 hours since I got home. Have had the car run up to temperature again and raced the engine a few times. Took it off the ramps and have it sitting level to see if this has any effect. Still no leaks! Will go around tomorrow morning and put a screwdriver to all the hose clamps as well as check the reservoir connection that BostonETC97 suggests. My guess is it leaked past the water pump shaft seal and it will eventually do it again under the right conditions until if fails fully. Just wish I had some evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens96 Posted September 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Well not so lucky. The water pump is fine but the crossover housing is missing 2 of the locking lugs for the pump. Since the missing lugs are next to each other, there is is no guarantee now that it is apart that it will reseal. Few hundred dollars for the the replacement housing and labor. My guess is this is the last repair....will start looking at newer cars shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Well not so lucky. The water pump is fine but the crossover housing is missing 2 of the locking lugs for the pump. Since the missing lugs are next to each other, there is is no guarantee now that it is apart that it will reseal. Few hundred dollars for the the replacement housing and labor. My guess is this is the last repair....will start looking at newer cars shortly. WOW, I wonder how those locking tabs broke out? 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...
Ranger Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 And where they went? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens96 Posted September 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Who knows. My hope is the best they should have traveled is into to the radiator hoses and maybe the lower radiator. If they broke after the first time the water pump was replaced I have replaced the ABS module, all the hoses, and the radiator twice (because the first replacement was defective) Maybe with al the flushing and coolant replacements they were flushed out. Just want to get the car to March of 2010. Then we will see....currently considering a late model STS or a Dodge Challenger RT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 I would lap any corroded parts with find sandpaper to regain matching sealing surfaces and figure a way to replace the functionality of the locking lugs. Permatex and Loctite come to mind. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Well not so lucky. The water pump is fine but the crossover housing is missing 2 of the locking lugs for the pump. Since the missing lugs are next to each other, there is is no guarantee now that it is apart that it will reseal. Few hundred dollars for the the replacement housing and labor. My guess is this is the last repair....will start looking at newer cars shortly. WOW, I wonder how those locking tabs broke out? My guess is whoever removed the pump broke the tabs - they just do not break on their own. Of course, the guilty party (dealer) won't admit to the mistake when they can rape the customer for the cost of a crossover. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens96 Posted September 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 I hear you, but the car is already apart. Could have done the repair myself but since I thought it was a weak waterpump seal and it was under a guarantee, that it would have cost the same if i did it myself. Hope others here benefit from my learnings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 I had a dealer twist off the hose nipple on my surge tank. It's plastic, with a copper liner to strengthen it for a hose clamp. They tight end the clamp on the stub but it leaked badly. I brought it back for that and they pushed the broken piece down into the hose and shoved the hose farther up on the stub and it sort of held, not enough to get another repair. I found it years later in the process of going through the cooling system myself. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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