coolant intake leak

[mybabe]

I own a 97 grand am. I have owned the car for a almost 2 years. I was leaking coolant under the overflow tank, front passenger side.
I went for a while just adding more coolant. My husband finally replaced the intake gaskets. It was a big job by the sounds of it,
and would explain why it cost so much to fix. It also took 2 guys, 2 full days to fix it. They managed to fix the leak.
I have been alright for at least 6 months. Today I found a large puddle under the front passenger side again. I will be watching it closely, but has anyone else had to redo the intake
gaskets in such a short period of time? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
:???: :mad:

[Loopy]

Is it that, or is it maybe the water pump? How much coolant is leaking, and does it seem to leak alot when you shut the car off? My car ('97 GT with the 3.1 V6) was leaking coolant from what looked like right next to the belt, behind a hose right in front of the engine on the passenger side. Turned out to be a bad water pump, which I was able to replace for about $20 bucks and 1 hour.

[rixGAphx]

Do you have AC, and was today muggy in your neighborhood?

The drain pan for the AC condensate drip pan empties onto the ground at that location, righ at the passenger's feet.
If a glass of ice tea 'sweats' when set on a patio table, then there's enough moisture in the air for condensation to form on the AC evaporator coils and drip onto the ground.

If the heater core springs a leak, it will also drip into this pan and then onto the ground.

Though it might be the LIM or WP, don't overlook the obvious.

good luck.
-Rick

[mybabe]

Thankyou for your help. Yesturday was the first day it started to leak, the funny part is, after i returned from lunch and let the car sit for 2 hours, I returned to a very large puddle of coolant. A whole day has gone by and not even a drop has come out. I am continuing to keep an eye on it.

The leak seems to be directly under the front bumper area of passenger side.

Yesturadays weather was not muggy at all. I do however have AC.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is only a water pump. Would this maybe explain why it only leaked once in 24 hours?

Thanks for all your help
Christine

P.s. Has anyone ever heard a KNOCK KNOCK sound, what seems to be from the rear end?? I get in once a blue moon, also my sister has a 96 grand am and it also does the same thing

[Stephen03]

Yeah I get that knock sometimes...haven't got the slightest clue what is causing it though. Could never see the problem

[ophidia]

That sounds very "water pump" to me. Look under the hood... is the little plastic guard over the belt on the water pump wet? When mine went, it sprayed all over that and a nice stripe on the insulation under the hood. It didn't seem to leak much when running but would dump a cup or so on the ground after I shut it off and it was sitting for a little bit.
Chris

[Loopy]

I'm still running with water pump on this one. If your husband was able to do your intake gaskets, this should be cake for him, and you should be able to get a water pump for under $30 or so.

[mybabe]

thanks everyone....it only leaked the once, but i do think it is the water pump...and will change it when neccesary.

About the knock knock sound, its wierd but your right, nothin seems to be wrong with the car...

I appreciate all the help
Christine

[rixGAphx]

If it's under the BUMPER, that's kinda far forward to be the waterpump.
Definitely not the AC drain.

It might be the pressure bottle. A boil-over there 'might' drip down along the radiator hose to land on the ground under the bumper. There would have been some tell-tale wetness on the bottle if this had happened.

It's possible the pressure cap on the coolant reservoir bottle no longer holds pressure. The gasket around the perimeter is prone to distortion when a hefty guy cranks it tight. It shouldn't be tighter than an adult female can tighten by hand.
After a hard drive as it sets in a parking lot, the coolant just boils over from 'heat sink'.

A new cap is less than $10 (tho often hard to find).

Good luck.
-Rick

[Loopy]

Rick, I would agree with you except that when my water pump went, it appeared to run down different parts until it dripped off of the front of the wheel well right behind the bumper. Because it drips so close to the belt, the belt throws it everywhere when you start it back up.

[mybabe]

Well i have not had a problem with coolant leak until today.
This may be a coincidence but every time i run my heat, it leaks.
Does anyone think the heat can affect the water pump
I have determined that it must be the water pump. It is wet under the pump with
coolant and has dripped off onto the belt and soaked other parts as well.

[mybabe]

GUess what everyone....we where wrong....for some reason the leak wasnt from the water pump...we pressure tested the unit. My rad has huge hole in it (rad holding tank)
SO weird cause the hole is on totaly the opposite side of the car.
So i decided to change the rad last night.

Since i just replaced intake gaskets, now the rad....Is there something that could be causing these problems or would it be regular wear on my car.

(Tragedy occured when an accident happened while changing the rad, the freeon line to the main rad snapped, leaked out, filled the garage, and i woudl assum the ac rad is junk now....
Guess shit happens when I try to save money and have the husband do it.....hehehhehehe
:mad:

[DarkShadowz1679]

We had a hole appear from nowhere in our radiator in our 98 SE 3100. I think it may have something to do with running the car low on coolant and the damn thing just gets too hot and cracks. If it's just a line on the ac, it can be replaced and the freeon can be recharged at a local garage.