2000 Pontiac Firebird, 3.8L V6, Idling issue/Coolant Leak

[funcarstuff]

Hello,

New to the forums, and was hoping for some help from some experts. Money is tight, so taking the car to a professional isn't really an option. (Don't have a ton of experience, but I've done a little auto work, and am not really intimidated by it)

Basically it is having an issue with idling. Sometimes when idle the car will shut off and will need to be restarted. Sometimes at long lights it will be fine, seems to just depend.

We took a look under the hood and there is definitely a coolant leak from somewhere. I took some pictures of where the leak appears to be coming from, hopefully someone can help identify what is going on.

If you can't tell from the pictures, this is from the front of the engine, on the left side (If you are looking at it) behind the serpentine belt.

I've got a couple better pictures that I still need to pull off my phone. Will post in a few min.

 

[melsg5]

The idle problem has nothing to do with the minor cooling leak you have. When cold did you try seeing if the bolt is loose?
Do you have a check engine light on?
When is the last time basic maintenance has been done, all filters, plugs, etc.?

 

[funcarstuff]

The idle problem has nothing to do with the minor cooling leak you have. When cold did you try seeing if the bolt is loose?
Do you have a check engine light on?
When is the last time basic maintenance has been done, all filters, plugs, etc.?

Which bolt, the one in the photo?

Here are two more photos when I cleaned some of that coolant off, and more of a view where it was coming from:

No check engine light on, Basic maintenance was last done a few months ago, when this problem started. I had them due a free diagnosis as what was causing the issue as well. (I pretended like I was going to have them work on it) I was told that they think there is a cracked manifold gasket, and the repair would be upwards of a grand because they would need to take out the whole engine.

Any ideas as to what could be causing the idle issue if not the coolant leak?

 

[EaOutlaw]

The leak maybe weeping from the water pump and trickling down.

With a mirror and flashlight look at the weep hole at the bottom of the neck of the water pump near the pump seal close to the pulley.

You will see a hole nothing should be dribbling out of it.

You have some freeze plugs on the front of the motor that could be leaking as well.

You should pressure test the topped off cooling system and inspect for leaks.

Anything from a hose, intake and the other mentioned parts could be leaking.

You can get a pressure tester from Autozone or Napa through their tool loaner program.

Pay for a used tool and return it for a refund when your done.

Make sure to test the pressure cap while you have the kit.

If the coolant is low or you ran it too long with low coolant you could have blown the head gasket.

Test for hydrocarbons in the cooling system before you spend too much money on repairs. if you have a blown head gasket many things would have to come off to repair it, do not do work twice.

Again pressure test a topped off cooling system and test for hydrocarbons, both testers are available at the stores mentioned earlier.

The only cost out of pocket will be the fluid to test for hydrocarbons.

Check the oil level in the car make sure the oil is clean and does not look like a milkshake.

Low coolant in the engine will not allow the coolant temperature sensor to work properly and may cause other problems.

When you top off the cooling system make sure to bleed the system of any air. then pressure test it.

bleeding procedures can be found in the owners manual, they are under the Learn about my vehicle section near the top.

http://www.gm.com/owner-assistance/pontiac.html

Once you repaired the cooling system and verified the head gasket is good and still need help with the stalling.

My next question other than what melsg5 has asked is do you have a check engine light on?

______________________________

 

[melsg5]

if the leak the shop referred to is the lower intake manifold gasket that could cause the stalling but does not require engine removal to repair.

 

[funcarstuff]

The leak maybe weeping from the water pump and trickling down.

With a mirror and flashlight look at the weep hole at the bottom of the neck of the water pump near the pump seal close to the pulley.

You will see a hole nothing should be dribbling out of it.

You have some freeze plugs on the front of the motor that could be leaking as well.

You should pressure test the topped off cooling system and inspect for leaks.

Anything from a hose, intake and the other mentioned parts could be leaking.

You can get a pressure tester from Autozone or Napa through their tool loaner program.

Pay for a used tool and return it for a refund when your done.

Make sure to test the pressure cap while you have the kit.

If the coolant is low or you ran it too long with low coolant you could have blown the head gasket.

Test for hydrocarbons in the cooling system before you spend too much money on repairs. if you have a blown head gasket many things would have to come off to repair it, do not do work twice.

Again pressure test a topped off cooling system and test for hydrocarbons, both testers are available at the stores mentioned earlier.

The only cost out of pocket will be the fluid to test for hydrocarbons.

Check the oil level in the car make sure the oil is clean and does not look like a milkshake.

Low coolant in the engine will not allow the coolant temperature sensor to work properly and may cause other problems.

When you top off the cooling system make sure to bleed the system of any air. then pressure test it.

bleeding procedures can be found in the owners manual, they are under the Learn about my vehicle section near the top.

http://www.gm.com/owner-assistance/pontiac.html

Once you repaired the cooling system and verified the head gasket is good and still need help with the stalling.

My next question other than what melsg5 has asked is do you have a check engine light on?

Thank you for your reply, I will run through this process over the next couple days as I have time, and report back.

The check engine light is not on.


@melsg5 It could be the lower intake manifold, in fact, now that I see those words, i'm almost certain that's what I was told. Glad to hear that doesn't require engine removal.

Is that manifold located anywhere near where the leak I photographed is?