LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Leaking coolant, where from?!

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Old Nov 19, 2008 | 11:18 PM
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Default Leaking coolant, where from?!

I got home from work tonight and im dripping coolant pretty bad on the right side of the engine (passanger side.) everything is so cramped in there i cant tell where its coming from.

what is most likely from that side of the engine? hose?
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Old Nov 19, 2008 | 11:27 PM
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Check the side of the rad near the battery. Might need a new rad
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Old Nov 19, 2008 | 11:31 PM
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When I was adjusting my rockers I had to loosen the clamp to the coolant pipe that goes over the passenger side valve cover (over as in right next to the intake manifold). The clamp was in the way just enough to where i had to rotate the clamp, anyways, yeah I forgot to tighten that back down and had a good amount of coolant coming out.. Other than that the bolt on the back of the heads may be loose or something..
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Old Nov 19, 2008 | 11:35 PM
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Where abouts is it, toward the front or the back of the Engine on the ground..
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Old Nov 19, 2008 | 11:38 PM
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Originally Posted by the_merv
Where abouts is it, toward the front or the back of the Engine on the ground..
its near the front of the engine on the passanger side, definitely not the back of the engine. I'm thinking maybe a cracked hose or something...?? i cant tell because its so cramped. coolant sprayed on the pulleys though.


Originally Posted by lt1z28camaro
When I was adjusting my rockers I had to loosen the clamp to the coolant pipe that goes over the passenger side valve cover (over as in right next to the intake manifold). The clamp was in the way just enough to where i had to rotate the clamp, anyways, yeah I forgot to tighten that back down and had a good amount of coolant coming out.. Other than that the bolt on the back of the heads may be loose or something..
hmm, i guess i can check the clamps... although nobody has been in there recently messing with them.. so i doubt that, but who knows.

Originally Posted by AChotrod
Check the side of the rad near the battery. Might need a new rad
i hope not man.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:20 AM
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Hopefully and most likely it's just a hose that burst. I had a couple burst last year and was all set then my water pump went out. It's good experience to have to swap out hoses anyway because it gets you used to working in these damn cramped engine bays.

Coolant can end up in weird places when stuff pops.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 08:58 AM
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Probably cracked your rad's plastic side tank. How much coolant we talking about? Not really that big of a deal. replacements like 160$ at napa, takes about 45 mins to swap it out. Not hard at all. Just use a flair nut wrench for the tranny lines.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 09:01 AM
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Yea, could be the Radiator, or one of the Heater Core Hoses.. I've seen that before.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 09:50 AM
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Is id dripping above the starter or ahead of it?
I'm trying to determine if it's coming out of the passage in the head or from the coolant lines heading to your heater core.

There's not a whole lot else on that side carrying coolant.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:06 PM
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Have you took your battery out and put it back in lately. you may have loosened your low coolant sensor and it could be leaking from there. That happened to me about a month ago.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:27 PM
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Rad is a easy fix!
I just did mine about 2 months ago because the battery was rubbing on the plastic side tank of the rad and it eventually melted/wore through. I used some JB weld to fix it untill i got the new rad in it. It worked!
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by AChotrod
Rad is a easy fix!
I just did mine about 2 months ago because the battery was rubbing on the plastic side tank of the rad and it eventually melted/wore through. I used some JB weld to fix it untill i got the new rad in it. It worked!
haha well, i've tried JB weld on my M3 before... that didn't last long. it lasted about 10 miles.. lol.

Originally Posted by IronOutlaw
Have you took your battery out and put it back in lately. you may have loosened your low coolant sensor and it could be leaking from there. That happened to me about a month ago.
I haven't moved the battery.. isn't the battery on the drivers side??

Originally Posted by James Montigny
Is id dripping above the starter or ahead of it?
I'm trying to determine if it's coming out of the passage in the head or from the coolant lines heading to your heater core.

There's not a whole lot else on that side carrying coolant.
Where is the starter? (I'm new with Fbodys)

I went under there again this morning before work to check to see if it had leaked anymore over night, and i found another puddle on the drivers side as well. So im guessing its leaking from the front passanger side somewhere and then dripping down some plastic to the drivers side too

Originally Posted by Mattsz28
Probably cracked your rad's plastic side tank. How much coolant we talking about? Not really that big of a deal. replacements like 160$ at napa, takes about 45 mins to swap it out. Not hard at all. Just use a flair nut wrench for the tranny lines.
i hope not.. that radiator looks like a beyatch to do. Do you have to bleed the cooling system in these cars? or do you just fill it up, put the cap on and drive off? My damn E36 M3 was ridiculously hard to bleed and it had to be JUST right to not overheat. I have a manual so there's no tranny lines, right?
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:41 PM
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Originally Posted by nik1703
Where is the starter? (I'm new with Fbodys)

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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:44 PM
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Do you have a digital camera? Or a cellphone that takes pics?
Take a pic of the steam of green stuff and we'll probably be able to be more helpful.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by James Montigny

Thanks man, that helps a lot. It's definitely in front of the starter because it sprayed on the pulleys..

Originally Posted by James Montigny
Do you have a digital camera? Or a cellphone that takes pics?
Take a pic of the steam of green stuff and we'll probably be able to be more helpful.
Im gonna head home tonight after work and put it up on the ramps and take some pictures.. normally i can spot a coolant leak in a few minutes but this thing is so cramped its hard to see anything.
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by nik1703
Thanks man, that helps a lot. It's definitely in front of the starter because it sprayed on the pulleys..
Hmm, check the underside of the water pump. There is a weephole there.
It could be dripping out and splashing.
I had that when I bought my car.

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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 03:59 PM
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Originally Posted by James Montigny
Hmm, check the underside of the water pump. There is a weephole there.
It could be dripping out and splashing.
I had that when I bought my car.

ill check it out tonight when i get home, is the water pump attached to that large pulley on the bottom?
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 04:02 PM
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Originally Posted by nik1703
ill check it out tonight when i get home, is the water pump attached to that large pulley on the bottom?
Water pump is immediately above it. (That pulley is your crank pulley BTW;
that just happened to be a pic I took when I was trying to find a leak a few years back)

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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 04:04 PM
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Originally Posted by James Montigny
Water pump is immediately above it. (That pulley is your crank pulley BTW;
that just happened to be a pic I took when I was trying to find a leak a few years back)
ah i see, your diagrams are awesome man.

so lets say its the water pump, how much of a bi*** would it be to put a new one in? it looks pretty buried...
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Old Nov 20, 2008 | 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by nik1703
ah i see, your diagrams are awesome man.

so lets say its the water pump, how much of a bi*** would it be to put a new one in? it looks pretty buried...
Not my diagrams, those are from ShoeBox's site (www.shbox.com).
Extremely useful.
You'll find similar diagrams in any GM, Haynes or Chilton's manual.

The WP is actually not too difficult to swap. 6 bolts
I usually drop my radiator fans to make it easier, but otherwise you can pull it
off without undoing much beyond the intake, hoses and accessory belt.
(and drain the coolant, obviously)

It's a great excuse to replace the stocker with an electric water pump.
http://www.projecttransam.com/projects9.asp
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