Coolant leak and high idle temp.

[DannyO]

Hey guys-
First off, I'm a newbie poster but a long time reader. Good to join the fold! On to the fun stuff....

Over the last month I've noticed leaking coolant. It started out leaking so much that the reservoir would be dry after short trips. I tightened up all the hoses that I could get at and the lately the leaking has slowed up to about a 1/4 gallon per week. I think I've spotted a small trickle from around the water pump. Engine temp runs normal while driving but begins to creep up at an idle.

So... any ideas at what I'm looking at? Leaky water pump? Bad thermostat? Thanks in advance for the help. I'm fairly certain you guys know everything....

[theonlyrealperson]

Definitely a leak from somewhere. The creep at idle means you don't have quite enough coolent in there. If you didn't replenish the coolent, it would creep further over time and eventually overheat.

It could be the gasket around the waterpump too...

[KenB]

My waterpump was seeping from around the shaft right before it let go and threw the serpentine belt off and broke a couple of blades off the fan. It didn't damage the radiator but could have I'm sure.

Time to think about replacing the waterpump if you haven't recently, sounds like it could be your fix.

[Ross]

Look for a leak around the pump weep hole. Easy and cheap fix on your car. Don't put this off or you may be searching the headgasket topic.