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Okay so I think I am experiencing this, I just popped my hood to install my forge bypass valve and could smell coolant, I checked my coolant level (which I do once a week like a religion due to being paranoid lol) and it did go down a very little bit I think lol, pretty much if it did it is hard to tell.
Since I had the part and tools ready I went a head installed my bypass valve, I went to remove my zzp silicone intake to make more room and when I did I found coolant on the outside of the tube right near the turbo, So now I know I have a leak.
Anyways Install went great and since I have kinda narrowed down the leak I went ahead and started my car to inspect, I couldn't find or see anything, But I could be looking in the wrong place, I have read the previous posts and went back out too look and still can't figure it out. I do realize I could have a different leak and this is why i stated where I saw coolant.
The previous pictures in the first post aren't working so my question is can anyone post a picture of where I need to be looking and what part of the manifold gasket I should be bending?
Little update, I took a 2 hour trip to my parents place and 2 hours back home and the car ran fine, Except I did get the odd misfire when letting go and reapplying the gas, is this normal for lnfs? I could smell coolant under my hood and I also marked my over flow to see if the level changes and it actually went up ? about half an inch?
I am now thinking about pulling off my valve cover and just re-torque/check the torque on my head bolts? any ideas?
Also my car is a stock 08 lnf only parts under the hood is a zzp silicone intake tube and now the forge bypass valve besides that it is completely stock.
No one has experienced this since the original op ? and/or if my problem is different no one has experienced coolant on the outside of there intake tube?
Also I did drive the car today to and from work and coolant level didn't move from the mark I made on the tank.
During a visual inspection I can not see where the leak is coming from, The only wet marks I see is on the top of my intake beside the turbo and then dripping around and to the bottom, Everything else I have touched is dry.
If no one responds with any ideas before this weekend, I will pull the valve cover and check/re-torque my head bolts since I am totally lost here.
Yea I just didn't want to start a new thread and annoy anyone, Maybe I will have to lol
I guess I was thinking someone who has experienced this could help me out, Doesn't have to be a previous poster, But I shall start a thread tom if I don't get anything by then, Thanks for the bump by the way.
Hey T-fog, I'm not on here much anymore and I forgot I changed my FB privacy settings. Oops. Here's the original 2 images. It was a leak off the coolant drain line from the turbo, not the actual intake.
Last edited by YelloEye; Oct 23, 2015 at 09:29 PM.
Thank you sir, No worries man I kinda had a feeling you where still around so I thought I would wait to see if you would pop back in.
Okay I will inspect this sunday, I only looked at the rubber lines I didn't think the metal one got cut lol holy crap
Another question to jog your memory, Where about did you notice or have the leak drip?
I know I may have a different issue since I do know my intake tube right beside turbo is getting dripped on and then it is dripping from there down to the ground.
Lucky it is parked for winter, But I am stopping by on sunday to put a couple parts on so I will inspect where you stated to look.
That tube runs from the bottom of the turbo down and then towards the driver's side. I think I noticed steam and fluid under the car, nothing top side to see.
Uploaded the images here and placed inline for posterity.
Originally Posted by YelloEye
So Friday night heading to dinner I noticed a smell of coolant coming from the engine bay and decided that though I wasn't low on coolant, I should definitely figure out where that smell was coming from. Saturday rolls around and I park the car in the garage at work, hour later there's a small puddle of DexCool on the ground just behind the motor. Well she didn't lose much coolant after that, just a bit while the system was pressurized. Promptly after work I snagged 4 gallons of distilled water to ensure I would make it to my friend's house so we could put it up on ramps and figure out where it was coming from.
I get it to his house and I can hear coolant hitting either the turbo or exhaust manifold. We pressurize the system with an air compressor and discover that there is coolant spraying onto the gasket between the turbo and exhaust manifold. Too dark to do anything so we pick it up the next day. I buy the banjo bolt gaskets and pull the turbo coolant return pipe off to discover this nice little gash in it:
Turns out the manifold gasket actually cut the pipe somehow, so I bent the gasket down flat so it wouldn't rub any more and tossed some QuikSteel onto the cut spot:
I spoke with a dealership before I pulled everything apart and they said the coolant pipe wouldn't be covered under the 100k mi powertrain warranty. So I elected to just patch and replace it myself. Ordered a new pipe from GMpartsdirect.com for $70shipped and will hopefully be putting that on next weekend.
TL;DR? Exhaust manifold to Turbo gasket cut turbo coolant return pipe, GM said no warranty on that part, bent the gasket, patched pipe myself and will be replacing with an OEM piece soon.
I did end up installing a new pipe like a week later, it came with both banjo fittings on either end so had new hardware installed as well. No issue with it since.
