I just got my car back on the road after it's winter break and I just finished installing a 5.0 shifter. We took the car on a trip yesterday and everything was fine. However, today we went for a little ride and when we stopped at a light I smelled what seemed like burning coolant. I decided to pullover and I looked under the car and there was a decent sized puddle (about as big as my hand) and we had only had the car stopped there for about 2 minutes. It is dripping right on the bar that is right below and in front of the lowest pulley on the front of the engine (I don't know what all the things are called).

It is light brown and is slightly slick to the touch; I'm pretty sure it's coolant. We drove home (50 minutes) and the car never got hot. I just pulled it into the garage and again, it leaked a good sized puddle pretty fast. It doesn't seem to leak when the car is not on. It dripped all over that thin tubular bar I mentioned above and got all over the lower pulley. By the time we got home, the car was making a squeaky noise, but I think it might be the belt since it got leaked on.

Please, if you have any ideas where this could be coming from, please let me know. I tried to look with a flash light, but can't find the source. The puddle it made on the floor is a little to the right and in front of that lowest front pulley.

Thank you all!

Jeremy

BTW, the car only has 51k miles.

 

99% water pump 1% chance its a hose.

 

Hmm.. if it is the water pump, is it expensive/difficult to replace? Is it something a person could do themselves?

 

Its not hard,just time consuming.Especially the first time.Remove the intake elbow,right below is the pump.Drain the radiator,remove the hoses and 6 bolts.Clean the gasket surfaces and install.

 

And hope your opti is still ok.

 

That doesn't sound too bad. Is there any special pump to get, or do I just go to Autozone and get one? How much should I plan on spending?

Also, will I be able to tell by looking at it if it is bad or not? I don't want to replace it if it isn't broken!

Thanks guys!

 

No one else has any input?

 

Get the car on ramps or jackstands.Look at the bottom of the waterpump,there is a small hole.Start it up and watch for leaks.If coolant is coming out of the hole,you need a new pump.Shoebox may have pics on his site,try looking.I dont know the cost,call around.