Hello, Just now saw a wet line on concrete in the direction of my belts--coolant. Jack up and started car, saw coolant dripping out of what it appears to be around the weep hole. My step-son cant get off till wednesday (service manager, Firestone) to replace it. As long as i watch my coolant level, can i drive it?? He said to do that, still asking everyone. Worried about the opti, may replace the cap and rotor while he is there. A parts house has a pump(AirTech), lifetime warranty at his price $116. Driving on pins and needles now.

 

Personally, I wouldn't. A failing water pump that is leaking coolant on top of an opti that is sensitive to water isn't a good scenario.

 

I would avoid driving it if possible. If not, you might be ok. Opti's dont melt when exposed to water/coolant/moisture like the Wicked Witch of the west, but some are a bit touchy. Mine has never given me problems but I replaced it when I replaced my water pump 5 years back. I wouldnt advise replacing JUST the cap and rotor. Go with an all new GM unit. Last I saw, Jason Cromer @ Sam Taylor Buick in Florida offered new opti's for a little over $200.

 

You can still drive it, but plan on the pump taking a complete dump at ANY time! Keep an eye on your engine temp and coolant levels until you get it fixed. The longer you wait the higher risk of you having to replace the opti is too.

Jeff

 

Something else that nobody is mentioning is that it could leak on your belt and mess up your power steering. With it being winter you don't want anything else that might affect the steering on top of the road conditions.

 

Yeah you guys are saying everthing ive thought of--car started having a squeaking noise awhile back when i would start up and later quit after warm up--so last week i replaced the belt tensioner--i didnt see the coolant line then--so im wondering now if it was coolant leaking a little on the belt and now its starting to really show its butt. Cap and rotor replacement ok or go all out? Thanks for your help. Dwayne

 

The leak won't affect your steering too much unless you're going slow. That's how I noticed mine was leaking when it acted strange when I was pulling out of parking spots.

 

Didnt have any steering issues back then or now, just a terrible sqeak--wont know if the leak is causing some of my noise(belt tensioner stop most of it-still have some squeaks) until i get this done. When it was real cold, my car would barely crank up and started flashing the ses light for a half minute--wonder if its all related somehow--we'll see dwayne