oifish

iTrader: (1)

well my car has been sitting in storage since august, and when I went to check on it today I noticed a puddle of coolant below the engine bay, I havent jacked the car up to see where it is coming from yet (im about to do that now) but I am pretty curious to what is going on. I do know that that it is not below the radiator. Could the water pump have gone bad even thought it has not been turned on since august?

my parents said it has been like that for a month now, but it isnt getting any worse, it looks to be about less than half a gallon or so.

does anyone know what might be going on? it has never leaked coolant before.

kinglt-1

iTrader: (26)

Holy **** a half gallon? Wow, thats a serious leak. Not sure what would be causin that from just sittin.

oifish

iTrader: (1)

no no less than half a gallon, sorry like maybe a cup. I just looked under and the water pump is bone dry. hmm

LS1 Eddie

iTrader: (2)

Similar thing happened to me. I noticed a puddle of coolant in my driveway the morning after I did some hard driving. Ended up being the radiator.

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

Get a pressure tester and hook it up to your radiator. Pump it up to 18psi and look for where the where the water is leaking from.

oifish

iTrader: (1)

I checked underneath the radiator and it is dry as well. it seems to be farther back in the engine, I checked the coolant level and it was full.

Where can I find a pressure tester? do most auto parts stores have them?

TransAmdriv3r

iTrader: (10)

probably need to tighten up your hose clamps, after many heat/cool cycles the rubber degrades and the clamp wont sit tight on it.

andysc

iTrader: (6)

go to autozone, they rent out tools like this. You provide a security deposit, take the tool, use it, return it in the same condition, and you get your money back. Unless you are a professional mechanic or have alot of older cars, not worth buying one in my opinion. They run alittle over a hundred dollars new.

thanks

andy schuck

oifish

iTrader: (1)

yea I will check out autozone, I have done the tool rental from them numerous times.

I can see how coolant would leak after a drive because of the heating and cooling cycle, but this car has been sitting for months in storage, the temperature is usually about 30 to 40 degrees since it is winter.

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

Worst case it froze, expanded and popped a crack in the side of the Block.

I know that's worst case.. I've seen it happen with a few LS1's..the Iron Blocks are tougher, but it can happen.

oifish

iTrader: (1)

^ that would suck haha

but I doubt that. the garage isnt heated but its well insulated so I dont think it ever got that cold.

back in high school the car sat out all the time including in winters and I never had any problems, but who knows

I just cleaned up the puddle and if more coolant is there tomorrow then I know something is up.

its probably just pissed it hasnt been driven in a while, and peed on the floor for attention

94LT1Bird

iTrader: (4)

freeZe plugs??

TransAmdriv3r

iTrader: (10)

Im actually saying this because that is what the cause of my leak was. When i went to bring it out of hibernation I notice the coolant level wasnt to the top, so i ended putting in about a pint or two. brought it to work one day, had it on the lift and seen coolant was seeping out of the hose.

oifish

iTrader: (1)

ok thanks I will keep that in mind, I checked again today and another puddle has formed.

I have nothing much to do today so im getting to the bottom of this today hopefully.

oifish

iTrader: (1)

ok I think I have found where the leak is coming from, It looks to be where the water pump backs up to the engine block, so that seal must be defective.

so I guess its time to replace that seal?

oifish

iTrader: (1)

took off the water pump and the seals were shot, I think I found the problem.

AChotrod

iTrader: (17)

Sounds like you got it!! Dexcool has been known to eat gaskets.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Do what? I highly don't think so. There's nothing in Dexcool that makes it corrosive enough to eat through a gasket. The likely cause of this was a gasket or seal drying out. Liquid is constantly trying to find the path of least resistance and when a car is not started for awhile gaskets can become less pliable causing all kinds of avenues for liquid to escape.

oifish

iTrader: (1)

I have the green coolant in my car tho, I think the Dexcool is orange? I could be completely wrong though.

but I went and purchased new gaskets, thermostat, and coolant temp sensor.

now I have another question, I wont be driving the car until may, should I just leave the radiator and everything empty for now and fill it up then? but I heard that leaving it empty can cause rust to form in the coolant passages but what do you think?

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Don't know about leaving it empty. If you can, put coolant in it and start it once every few weeks and get it up to normal operating temperature. It is very very bad for gaskets and seals (oil or water) to leave an engine dormant for a long period of time.