Maybe 7 years and 53,990 miles was all I was supposed to expect...

I went to start the Z today for the first time in 3 months...I'm sitting there, listening to the sweet 2OTL sing to me at idle...when I begin to smell something a little sweet. Of course, I rip out of the car, pop the hood, and look...and under the accessories portion of the engine, drip, drip, drip...

I pulled it out, looked at it to make sure it was not condensation from sitting for so long, and sure enough it is maroon and sweet...coolant. What is more interesting is I backed it back in, left it running, and looked under it again, and it stopped! No more drips. But, it did leave about a palm-sized drip mark on the floor of the garage, and managed to spray some coolant drips up onto the intake elbow and TB plate.

Do I naturally assume water pump at this point? As the engine warmed, did the pump expand just enough to stop leaking? Or, could it be a radiator hose that expanded enough when warm maybe? My old '89 2.8 Camaro did that every now and then...dripped when cold, then stopped...but it never did like this.

Assuming water pump, I don't know if I want to go electric or OEM. Any opinions? Prices? Is it ok to drive 7-8 miles to my uncles shop, and keep coolant with me and an eye on the gague? It isn't moving until May 1, so I have time to get a game plan going...

As always, thanks for any help anyone can give...

 

This just happened to me last month. Again. Was the water pump. You can drive it if the leak isnt too bad. If its gushing out the weep hole, your belt will be slipping and you will lose power steering. Not to mention that the opti may get wet.
This is the second time the stock water pump went out on me, so I decided to go with the Meziere electric. Seems like a very nice piece and and the car is staying cool out here in the desert. Although its not summer yet.

 

i think mine is the radiator hoses, i did a crappy patch job last time, and its starting to come back so i got the whole kit from gm partsdirect, and will replace them all at 95k... mine i refill it every time i start the car and dependign on how long the car was on i'll usually put about 1 pint to about 1 quart in the car, if i forget to do it one time it'll be like 1/2 gallon or so... but i dont ever see it drip well i did once when i stopped the car i saw this big puddle but i havent been seeing it recently, i think it stops after its warm or something

 

How much is electric versus OEM? Whats the process to install? Any help is appreciated...and yes, I am VERY concerned with the Opti getting wet if I drive it...but I don't want to have some idiot tow it either...I'm VERY possessive over this car...

 

I dont blame you for not wanting to have it towed. I work next to an auto shop and I was out back by the overhead garage door watching them unload a car off of the flatbed. Brand new eclips with a flat tire, scraped the whole front peice for 5 to 10 seconds... left marks on the ground and everything

 

The Meziere electric was $200 from Thunder Racing. Auto Zone wanted $135 for a stock one. I went with the electric because it eliminates the high rpm drag of the stock pump. Here is the install guide I used to put in the electric.
http://ken.lowrance.com/projects/CSI...mp/Default.htm

 

Thanks for the install instructions...I'll look them over later. I'm not overly concerned with the high RPM drag of stock, as this car rarely goes over 4k anyways. The Auto Zone pump...I assume that was a rebuilt, correct? I saw a vendor in GMHTP had a Delco listed for $189...

My last question is, for longevity, is the electric also a better bet? I'm never selling this car, so I'd prefer to get something that will be the longest-lasting option possible. Also, I assume I need a different serpentine belt with an electric? It sucks this did this now...I'm in the process of buying a house. Maybe the Z is trying to tell me something...

 

In my opinion, I think you need to confirm that it is indeed the WP first. It could be a loose hose or something and you won't know until you crawl under there and see where its coming from. Typically from what I've seen, if your water pump is failing ( weep hole check ) you probably won't see it leaking onto the ground because it'll get burned off or boiled off beforehand.

But I agree with the others, if I had to replace it, I'd go electric.

 

Yea, make sure it is in fact comming out of the weep hole which is on the bottom front of the pump. The stock pump is cam driven, so you do not need a new belt with an electric. The Meziere is rated for 2500 hours of life expectancy.

 

IMHO CSI is the best way to go, quite a bit cheaper than a mezierre and less problematic...

the only coolant leak i dread is when I see white smoke out the exhaust, aside from that, everything else isn't too bad