I went to the grocery today, and when I got there and got out of the car, I noticed some steam coming from under the hood, and could smell the coolant. I looked under the car and saw coolant dripping from the front of the engine. When I got home I jacked the car up and crawled under it with a flashlight. I was sure it would be the water pump, but the weep hole was dry as could be. I can not determine where the leak originates. I've heard of the water pump leaking from behind it. Apparently the leak is at the front of the engine somewhere, and it runs down until it hits the tensioner pulley and some hoses. Are there some hoses up there somewhere that can't be readily seen? Or could it be the back of the water pump, or something else? Car is a '96 Formula.

 

I had a "Mysterious" leak at one time too....
What I did was ran the car till it got almost to the point where the fans come on at 220* and then shut the car off so it builds pressure, and checked around the engine compartment and found the leak to be in the plastic
section of the radiator right undereath the cap about 2" below a pipe that is
threaded in. It seeps through lightly even at 1/2 temp but at 3/4 temp and
with the car shut off it builds so much pressure in the radiator and hoses
it will find its way out with force and might be easier to find...
Hope this might help....

 

I'd imagine you want to avoid getting burned.
Get a pressure tester, pressurize the system to 15 lbs or whatever the cap says. Don't go over or you could create a leak. Try to dry the block off first, easyer to find. If you can't see anything, pressurize the system and leave it for about ten minutes. If the pressure dosen't drop, you don't have a leak. Well....we've established already that you DO have a leak. Get your hands on a pressure tester and take it from there.

 

When was the last time the hoses were replaced??

 

your hoses are almost 10 years old, i'd bet money that you have a pinhole leak.

only way your going to find it is to heat the car up to normal operating temperature, open the hood, jack the car up, and start looking.

 

Turned out it was the water pump. Leaking out from around the gear shaft in the back. Had to put it on a rack and take a good light source to pinpoint it.