chevrunner21

iTrader: (1)

so the ta's been sitting for 2-3days now and i decided to change the oil today, dump in 5qts run the car for 30 seconds shut it down get out and look around and saw a drip. I climbed underneath saw it was deffinately coolant and immediately grabbed a flash light and started looking around. i cant tell if it was from the water pump or the thermostat. i started the car again thinking pressure will make it leak and nothing is happening, the car warmed all the way up and no more leaking, didn't overheat, nothing different. i shut the car off and still nothing i tried looking all around and all i can tell is that it's leaking from the passenger side bottom somewhere. the bottom of the thermostat was damp and so was some of the pump so im not positive which it is. i'm going to tear into it tomorrow when i get home from work but what do you guys think it is? sorry i don't have any other info or pics. also i've been smelling coolant after i shut the car off since i bought it (about 7-8 months ago) but never any leaks and the oil and coolant were both always fine and still are.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

I think bad water pumps do their leaking when you shut down.

The t-stat...I would be shocked if that o-ring just started leaking all of a sudden. Mine is 11 years old, they last forever.

I'd get it in the air, just up on ramps or jack the front up enough to get under there. Warm up the engine and shut it off and look where its dripping from. Probably from the weep hole on the bottom of the water pump in the center.

chevrunner21

iTrader: (1)

I've got the front jacked up and I tried starting and shutting it down while looking and couldn't see a damn thing. I'm gonna try it again tomorrow and if I can't see anything than I'm gonna rip it off and replace it. I'm horrible at trouble shooting LOL and like I said I couldn't see anything earlier. Thanks for the help I'm deffinately going to look for that weep hole.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Make sure it gets up to operating temp.

When you shut an engine down AFTER it reaches normal operating temp, the pressure in the coolant system will still rise a little bit for about 20 minutes. Thats when it might start leaking through the weep hole. Go for a 20 minute drive and get the block and heads heat soaked before checking.

Changing a water pump isn't a horrible job, but man it would suck to change if that wasn;t the problem.

chevrunner21

iTrader: (1)

yea i feel ya on that thanks.

chevrunner21

iTrader: (1)

do i have to drive it for it to heat soak? it gets hotter just sitting there at idle than when i drive it. besides at the track and dyno numbers this is the only time i've heard anything about heat soaking.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Getting the coolant up to say 195* doesn't take long, maybe 15 minutes of driving. If you shut it off then it will start to cool down right away. But what heat soak is, its when the metal in the blcok, heads and every part in the engine, even parts attached to the outside of the engine, get hot through-and-through. Now you don't only have coolant that is 195*, the entire engine is HOT, big difference.

Thats what causes the temp and pressure in the cooling to rise after shut down for a little while.

Go for a 20-30 minute drive, then shut it down and see if it leaks. Wait about 5 minutes too, don't just walk away after taking a quick peek.

billyb

iTrader: (15)

don't forget the 1/2 quart to fill it .

chevrunner21

iTrader: (1)

all better lol. duralast lifetime water pump and thermostat working good so far 80 miles on it and a whole lot of hard driving. thanks i guess the weep hole is behind the pulley? it was coming from right behid the pulley but idk, its all good now lol.
Thanks again