Coolant Leak

[imported_JohnW]

Have a one tablespoon coolant leak almost directly (not quite) under the water pump. The leak only appears when engine is either cold or cooling down. Started dripping at initial cold startup but stopped after 30 seconds. The hoses feel dry and I see no visible leakage at the radiator. Mt coolant level reserve bottle level has dropped only slightly in the last month leading me to believe this leak dosn't occure when driving and the engine is hot. I am unable to slide under the car far enough to see but is there anything else it could be.

[wally888]

Start shopping!
Water Pump is easy to replace. (compared to most others). Other than scraping the old gasket off, hopefully not necessary w/ yours, it is less than a 1 hour task for us slow guys. A good part is about $30 and your mechanic will probably want $200+ for the job! Mine wouldn't back off the job rate quote even after I told him how fast/easy the job was. So I replaced my 2nd. one. (different R's.)

[ronvb]

Most water pumps have weep holes, when they leak from there it is only a matter of time before the seal goes and you will have a large puddle of anti-freeze on the ground.
ronvb

[DMC90]

Having the same problem with my 1998 LeSabre with a 3800 engine. If you aren't sure where the leak is coming from and want to be sure, spray baby powder in the area and it will show the path. My car leaks only overnight when it is cold and as you say only a small amount. If you change to pump take the opportunity to change the serpentine belt.

[Shelby]

The water pumps are $25 for Reman $45 for New
They don't last long but are very easy to replace.
Good time to replace the belt and belt tensioner.
Flush the cooling system after you install the water pump and run the car up to temp for a while. There is excess grease on the bearings.

Little trick : The Radiator drain is hard to reach (I have fat hands) so just pull the bolts on the water pump to drain the coolant. This is also the easiest way to drain the system down slightly to replace the thermostat.

[Barney Eaton]

While the water pump is the most likely candidate, there is a small curved rubber hose that goes from the top of the pump to the intake. The hose is almost hidden and should be changed when you replace a water pump.

[EDBS0]

My water pump went from a small leak one day to rad draining flood 2 days later. All above are correct, the water pump is about the easiest to replace you will ever find.

[wally888]

A vac hose will fit between the radiator and internal vanes. You can syphon enough fluid this way to change thero w/o spilling a drop.