I have a coolant leak that appears to be at the front of the engine (drivers side). I can not seem to find it. Thought it might be the water pump (couldn't really see under it too well) so I replaced it. Still leaking. I do see antifreeze in a little pool at the bottom of the engine below the water pump but simply cannot tell where it is coming from. I have searched the site and see a lot of talk about elbows. Is this referencing the connections for the heater hoses at the top of the engine above the power steering pump? I see references to removing the tensioner to get to the elbows. I'm at work now so can't look but is there something hidden behind the tensioner? Car has been awesome until recently (135k on it). Just experienced the dreaded manifold leaking water into the engine problem a couple of months ago. Now this. TIA

 

I'm not sure which engine you have, but you sad you see the coolant on the driverside and you changed the water pump... Unless this is a left hand drive car, I'm a little confused.

To my knowledge, the pump is on the passenger side (right side) of the car. If that is the case and you have a 3800 v6, the coolant elbows are your most likely problem. It's possible they cracked OR if you recently had the LIM changed the O-Rings did not seat right. They take about 30 minutes to change out, $5 for the elbows + coolant.

If the leak is on the driver side (left), I would suspect radiator or radiator hose.

A good way to figure out what's going on is go to the auto parts store and do a loan-a-tool on a radiator pressure tester. You can then pressurize the system and look/listen for leaks.

 

Sorry about that, i meant passenger side. Left hand drive car - that's funny . It's a 3800 V6. Wasn't aware there was an option with the Z34 or I would've specified. Thanks for the reply. I will check the elbows. Are there any pics of the elbows on this site that you are aware of?

 

I just did not know what drive train GM put in the Z34's.... My Monte-year-to-drivetrain knowledge is limited

I Google Image searched for some pics of the coolant elbows. The one shows the elbows in the pack from the parts store.

The other, I added red circles where they are on the engine. You must remove the alternator and then the tensioner/alternator bracket. Once you have the bolts out try to wiggle it and pull it straight out (I've sometimes got a screw driver to gently pry with a light tug force to persuade it out).

Some times a ring of the elbow will stay in the intake. YOU MUST REMOVE THAT PIECE! If you don't the new one won't seat right. I've used a small screw driver and gently popped the elbow on top or bottom, it then spins so you can easily grab it with pliers and pull it out.

NOW, that pic shows one plastic elbow in the car, but the kit comes with two. Some tensioner brackets use one plastic elbow and where the 2nd elbow would be is cast aluminum that is part of the bracket (I've seen one of these where the aluminum elbow sheared off and I think lead to GM using plastic elbows on both parts).

Hope this helps!

 

It was the elbow from the tensioner to the intake above the water pump. Needed the pressure tester to find it. Thing had the consistency of wet cardboard. I took the opportunity to replace all the other o-rings while I had everything apart.

Learned a thing or two about how everything fits together up there with this exercise.

Thanks for the help!!

 

I missed this thread and I see that you fixed the problem, so that's good. The thing that I wanted to add to the conversation is that all 1998 and 1999 Z34's came with a 3800. From 1995-97, the Z34 had the 3.4L DOHC v6.