Today, started up the camaro, and let it run for a while, as the engine temp guage rose to the first quarter mark i saw what looks like smoke or steam rising up from the front of the engine bay, it does not appear to be rising from the block, but from the radiator area, (and sometimes the water pump area), the smoke doesnt rise very high, dissipates maybe 0-2 inches above the engine bay, i know i spilled a little bit of coolant around the front area, and when i turned off the car, i checked my fluid levels, they were low. My water pump is leaking quite a bit at various spots (namely where the hoses meet up), i goin to add some coolant tomorrow, and try again, but the smell of it isnt that of burning oil or fuel. im also going to check the hoses for the radiator as well tomorrow. Am i just burning coolant? And let me restate im am leaking quite a bit of coolant.

 

You've said it, not once, but twice, that the car is leaking quite a bit of
coolant and you wonder if you're burning coolant? Think about it - a hot
engine and coolant is spraying on it?

Remove all the hoses and clean the hose connections with steel wool,
then replace the hoses, replacing any that require it. And be sure to
use proper hose clamps.

 

i see, i have a new upper and lower radiator hoses (not installed yet) what else do i need?

 

Thats really all you need to do if those are just the hoses leaking. But do a quick check on all the coolant hoses while your down there. I think for it to smoke it would need to be actually draining on the block itself. Make sure your bleeders are tight to

 

You should check to make sure you find where it's leaking though. Sounds like the hoses, but you want to find ALL the leaks to fix it at one time. A shop can do a pressure test on your coolant system to identify the leaks.

I recently replaced my radiator...cracked the plastic on the passenger side.