1999 Chevy Cavalier Coolant leaking

[quote:e1f8303b3e="critz80"]Engine problem
1999 Chevy Cavalier 4 cyl Wheel Drive Type unknown Automatic 200000 miles
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My coolant light popped on, so I filled my car with the proper amount of coolant. Not even 12 hours later and maybe 5 miles later my car was empty of coolant and needing more. Many people have told me that it's probably the hoses, head gasket or water pump. Is there a sure way of finding out what might be causing that without having to go to a shop and getting charged a lot for them just looking at it.[/quote:e1f8303b3e]


You don’t want pay for it you have to do it

So open the hood and start looking for the leak or the area where you see coolant
Let me know
I’ll see if I can help you

If you have the 2.4 engine, it might be the water outlet. It's located on the drivers side at the end of the head, behind the power steering pump. It's made of plastic and has an o ring inside. When mine broke, it left no puddles. The only way I found it was I had removed the large metal plate that covers the spark plugs to check them and noticed a puddle near the plugs. I squeezed the large hose and coolant gushed out. It had broken on the inside, out of view and coolant was leaking past the gasket. If that's the problem, spend the extra money and get the part from a GM dealer, about $42. I bought a part from Auto Zone and it lasted 5 months.

If you look under the water pump, you'll see a hole in the housing. If the pump is bad, water will leak from there also. If your heater core is bad, coolant will leak out thru your a/c hose on the firewall. Both problems are a pain.

Probably the easiest way to locate the leak is add water, start it up and let it idle at park until you see a leak, them trace it back. Watch that it doesn't overheat. A puddle might not appear for hours after shutting the car off.