2010 Pontiac Vibe Engine Coolant leak

[Delta1]

My sister left me her Vibe while she is away for a few weeks, and told me the engine has been smelling like coolant for the past few weeks.

Had a look under the hood and noticed that the pass side rear corner of the engine is wet, and is probably a coolant leak.

Anyone here familiar with these 1.8 Toyo motors? What is back there that could leak coolant?
On my quick inspection I did not see any hoses back there....

Thanks!

 

[cjcride]

Water pump leaking

 

[cptbarkey]

Check the two coolant lines going into the firewall too.

 

[Delta1]

Water pump leaking

Water pump area is dry, not sure how coolant could get from there to the rear of the motor anyways, unless it's some weird Toyota thing...

 

[Kira]

smelling like coolant for the past few weeks.

How's the coolant level? Has your sister been topping it off for a few weeks?

 

[Delta1]

How's the coolant level? Has your sister been topping it off for a few weeks?

She has not had to add coolant yet, but the level is 1/4 in below normal

 

[Lubener]

Nothing but guesses. Hose off the area, allow it to build pressure, shut off engine and crawl underneath to investigate.

 

[Kira]

A neighbor called me to look at a friend's Corolla which was losing coolant.
I don't know my Toyota engines (I wish I did) but this one had wee coolant hoses which were all "right angles" near the intake.
One of the hoses had the smallest leak you could possibly imagine.
It put out the finest mist...it was an atomizer.
I honestly think the flashlight's beam through the mist revealed the leak and I would've had a hard time seeing it in daylight.

 

[sw99]

My 2009 Corolla had a coolant smell for as long as I can remember. I could never find any leaks and I never lost any coolant.

 

[supton]

I noticed mine uses a bit of coolant, and looking online others indicate similar. I even have a splash of dried up pink on the underside of the hood--it puked out at some point! yet doesn't actually leak. Go figure. I guess it just needs topping off once a year.

I'd sooner think heater core, I'm not sure how much smell from the engine compartment gets into the car. Wet on the back of the engine, odd, but Toyota coolant dries out and leaves pink residue. If the area is staying wet then I'd think an oil weep, seep or leak.

Everything's a guess but maybe it's just a dried out hose. On my 10 year old Camry the PS line started weeping. I moved the clamp just a hair so it would clamp down in a new spot, and that resolved the issue. Maybe the lines are just getting up there in age.

 

[willbur]

My 2009 Corolla had a coolant smell for as long as I can remember. I could never find any leaks and I never lost any coolant.

Ours did too. Always looking for a leak. Read somewhere its the smell of hot plastic <shrug>

 

[Nukeman7]

My sister left me her Vibe while she is away for a few weeks, and told me the engine has been smelling like coolant for the past few weeks.

Had a look under the hood and noticed that the pass side rear corner of the engine is wet, and is probably a coolant leak.

Anyone here familiar with these 1.8 Toyo motors? What is back there that could leak coolant?
On my quick inspection I did not see any hoses back there....

Thanks!

Do yourself a favor and go to Autozone (or O'Reillys/ Advance Auto) and get this coolant system pressure test kit. I prefer the Powerbuilt kit because it has a comprehensive variety of radiator cap/overflow tank adapters that are lacking from many other brands. It is a free loaner tool but you will need to leave a fully refundable $250 deposit. Unless it is some really unusual anomaly, it should easily identify the leak if you pump the system up to ~14 to 16 psi.

 

[sw99]

The Harbor Freight "Pittsburg" version of that is a great option also just FYI.