Coolant leak at back of engine - possible sources?
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 520
Likes: 1
From: Fallston, Maryland
Car: 1989 Trans Am GTA
Engine: 350
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 9 Bolt 3.70
Coolant leak at back of engine - possible sources?
I noticed a small coolant leak at the back of the engine yesterday. I can see where it ran down behind the passenger side head, ran off the starter and dripped on the collector of the header (I have LTs). It doesn't seem to be coming from the heater core or the lines going to or from it. The wierd thing is, it doesn't seem to leak when the engine is running, only when it's been parked for a number of hours. There were two small drops under the car at 8 this morning and the car hadn't run since 5 the night before. There was nothing underneath of it last night. I'm thinking the intake gasket on the passenger side is leaking around the coolant port but I'm going to do a pressure test on the cooling system tomorrow before I start pulling stuff apart. Any ideas on what else could be going on here?
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 520
Likes: 1
From: Fallston, Maryland
Car: 1989 Trans Am GTA
Engine: 350
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 9 Bolt 3.70
Re: Coolant leak at back of engine - possible sources?
I'll also add that the coolant in the overflow or radiatior isn't noticeably low. I also changed the oil last week and there was no sign of coolant in the oil either.
Last edited by mike_c; Oct 13, 2014 at 04:01 PM.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 27,893
Likes: 2,436
Car: Yes
Engine: Usually
Transmission: Sometimes
Axle/Gears: Behind me somewhere
Re: Coolant leak at back of engine - possible sources?
Heater hose fitting back at that corner of the intake; or, intake gasket
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 520
Likes: 1
From: Fallston, Maryland
Car: 1989 Trans Am GTA
Engine: 350
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 9 Bolt 3.70
Re: Coolant leak at back of engine - possible sources?
I pressurized the cooling system and sure enough, it ended up being the intake gasket. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be leaking internally. Glad I caught it when I did.
Member

Joined: May 2013
Posts: 408
Likes: 53
From: Sydney, Australia
Car: 1988 Trans Am
Engine: 305 TPI
Re: Coolant leak at back of engine - possible sources?
Here's a pic someone showed me a while back when I thought I had a leaking core plug and wanted to know where they were. As you can see there's no way you're getting to them without removing the transmission unfortunately.
Ugh posted in wrong thread sorry.
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