menchrys Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I have a 97 Deville. I was driving home for the weekend (about 200 miles) and about 75 miles in my "CHECK COOLANT LEVEL" idicator comes on. I check the temp and its running at 192 which is pretty normal. The temp slowly creeps up to 200+ so I pull into a gas station to check it out. I found a significant amount of coolant under the car. I decide to drive home (about 40 miles left) and the temp eventually reaches 220+. i park overnight to let the car cool and i find only a little coolant under the car. I added over a gallon of coolant and the leak is minimal and i cannot pinpoint where its coming from as of yet. It appears to be on the drivers side of the engine. If anybody has some tips on locating the leak or past experience it would be a great help. as far as i can tell, the hoses are in good shape. could this be a water pump issue/leak. or is it more likely to be a head gasket? thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Take the car to a good radiator shop and have the cooling system pressurized, you probably have a leak someplace. Head gaskets rarely leak externally so forget that idea. The NS can leak at numerous places, the NS water pump is very good and they rarely go bad. Your problem could be the radiator end tanks, coolant tank, crossover seals, hose clamps, hoses, heater pipes, etc 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...
scott y Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I remember coming home from work one night about 4 yrs ago and noticing a small amount of seepage under the car and thinking UH-OH! What the hell is that? Luckily for me I keep my engine bay quite clean(it helps to determine leaks easier) but it just so happens it was in the area that you describe. Solong story short check to the rear and slightly under the upper rad hose connection and you will see a small section of 5/8" heater hose(roughly 3" long). That was where my leak was hiding anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 The plastic radiator side tanks are known to crack and leak from many heat/cool cycles. Also the water pump cover gasket. My '97 had a leak there, but it was a very minor seepage, so slow that I never got around to replacing it. Sold it and the gasket is still on my work bench. I'd suspect the side tank or the water pump shaft seal based on the amount of coolant you describe. Either should be pretty easy to spot depending on where the puddle is located. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menchrys Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 I found the leak, the gasket on the water pump housing went bad. Im still going to replace the waterpump and all the gaskets, as well as flush the system. However, I believe the waterpump is still good. the belt is in great shape and i have to believe that it was still moving fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 I found the leak, the gasket on the water pump housing went bad. Im still going to replace the waterpump and all the gaskets, as well as flush the system. However, I believe the waterpump is still good. the belt is in great shape and i have to believe that it was still moving fluid. Oh good 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...
scott y Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Splendid! Sounds like you're takin care o business... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 24, 2010 Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 You're in for a big job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott y Posted October 24, 2010 Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 I didn't find that the water pump replacement in the northstar was labour intensive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted October 24, 2010 Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 Ranger has the same concern as I had initially, it is not clear whether Mechrys is speaking of the water pump body seal or a crossover seal here. If it is the water pump body seal, its easy, if its the water pump housing seal or crossover seal, that is a big job, we have a member right now (STEVE) doing the crossover seals. 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...
scott y Posted October 24, 2010 Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 Oh, OK guess I just don't payenough attetion to the details decribed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Well, he said "I found the leak, the gasket on the water pump housing went bad". I'm assuming he's talking about the crossover manifold. The pump itself is a cake walk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Well, he said "I found the leak, the gasket on the water pump housing went bad". I'm assuming he's talking about the crossover manifold. The pump itself is a cake walk. I edited my post above, I changed HE to Mechrys to make my statement clearer. I agree, the statement Mechrys made was not clear, as to whether this was a crossover seal issue or water pump body seal, big difference in difficulty 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...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.