01articwhitess

hey guys I have a 01 ss and it has 85k on it. It has a coolant leak and from what I saw im thinking its the water pump. I can see fresh green coolant that has dripped/pooled up all over the front sway bar, the back of the crank pulley also on the other pulleys, and leaking off the oil pan..ALTHOUGH I cannot see an actual drip (possibly the weep hole that cant be seen?. Because my driveway is on a hill, it made it seem like the coolant was leaking from the back of the motor by the back of the oil pan leading me to think a head gasket but its leaking all the way down due to it being on the hill.

Important:
NO WHITE SMOKE OUT OF THE EXHAUST
Oil is Perfect
car has only overheated once due to a low coolant level
before I bought it it had Dexcool in it and I flushed and switched to green
tstat was changed
Belt also Squeaks on cold start

I would appreciate it if I can get some good feedback/conformation that it is not a head gasket or if it is the water pump or something else

thank you

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

If you haven't already done so, pull the front up onto some ramps or up jack stands. Then with a bright drop light of flash light start the car up and let it get up to full operating temperature while you're under the front looking(with safety glasses on)for the leak source. Then start from the top and work your way down. Start with look around the steam vent tubes where it mounts to the heads up front, or along it's return route to the filler neck on the radiator. I'd also check the rear steam port caps on the back at the rear of the heads. If you found no leaks from the steam vent locations up top then when you remove the water pump carefully look at the wp gaskets since it's common for the factory wp gaskets to leak after a lot of miles. If you find no possible signs the wp gaskets are bad and causing the leak then, I would say you probably then need a new water pump.

I doubt it's a head gaskets, but if all else fails to stop the coolant leak it's always a possibility.

01articwhitess

Thanks for the info ..I have already put it up on Ramos at operating temp but it was not running.. I could not see the drip problt because it wasn't running but I did see the fresh green coolant all over the front seat bar, back of crank pulley and other pullies and also leakin off the bolts of the oil pan and running down the pan itself

scotty2000ss

iTrader: (2)

Ahh, had this happen to me this summer. It ended up being those shitty factory hose coolant clamps. I did a radiator pressure test to verify where the leak was coming from. Fixed for 10 bucks

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Okay, sounds like it definitely leaking up front then, not in the rear.

01articwhitess

Thanks I'll have to check that out too

00-SLP

Since it's right there you might want to check the coolant to/from the throttle body and even if it's been bypassed, it could still be leaking.
I would imagine there's a weep hole on the water pumps. Try running your hand on the bottom of the pump for coolant b4 an engine start. If all else fails, you could add dye and check with uv glasses.
Good luck.

01articwhitess

Thank you anyone else's input ?????

CoolAid

LSx water pump weep hole problems are notorious. The pump on my GTO started leaking at 18,000mi.

VatoZone has lifetime warranty pumps under $200. At those miles I'd probably do the gaskets too.

CattleAc

iTrader: (7)

I've had a LOT of 5.3-6.0L truck engines through the shop that had water leaks as you described...some were actual water pumps leaking...but, several of them were the gaskets between the pump and block.

LilJayV10

iTrader: (39)

For some reason, every LS water pump I've ever replaced only leaks when it's running or the engine is hot. Why I don't know. Just my experience.

samuel6731

as already said, id guess weep hole on the pump (needs a pump replacement) or the mating gasket for the pump to the block.

If you cant pin point the leak you COULD just change the gaskets they are cheap and see if that fixes it or you could go ahead and replace the pump and gaskets which depending on age/miles on pump id change anyway.

If you do do this, make sure you get all of the old gasket off it may require some scraping/picking at but make sure not to damage the mating surface.

joecar

+1 on gaskets (the ones with the orange silicone rings fail).