Beardlesstulip2

Ok so today after driving my car around town, maybe 20 miles total I came home and parked it in my driveway. Went inside to open the garage door and then about 5 minutes later pulled it into the garage. When I turned it off the cooling fans kept running, even with the key out of the ignition. I turned the car on, but not over then turned it off to get them to shut off. Waited about a minute or so and restarted it(this time turning it over) and turned it off, once again fans kept running. Shut them off the same way. Then I noticed a good sized leak in my driveway, looked underneath the car and a puddle of liquid was underneath. I touched it and it was cold(not freezing) so I figured it was washer fluid, but it smelled like coolant and when I shined a light on it, it had a green neon tint. So it was coolant. Again it was not the slightest bit hot nor warm, despite the motor being hot(temp gauge was at the usual 210 mark). I couldnt find where it leaked from but did see a few drips of it on the bottom of the AC compressor. For how much fluid leaked I was surprised at the lack of evidence in the engine bay, which makes me think that the leak did not run through any parts, but rather just a straight shot to the ground.

I have since then restarted it twice over several hours, with no present leaks and with the cooling fans turning off both times.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

If you don't see any obvious leaks, the fluid is probably coming from the weephole, which is behind the water pump pulley. This may mean that the seals on the water pump are going bad.

2001NBMZ28

The cooling fans continuing to run for a couple minutes with the key out means the PCM is seeing an overheat condition.

2001NBMZ28

More info - you have a 2001 so I looked it up my helms. "After the vehicle is shut off if the engine coolant temperature at key off is greater than 284 and system voltage is more than 12 volts. The fans will stay on for approximaely 3 minutes."

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Before you cold start next, check the level of coolant in your overflow tank and under the radiator cap. Is the overflow bottle full? Is the coolant level to the top of the pressure cap?

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like it could be a classic case of....."need a new radiator cap". If you check the coolant level "in the radiator" and it is low, then you've probably been losing coolant very slowly for weeks and now you have a void in the system (air pocket), and now that pocket is big enough to start causing overheating.
Or, like "wssix99" said, you might have a leaking water pump, which causes the same problem over time, an air pocket to get bigger and bigger till it can't keep up with cooling.

So, I would put it up on ramps, get the engine all the way up to operating temp, then shut it off and wait 15-20 minutes, then with a flashlight look for leaks under the water pump and everywhere else in the engine bay. If you see nothing, go buy a new radiator cap.

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