- Hey Scotty been watching your channel for years and love your honesty and expertise. I have a 2009 Nissan 370Z manual with 100,500 miles. I’ve been having a slow coolant leak from my car recently and originally thought it was fixed when I identified one of the coolant hoses leaking and had it replaced. I’m still noticing my coolant overflow reservoir drain faster than normal and seeing some minor puddling of coolant under the car. I can’t find any leaks in the engine bay though. What could the issue be? Radiator? Water pump? Head gasket? How can I identify a bad radiator or water pump easily?
You can use a leak dye kit to find the leak. If nothing shows you can use a head gasket leak detector kit
Thanks I’ll try head gasket test and then go from there
A bad radiator will usually leak from a seam. Look for wet spots around the soldered or pinch seams. A bad water pump will usually leak from the bottom of the pump where the weep hole is. You might have to use an extendable mirror to see it. It is best to use the dye kit to quickly locate the actual source of the leak.
If the leak tests come up negative, have a look at your reservoir tank. They are usually plastic and become brittle and crack over time, especially in a 13 year old vehicle. Hope it is that and not something more serious.
True good call. I’ll take a look. How would I identify a bad radiator or water pump to rule those out?