Scotty Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Hi, yesterday I smelled coolant when I parked my car, lifted the hood and did not see anything leaking. Today while the car was cool I checked to coolant level in the tank and could see coolant. My water pump has been replaced in the last 10,000 miles and the belt was replaced 5,000 miles ago. Today I did not smell coolant and lifted the hood a few times to check. The smell came from the driver side of the engine. My question is, if I don't see anything leaking why would I have smelled coolant yesterday and not today. Could my water pump have a seal that is beginning to go? Could a water pump begin to leak after only 10,000 miles? What should I do to diagnose this, pressure test? This kind of problem makes me wary about driving long distances. Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Thanks bill, The water pump was done by the prior owner, I am not sure whether the cooling supplement was added. Should I add a few tabs just in case? I will raise the coolant level to a visible level and watch it. The car is not over heating and is performing well. This weekend I need to pull it into the garage and look it over carefully. I don't know much about this engine and don't have the manual yet, how difficult is it to get a look at the water pump? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Thanks bill for your help, I will let you know what I find, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 Mike, I have the same problem with my car. Just a faint coolant smell when I get out of the car in the garage. I have found that there is a drop or two coming from the lower forward most bolt on the water pump cover. Almost impossible to see, as it seems to drip off the bottom of the bolt, but when I look down in just the right position with a flashlight in just the right position I can see a drop of coolant on a wire loom. Four sealnt tabs solved it for a while but it seems to have reappeared. It is so minor that I never even have to add coolant so I am not to worried about it. Just another thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 I have some very slight orange staining near one or two of the WP cover bolt holes as well. When I changed the water pump, I reused the rubber seal on the pump cover on the advice of the Cadillac dealership, although I bought a new seal anyway. I think there may be a depression or nick in the seal that is allowing the slightest amount to residually appear on the outside of the pump cover. It never drips and the coolant level never falls, so I'm not worried about it. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 Thanks guys, I have not smelled coolant since i reported it here. I have to take a look at the water pump that is exactly where the smell was the strongest, as a matter of fact I was looking down in that area for leaking hoses. I dont know this engine to well yet, so in this cold weather I don't spend much time under the hood. I need to pull it into the garage in light it up. I think its time to buy a manual. Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 A chassis service manual from GM service organization is a wonderful thing to have! For my '97 (and for most other years I understand), the body is in Volume I (which includes suspension, brakes, interior, etc) and the engine/transmission and computer diagnostics are in Volume II. Probably a thousand pages of great reading! Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob*97 SLS Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 A few weeks ago I too could smell coolant. When I got to checking I found that the clamp on the hose where it went into the bottom of the surge tank was not tight! It was leaking and I could move the hose around! I'm still scratching my head on that.. I took the car in for an oil change and had the fluids checked and topped off if needed. Then this happened. Probably just one of those things. What caught my eye was that the cap on the surge tank looked odd. After I figured it out, it wasn't my cap! It was a standard radiator cap and old to boot! It was silver and said to never open hot, "check the level in the bottle"! Hmmm!! I have the right (same) surge tank cap from Caddy on again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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