maireeka

I noticed a small puddle under my car after I sat for about 10 minutes idling. My buddy told me it's coolant. We got under the car and looked around, and we couldn't find the source. It seems to be around the front passenger side of the engine near the bottom. We were thinking freeze plug maybe? It's an 03 engine with 30k miles on it. Where should I start looking?

Mark99GT

Could be the heater core. There's a drain on the pass. side in the firewall, so if the core leaks the coolant drips outside the cabin of the car. Id look there first. Freeze plug is possible I guess, but it would be a non-stop gusher until most of your coolant drained out (it would be a huge puddle). The core will only leak while the car is running,pressure is builtand coolant is circulating.

maireeka

it's probably heater core related then. why would it be on the front of the block, though? It's a really slow leak because I haven't even really noticed a difference in the coolant level.

maireeka

He also mentioned something about the water jacket. I'm not exactly sure what he was referring to though. The water jacket is something inside the block, right?

Mark99GT

Hmm, I misreadwhat yousaid aboutbeing at the front of the engine. Water jackets are what hold the coolant insidethe block, for one to leak you'dhave to crack the block (I highly doubt this isyour problem). Is it a constant leak? I guess it could be a slow leak around a freeze plug. Can you see coolant actually running off the block and dripping on the ground?

fyouceeku

Check your water pump. There is a weep hole on the bottom.

maireeka

tonight i got on it a bit, about a minute later i parked in a driveway letting a friend out of the car. There was steam coming from the front and rear of the hood. Under the hood it smelled of coolant but I didn't see any. I am hoping it's a heater problem, but I guess I'll have to get under there and try to find something. I have never personally seen coolant drip from the engine.

I checked the reservoir and it has used maybe half a gallon in a few hundred miles.

maireeka

I went out this morning to put some coolant in the engine, and the reservoir was full! guess it was because when i checked it last night I had just shut off the engine.

So I guess the leak isn't nearly as substantial as I had thought. I still need to track it down, I'll check the heater hoses first I guess.

96GT226410

Pressure test it. You'll find the leak a lot easier that way.

maireeka

alrighty, i'll have to do some searching to figure out how to do that.

I've driven about another 20 miles since the steam incident and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. The car does not heat up much or anything.

Guess I'll run the pressure test as soon as I figure out how.