93 Camry XLE coolant leak

[DarkSideMoon]

Alrighty, I have one last thing to pick the TN brain on. I've had cooling problems for almost a year now. It started with a leak, thought it was the water pump (old WP was bad), still leaks but not nearly as badly. I added dye and nothing obvious is showing (coolant hoses to/from radiator/heater core). I can confirm that the liquid is coolant because it glows from the dye, and I can trace it to somewhere along the frame by the passenger wheel well. It doesn't appear to be coming from the thermostat housing. I reached around to the back of the engine and noticed that my hand was glowing (could have been something else that reacted to UV, but it looked like dye) I'm thinking it might be seeping from one of the back freeze plugs- Is there anything glaring I'm missing here?

[Chris Crash]

If it's leaking back there, the freeze plug(s) should be stained a greenish-brownish color.

[JohnGD]

Or a leaking head gasket. Use an inspection mirror or crawl under to double check.

[ghettosled]

cracked radiator reservoir or a crack somewhere in the radiator?

[hill8570]

I've had cases where you'll get a small leak where the coolant hose attaches to the inlet of the water pump (not thermostat housing, but the hose end of that same fitting). From there, it'll crawl all over the passenger side of the car. Often you can't even see the leak from the top, but if you put a paper towel around the hose junction, it'll come back red (or green).

[Mister_Perkins]

ide grab a Pressure Testing Kit and pressurize the radiator, then stick some cardboard or paper towels under the car, go away for 30 minutes (or drink a couple sodas), and come back and inspect the cardboard/papertowels. Wherever its wet with coolant, look right above where its coming from. Grab a flash light and inspect where the leaks from. If you do not see a leak, I would get a Hydrocarbon testing kit and test the coolant for Carbon Deposits or run a leak-down test on the Cylinder head. If you have carbon deposits, compression is leaking past the head gasket some-how and pushing into the coolant. If it is just starting to leak, you may not immediately notice it burning coolant, or oil on the dip stick. That's why a hydro carbon test is a good idea

Good luck with your diagnosis


Pressure Tester:
http://www.toolprofessional.net/B000...B000XSGK6C.htm

Also, You can get that kit listed above at the link from your local parts stores that rent tools such as Autozone or Advanced