Coolant Leak... but from where?

[HAZ-Matt]

Just got a call from K*nightRider. He drives a 96 Firebird. He was going to work, and his temp gauge was reading 210* or so. He gets there, and there is coolant dripping off the k member. The k member has coolant over a substantial portion, however, he can't tell where the coolant is coming from. All the radiator hoses are dry. Didn't seem to be coming from the water pump. He says he recently flushed the coolant system. I couldn't help him over the phone, but I told him I'd post it here.

Any ideas what could be leaking?

[Jack]

Weep holes out of the waterpump...it happens and is a sign that the waterpump is going out. Tell Adam to keep a jug of water handy and avoid stop and go traffic. (hard in austin, I know) He will be replacing the waterpump shortly. This happened to me as well, drove me nuts, couldn't find the leak until it got worse and coolant was flowing like crazy out of the weep hole.

[OneQuickSix]

CRAP. I have developed a coolant leak too. I have a couple questions:

1) Where is the water pump located?

2) What are other causes of coolant leaks?

3) Where is the "weep" hole?

I am hoping it is the water pump. Is it relativly easy to fix? How expensive is it to replace?

Thanks in advance. :(

Joe

[Ted]

210 degrees is nothing to be alarmed about. Mine is constantly at 210 when im in traffic. It's normal. As for the dripping it could be anything. I wouldn't go switching out water pumps unless I was sure. First i'd start by just tightening up all the hoses. That helped me once. Mine was leaking before and I had no clue where it was coming from, I tightened up all the hoses and fixed it, even though all the hoses apeared tight already. As for the water pump if you look underneath your throttle body (or air intake) you'll see 2 big pullies. It's the second one up from the biggest pullie on your engine. You can't miss it. It has about 6 bolts holding it. It's fairly easy to replace and you can get one for about $40 at autozone.

[*K*night Rider]

Ted, I have a 180* thermostat...it never gets up to 210. Also, the WP had 4 bolts not 6.

Jack, is this weep hole behing the pulley? I think I found it, but I cant see it. it feels as if the water is coming out there.

It only leaks if i completely fill the radiator. If the radiator gets to about 75% full (while the engine is off) it doesnt leak.

I filled it up and way overfilled the resevior and it hasnt gotten above 180* since.

So yeah, I might be getting a new WP soon :mad:

[OneQuickSix]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Ted:
As for the water pump if you look underneath your throttle body (or air intake) you'll see 2 big pullies. It's the second one up from the biggest pullie on your engine. You can't miss it. It has about 6 bolts holding it. It's fairly easy to replace and you can get one for about $40 at autozone.<hr></blockquote>

Ted,

Thanks man. Kinda eased my mind about the situation. I'm gonna check hoses, then the WP.

Joe