Puddle of coolant near rear of engine?

[lambo]

So today I found a moderately sized puddle of coolant that had accumulated on the ground near the rear of the engine. My first thought was a head gasket leak but my oil looks fine and there's no smoke coming out of my exhaust... Are there other things I should be looking for? Is there anything else that might leak and run down the exhaust or something? Anyone with experience with a leak in this general area?

Thanks for any help!

[vert_this]

water hose on the back of the head?

[dashboardmonkey]

Hose on the back of the head or the gasket for the pipe back there

[VinniE30]

Hoses to/from the heater core

[vert_this]

Hose on the back of the head or the gasket for the pipe back there

I've ever seen the bracket split in half back there. If that occurred though the coolant would be gussing out back there.

[Andy348]

I had a rear head gasket leak without any smoking out of the exhaust for what its worth. The leak originated from under the intake manifold, very close to the rear coolant hose.

I can provide a pic if needed

[lambo]

Thanks for the advice, guys! I'm letting it sit overnight so I can double check the puddle location.

I had a rear head gasket leak without any smoking out of the exhaust for what its worth. The leak originated from under the intake manifold, very close to the rear coolant hose.

I can provide a pic if needed

Any pics would be greatly appreciated!

[dnguyen1963]

Coolant overflow hose can give you a puddle in the rear of the engine.

[vert_this]

Thanks for the advice, guys! I'm letting it sit overnight so I can double check the puddle location.



Any pics would be greatly appreciated!

you can see the hose and its attached to bracket that bolts to back of the head and in between is a gasket too.

[lambo]

We just looked all over the engine and can't find any signs of leakage... WTF???

I'm about to go out and test the pressure in all the cylinders to narrow some of the causes down...

[Andy348]

Here's a picture of my leak after I started the teardown. It was very difficult to see beforehand.

[lambo]

^ Was it a big leak? Because I am having difficulty seeing any signs of coolant leakage... I noticed the bottom outlet on my radiator was leaking, so I have to figure that out. But, I didn't notice any coolant "paths" on the transmission, the heat shield thingy or anywhere really...

[Andy348]

Not huge, no. Maybe 5-6 inches in diameter.

Could it be the throttle body leaking some coolant down the block? If you haven't already, take a flashlight and ram your head in under the intake manifold and poke around some. It ain't fun, but it seemed to be the only way I could find the trace of my leak.

For what its worth, here's my original thread, might have something helpful: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=268837

[lambo]

Well, I just ordered some UV dye and a black light. Maybe that will... ( •_•) ( •_•)>⌐□-□ (⌐□_□) ...shed some light on this ordeal.

[lambo]

Well... I checked the UV dye today after driving around for a couple days. Nothing around the head gasket. There was some leaking coming from some of the coolant pipes at the front on the engine but nothing from the rear...

I am thinking that the leak stopped after I tightened up the heater core hose clamps.