Feel under the water pump pulley first.Might just need a water pump.

 

It's probably not the water pump since that's on the other side of the engine. On the driver side you have the radiator hose, the thermostat housing, and there are some coolant lines that go to the throttle body and the heater core. The lower intake manifold gaskets are a well-known problem on this vehicle, and that's probably a good guess. Since that repair isn't super easy or cheap, I'd hate for you to throw money at the problem without knowing that was the issue for sure.

I would suggest that you take some pictures of the engine, and point out where you are seeing the fluid and if possible the leak source. That way, someone on the forum can see second-hand what you are observing. In addition, I know that at the auto stores they sell kits for about $20, that have UV dye, light and goggles. You add the dye to the coolant when the engine is cool, run the engine and with the glasses and the light you should be able to spot the source of the leak.

Hope that helps. Let us know if you have success locating the leak, or if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Ron

 

Sorry didn't see that it said drivers side.On the drivers side it could be the thermostat gasket.Start with the small stuff then move on to manifold or head gasket which both are known to go bad on these motors.

 

Had the same issue with my 98. There was an issue with and intake if im not mistaken and the coolant was spilling all over the engine compartment.. And i mean all over... I used a stop leak and it completely fixed the issue and havent had any ussues since. It has been about 3 years since i poured it, and the car is a daily driver... Just pur it in amd run the car until the fan turns on. The link to the one i used is posted below.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006OW2PIS?pc_redir=1395823598&robot_redir=1[/ame]

 

Incase the link doesnt open, search the fowong... It is a green bottle


CRC 401224-6 FiberLock Head Gasket and Block Repair - 32 fl. oz.

 

Also take a good look at the lines that go to the throttle body that are rubber and the bypass pipe they hook too that is metal.

 

Thank for the input.

The green arrow in the image is the location of the leak. It looks like it's leaking from the engine compartment right underneath the thermostat housing.

Thanks for the stop leak link . I'm not able to get that product here in Canada but I 'm sure I can find a similar product at my local auto shop.

Did you pour the stop leak directly into your radiator? I've read online that the product can clog up the radiator so its recommended to pour it directly into the thermostat housing and flush most of it out afterwards.

 

I poured it right into the resevoir tank and left it just like that... I havent had any issues with it and its been well over 2 years..

 

Malibu98 - last set of LIM gaskets I had leaking, leaked coolant and oil both right there.

Your other choice right there is the thermostat housing gasket - which doesn't fail as often as the LIMGs do.

RwP

 

I didn't see any leaks for the thermostat housing but I'll take another look just in case.

 

That was my point - if it's not the lower intake manifold gasket (LIMG), then it's the thermostat housing or the hose.

It's so rarely that leaking in these cars, however, I'd bet a manifold gasket set should be done.

RwP

 

Quick update....

I purchased a bottle of stop leaked, poured it into the radiator and it seems to have done the trick. I've been driving it for the last 5 days and no leak.

Going to look into replacing the gasket later in the summer.

Thanks for the input and help!

 

Yeah, I'd also be buying a new radiator and planning on getting a full motor flush done of the cooling system.

And planning on replacing the heater core at the same time.

Stop leak has a bad problem of stopping OTHER places coolant flows ...

RwP