[Flyinj311]

Hi! I have a 2002 v6 series 2 3.8 with 65,000 miles (first Camaro 🤗) never had issues. Last week it started smelling like coolant and was dumping it around the water pump. I got a new pump in there as well as a gasket and it wasn’t puddling. Today I went out there and saw it dripping below the engine kind of by the skid plate (you’ll have to pardon me, my other vehicles are Jeeps so I’m kind of over my head on car terms). I’m still losing coolant just not a giant gush like before. I’m not leaking by the water pump, that area is bone dry as I first thought I didn’t get the seal right. Hoping to borrow my buddy’s low profile jack and get it up to see where it’s coming from. Any ideas what’s going on? I don’t believe the heater elbows are bad as there’s no coolant and the upper heater hoses seem fine with no leaks. It’s leaking without firing it up and didn’t leak until about a week ago and only after it was running after a while. Any help would be amazing as again, use to jeeps and this is my first car and I’m finding out the engines and pieces are very strange haha.

 

[DOUG G]

Very hard to say without seeing it. I would get under there and look as you want to do.

It could be any number of things from, a hose, fitting, gasket, ETC.

Good luck, hope it's something easy/cheap to fix.

 

[Flyinj311]

Well it was cheap... not sure about easy haha. It was the dumb plastic elbows. Pretty much disintegrated when I pulled out the pully. Got the aluminum ones. Seems to be working fine but I’m still leery as those elbows slid right in. Seems like there should be another seal or something besides the o-rings *crosses fingers*

 

[X-77 keith]

I have used the aluminum ones many times ,no come backs. I usually smear a small amount of black RTV on the rings to help with the slide. Glad you figured it out. Hope you replaced them both.

 

[ZEN357]

Intake coolant leaks were notorious on the Gen 2 & 3 3800. I just replaced the intake on a 2003 Buick Regal with a Dorman upper and lower. Fixed my issues.