hi, my z-28 has around 78000 miles on it and i am noticing a strange leak. about a week ago i drove my car pretty hard for about 15 miles. went to get gas and smelled coolant. about a drop or so was dripping off of the bottom of my belt that is directly in back of my radiator every five seconds. drove it home and got the same leak. didnt drive my car for a week. yesterday, checked the levels of the coolant, and oil, everything was full. drove it yesterday and for some reason i had no signs of a leak. what is going on here, and if a leak would it most likely be my waterpump?

 

i also forgot to mention that i had all the piping that goes from the heater core to the radiator replaced 2 months ago. i believe it could be my waterpump leaking and want to know how much it would cost to get an electric water pump, and installation- not from a chevy dealership.

 

It may be your waterpump leaking, I had the same problem a year ago. I ended up paying a friend $150 + parts to install a new factory waterpump, I'm not sure how much a shop would charge to install an electric one.

 

thank you evilbox. does anyone else have any ideas of what is going on.

 

More than likely the water pump is weeping. The weep hole is directly above the crank pulley. When they first show signs, they leak sporadically. Eventually it will get worse.

 

how come only the boxes are replying. thank you shoebox. do you think my car can make a 400 mile trip back home to get it repaired or should i do it now, considering i will drive very easily.

 

I drove mine for a while with it intermittently leaking when I was trying to figure out what it was. When it got the worst and I really found out what it was, I was on a 2000 mile trip. I carried extra water and watched the temp gauge. I had to add some water over the trip, but temps were always normal.

 

Mine was also leaking intermittently so I didn't get around to having mine fixed immediately. Just don't wait too long, the waterpump may end up dripping onto the opti and of course we know the opti doesn't like getting wet.

 

When I noticed my waterpump leaking, I ended up driving it for about a week after that, then it started getting really bad. I picked up a waterpump at PepBoys w/Lifetime warranty for $100 and did the install myself. It takes some time but is not too complicated.

 

thank you all. i will drive consevatively and try to make my 400 mile trip home to get it fixed.