Help, I think im losing coolant!!!
 

LS6

I topped of my fluids when i did my oil change about 1500 miles ago.

Today the low coolant light went on on startup, and the res tank was alittle below the cold min so i added alittle...


But for the past couple weeks ive had a few ocasions were I smelled alittle coolant from the car after parking in the garage. Especialy after longer trips .



I jacked her up and looked for leaks, drips etc. and took off the cover to see maybe something from the heads or water pump.
Dont see anything obvious ..

What are some coman problem spots on the LS?
Can it be the head gasket at 66k?
waterpump most likely?



I went from a lt1 which was a total nighmare so im new to the ls motor.

ck ur radiator at the lower right conner,gm have a service bulletin about the radiator leaking at the lower conner

k, on the drain plug side ?

04-05s had problems with lower corner cracking under pressure and heat... all replaced under warranty

no warrenty left for me....

I can deal with replacing a radiator.

Im hoping its nothing major like head gasket or water pump cause i just dont want to deal with it right now.

It's pretty much definitely the radiator. VERY easy to replace. I don't know what they cost though.

big thanks bros, i think its the radi too now, i crawled under and saw some dried up orangish spots (coolant) on under cover spash plastics.

But its wierd how it only leaks once in a while....? cause it seems dry as a bone right now?


BTW does the CTS have the same radiator as the V ?

Have you tried the bars stop stuff?

personaly i don't belive any of the additive leak fixes, its realy just a bandaid not a fix.

I will change it if i have to , but im tryin to find more info on the recall because i would rather get it changed for free...

RAD2732
RADIATOR, 5.7, V-8
List Price $ 334.00
Keystone Automotive in your area should be able to get you one. I think the part number could be cross-referenced also. It is "V" specific. The 6cylinders are different.
Here is the radiator I just put in mine. factory style replacment and a lot cheaper.

I had the same issue when i bought my car and it was the water pump seal or something only leaking from time to time.

ya everything looks dry as a bone under the water pump. But is a tough spot to real check thoroughly.

Im going to do more research after my next longer trip/

Cause i dont get the smell from short 20 min trips .

Going to make sure its the radiator before i change it out...

I would consider getting it pressure tested once the car is warm/hot. mine didnt have any issues that i was able to see nor did it leak in my driveway. but the water pump leaked for some reason.

I would also talk to a dealer and see if they would good will you a radiator if thats the cause.

called the dealer today, he said theres a tsb for it but no recall..

found some aftermarket radiators for around 300...
Think im gona swap one of them in, this weekend ill have some spare time so ill take off all the covers undernieth, jack it up and let her run while i supervise....

Something else (and cheaper) to check is that small coolant pipe that connects the heads. Runs below the throttle body. Look for some pooling/orange residue below the TB and above the water pump. The pipe has 2 really small o-rings that can go out over time. Those would leak under pressure and spray a mist onto the belt which spreads it out even more making it even harder to find out where it all came from. Just a thought, good luck!

never never never never never never never never use that stuff on any car. It may work sometimes, but with the potential for it to do more harm than good, I'll never use it.

OP - did you ever get it narrowed down as to what was your exact cause? I'm now having the same issue on my '04. I may consider an aftermarket radiator (does anyone know of a good aftermarket brand that makes one for our V's?) if this is the case...

Was the radiator for the '06/'07's any different? Will it fit?

I just had a whole slew of coolant issues with mine over that last couple of weeks. It sstarted misting all over the windshield only on the highway.

-I pulled the radiator and it tested fine at a local shop.
-I saw a gash in my lower hose and fixed it, but still leaked from somewhere else.
-Did a little more looking around and saw the w/p was definitely leaking so I bought one and put it on. Water pump helped, but still leaking from somewhere else.
-Pressure tested it and the upper hose was leaking out at the ends. As a temp fix, I put an extra band clamp on the end and it stopped that. (I'll order a new hose soon)
-Now I don't get the misting all over the place, but still have a small leak. After an hour of sitting in traffic the coolant drops maybe a 1/4" and is still wet under the car.

It is wet on the passenger side below the radiator and its pooling on the abs box so I'm guessing it is the radiator even though it tests and holds pressure ok. I hate to drop another $300 in it but I don't think I have a choice at this point. It can't be too many other things..lol.

My w/p was probably leaking a little bit all this time, but the hoses and radiator going at the same time is kinda wierd to me.

I never figured mine out, I did a coolant flush re-clamped all hoses and then about a week later I did my cam install and did the waterpump gasket.

Everythings been good for now.

i had the water pump seal go when i first got mine....after that it was leaking alittle at the lower hose bung on the radiator, so i bought new hoses and spring clamps..its been good since ... if its not one thing its another