I just got a camaro and its not running yet due to electrical problems.
The radiator didnt have any water in it after i drove it home and i filled it up. it has been sitting at a guys house for 3 months to fix the electrical and i filled it up before it left. He has had it run a few times and i noticed there is not water in it yet again.

Does anyone know common places to look for a water leak? i obviously should wait till it runs to fix the problem easier but i was wondering if anyone knew of common places that these cars tend to leak at and if they are easy to fix.

Also for anyone who knows i have to replace the seal for my back window because it leaks bad, i heard that auto stores dont sell them and gm does not manufacture them anymore. Is there a website i can look into to purchase one because ebay didnt seem to work?

 

There are many places for coolant/water to leak from. My first suspicion would be a leaky radiator (my old one when I bought my bird leaked). The best way to figure out where it's coming from is to look. If it's under the car/engine, there are many causes, but a bad radiator, hoses, or water pump would be good places to start. If you have coolant leaking into the passenger side's front floor, you probably need a new heater core.

Hoses and radiators are a piece of cake, even for a noob at working on a car. As long as it's a stock/OEM radiator. Aftermarket/upgrade ones can require more work. The water pump is pretty easy too, but requires a bit more work than a radiator or hoses. Heater cores are more challenging, but doable. Patience is the key if you're doing any of these for the first time!

As for the back windshield, you should be able to find seals/weatherstripping available online somewhere. Look around for deals. If you need something very specific, Hawks Third Gen is always a good place for hard to find parts.

Hope this helps!

 

alright thank you very much. if i start the car up after it runs should i be able to visably see where its leaking from?

 

Check your oil to see if there is water in it.

 

Yeah, I forgot that one, check your oil too! If coolant/water is getting into it, that's a sign of a bad head gasket.

As far as seeing the leak goes, I was actually in the middle of changing the oil when I saw coolant leaking from the bottom of my old radiator. It was leaking from the bottom center. If I'm not mistaken, water pumps have a weep hole that coolant can leak out of when they go bad.

In all honesty, if there are other issues with the car too, I'd probably change out all the cooling system basics if you can (radiator, water pump, theromstat, heater core, hoses if need be). Most of these cars are project cars at this point, and many don't get properly cared for. I drove my bird around for a little while until I overheated pretty good one night, likely from a complete failure of the water pump (it was failing to circulate coolant at all). Better to just do preventive maintenance than end up having to call a tow truck!