Coolant lake hours later

[mijohnst]

I'm thinking my water pump is going out, but before I go through all the effort, I want some other opinions. While it's running, there's nothing leaking from the cooling system. A few hours later there's a puddle on the ground on the front part of the engine on the passenger side. Water pump? I've taken the skid plate off, and I don't really see you spot where it's coming out. It is antifreeze though. What are y'all thoughts?

 

[mijohnst]

And I see the typo in the subject. It's not really a lake under the car, more like a small pond.

 

[drakon543]

could be a waterpump they have a weep hole that might not leak when the pump is spinning. it could also be something else due to expansion and contraction with the heat.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Have you checked your lower hose's connections to the radiator and water pump? Look REAL close at the weep hole and surrounding area. Sounds like a water pump to me too.

 

[Doubeleive]

get under it with a flashlight and look up, could be radiator, radiator hoses, heater hoses, coolant reservoir. heater hose "T"s, one heater hose has a Y those can crack also.
to see under the water pump you have to get at the right angle or use a mirror. other suspects (less likely) is the crossover steam pipe or intake cooler line if equipped.

 

[Bill 1960]

If it’s a shy leak, wrap a dry paper towel around suspect locations or just below, right after you shut it down hot and it sits and heat soaks. Come back later and see who’s got a wet diaper.

I also use a radiator pressure tester at times, but some leaks are related to thermal expansion of parts and they won’t show up under other temperatures.

 

[Doubeleive]

or put some cardboard under the engine area, check it later and look up from the wet spot

 

[Fless]

While it's running the leaked fluid may be blowing off or drying, so it may appear to be leaking only after shutting down.

 

[AN292]

I had a water pump leak that I never really pinpointed exactly where it was coming from. I just knew it was the pump, could be whats happening here. It helps to remove your upper fan shroud and air intake to get a really good look.

Also, the leak on the ground could be from the fluid running along a bunch of other stuff before it hits the ground, not a very accurate way to pinpoint the exact source of the leak.

 

[treehan77]

Borrowed a pressure tester from advance auto for free when I suspected the lake under mine was water pump. Yep, it streamed together out under pressure, like fire hose

 

[fasteddy]

I've had a few 5.3s and 6.0s that did that.
Didn't leak during operations, only after shutdown. Worse leaking after long drives.
Its a pressure thing.
Early signs that pump is failing. Its good to have early warning signs.
I had one I milked for a while, then it just started leaking all the time.
Best to replace.....you probably have like a month left, if you daily drive it.

 

[Byoung1330]

I'm thinking my water pump is going out, but before I go through all the effort, I want some other opinions. While it's running, there's nothing leaking from the cooling system. A few hours later there's a puddle on the ground on the front part of the engine on the passenger side. Water pump? I've taken the skid plate off, and I don't really see you spot where it's coming out. It is antifreeze though. What are y'all thoughts?

Same thing happen with my Tahoe. I couldn’t find the leak until I bought a little mirror. Then went under water pump with it til I found weep hole then could see the coolant trail. Very hard to find.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

Borrowed a pressure tester from advance auto for free when I suspected the lake under mine was water pump. Yep, it streamed together out under pressure, like fire hose

I second the pressure tester. They are so handy I bought my own. I can find leaks within minutes. The plastic reservoir on my radiator broke... I also had the water pump go out about a year later. Honestly, they are VERY easy to change (even easier if you have electric fans). Not sure what your mileage is but maybe worth just changing the water pump. If it's the radiator, don't buy the OEM replacement perhaps somebody can chip in here... There's a company that makes radiators with aluminum (or metal) resinous. BeCool? I cannot recall the name.

I've had more trouble with the damn plastic on radiators. Another car I had the inlet brake off. Another the lip of the inlet so it would never seal (I drive high mileage cars haha).

Another note, some of the water pumps can be rebuild really easily. I see there are a couple designs for our water pumps. My original had a cover that screws off on the back. I tried but couldn't quite figure that one out. I rebuilt another one for my 3.1L was child's play, and my old LT1 I put an electric pump on it which was really simple and required some simply rebuilding hackery.

 

[Mooseman93]

I'm thinking my water pump is going out, but before I go through all the effort, I want some other opinions. While it's running, there's nothing leaking from the cooling system. A few hours later there's a puddle on the ground on the front part of the engine on the passenger side. Water pump? I've taken the skid plate off, and I don't really see you spot where it's coming out. It is antifreeze though. What are y'all thoughts?

I just replaced the water pump on my 2001 5.3. Turns out my leak wasn't exactly the water pump, but the gaskets between it and the block. Still, not a difficult or expensive repair overall.

 

[Larryjb]

Borrowed a pressure tester from advance auto for free when I suspected the lake under mine was water pump. Yep, it streamed together out under pressure, like fire hose

I third the pressure tester. It has paid for itself so many times over. It has found virtually all leaks within seconds, and even found a leak I didn't know about yet once.

 

[Rocket Man]

Any idea how many miles on the suspect water pump? If it has over 100k it might be best to replace it as preventative maintenance anyway.