I've got an 88 Trans Am 305 TPI. Drove it the other day, got home big puddle of coolant under the car. I put it in the garage and lift it up, and I cant see anything wrong. I looked down from above, everything looks fine - heater hoses, radiator hoses are fine. leaking somewhere from the rear right side of the motor, and I mean as SOON as I turn it on, it's just dripping coolant. Doesn't even take a minute or 2, I mean when the car comes on, the coolant starts flowin. does anyone have any kind of cooling lines schematics or is this just 1 basic answer - the block is cracked? or heads are gone? thanks for response. Alecks

 

its probably coming out of the weep holes on the water pump. Start it and observe where the coolant comes from.

 

i'm not sure what weep holes are. and i just simply can not find where's it's leaking from. if i'm lookin down into the engine compartment, or if i'm underneath looking up, i have no clue what it could be. all i know is it's coming from the rear off the motor on the right side, closer to the #8 cylinder. thanks

 

it sounds like the intake gasket on that side is leaking at the coolant crossover passage. Temperature of the engine permitting, stick your hand behind the block and see if it feels wet. If it does, then its time to pull the intake and put on new gaskets. It could also be the fan switch for the second fan. Thats in that same area. Its in the cylinder head itself. If you put it on a suitable lifting device, start the engine, and look from underneath, you should be able to tell this in a hurry.

 

well kind sir, i want to thank you for your help. i went ahead and took a closer look at the rear of my intake manifold and it does appear to be seeping coolant. when i would pull the throttle you could see the coolant push out just a tad more, so i'm goin with that. so i'm off to the local auto parts store to see if they have a gasket and if not, i'll look around for some permatex in hopes that it'll keep it sealed temporarily. thanks alot dimented. alecks

 

The intake manifold leak seems to be a common problem with our cars. When you get the gaskets, sometimes they will have long ones that go on the china walls. Don't use them. Just put on the sealant really thick on the china walls. Sometimes those rubber gaskets will pop out and you're leaking worse than before! Are you sure it's not a head gasket? I had a head gasket leak on my L98 that leaked coolant from the right rear. Good luck! Matt

 

i do that to ever motor i ever work on. i won't even use the ones that fel-pro give you.

 

the new ones felpro makes actually have overhangs that keep the neoprine gasket centered so it cant pop off. Not using them but thought it looks like theyd probably work pretty well, although, if the engine has a bad blowby problem, it looks like theyd be history anyway.

A.H.L. youll definatly need to get a new gasket. The silicone wont adhere at all to a wet, dirty surface. All the surfaces have to be clean for the gasket maker to bond properly.