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Recently I have started to notice that there's coolant (presumably) leaking from the engine. There's no obvious leak when you look at the engine from below right after you have driven it, but it leaves a puddle on the ground after it's been parked for several hours. The engine seems to be working fine, haven't had overheating issues, but I'm losing coolant and I'm afraid if I don't do something it will lead to bigger issues. Any ideas what could it be?

The car is 5 speed Holden Astra 2001 sedan The puddle on the ground http://design.imago.ee/test/auto2.JPG The place where it seems to be dripping from http://design.imago.ee/test/auto3.JPG

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  • That seems to be a water pump leak. It leaks slowly over time as the engine cools down. The fluid runs down the front of the engine and into the floor. Best way to test this is to powerwash the engine and mark the area surrounding the water pump with white chalk. If the pump is leaking, it will make the chalk run down with the fluid and leave a noticeable white mark when it dries up.
    – race fever
    Apr 7, 2016 at 12:23
  • @racefever, sounds like an answer. I was going to post something similar as an answer, so you might as well do it.
    – JPhi1618
    Apr 7, 2016 at 13:34
  • Any chance of pictures from the top? You should be able to follow the coolant stain trail.
    – Ben
    Apr 7, 2016 at 21:02
  • @JPhi1618 Be my guest! I already have enough internet points. :)
    – race fever
    Apr 7, 2016 at 23:59
  • I went to mechanic, they diagnosed that it´s leaking from where the radiator hose is attached to the engine by clamps. Gonna take the car back next saturday for a fix, will see if it eliminates the leak.
    – ints
    Apr 10, 2016 at 4:04

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The engine size was not provided. This suggestion is for the 2.2 litre engine.

The water pump on the 2.2 litre engine is driven by the timing chain. If it is leaking from the front seal this will drip water into the sump oil.

If the water is dripping onto the ground it is probably the "O" rings on the pipe that cross between the water pump and the thermostat. These are easy enough to replace but you may have to remove the exhaust manifold to access the pipe and then remove the thermostat to remove the pipe. A standard "O" ring from your local parts store should fix the problem.

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