Mystery leak under car

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

98 GS 420A
I noticed today that my car has been leaking something onto the ground.
I think its water from the overflow tank because the oil is not getting low, and the overflow tank and radiator were filled up recently(2 weeks ago). I poured some water from a cup down the same area where the overflow tank line drains and the spot where the new water had hit the ground was in almost the same spot as the original spot it was about an inch closer to the front of the car.. but the same distance from spot to tire. My overflow bottle was filled to a little over the full mark with straight water and is now half full(2 weeks later), the radiator has straight antifreeze, and the oil is new as well so its a brownish color.. Is this normal for it to discharge onto the ground for awhile? Also, what else could be leaking over there(passenger side parallel to the tire and fog light if you want a visual location.. I tried to feel under there right above where the leak is coming from and there is no oil or antifreeze or anything.. nothing is wet.. which is why I am led to believe its the overflow tank draining water. BTW I already read the forums and heard that if it is the overflow tank then I need a new radiator cap because the cap stops holding pressure causing the overflow tank to drain when it shouldn't or something.. So this thread is basically to figure out what the possible causes are.. Do you all agree that it sounds like the radiator overflow tank or something else. Keep in mind, I replaced the oil pump seal and water pump/seal on that side about 3 weeks ago. Those dont seem to be leaking at this time.. and when I checked 3 weeks ago the HG shows no sign of leaking..The cam seals and valve cover are also not leaking, the radiator and hoses are new and not leaking even though those are ruled out by the location of the leak on the ground.

Sorry for posting in the 420a Bolt on tech but if I post in the problem diagnosis I get 4g63 answers which may or may not be the same. Also, when I searched, most problems that relate to our 420a come up in the 420a bolt on section anyway.. I figure this helps future searchers who have a problem with the 420a.

 

[DSM1G90]

the radiator has straight antifreeze

You really need to get that down to the 50/50 mix with water. Doesn't do you any good running straight and it really can't pull the heat away from the block effectively than when you have the proper 50/50 mix.

Is the leak green with color or clear - You running A/C for that could be the water condensation coming from the evaporator core inside the cabin.

And get a new cap, for if you don't, you'll get a boilover and blow all the coolant out of the system and could torch a HG.

 

[heckles]

if your not overheating it could be a bad radiator cap.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

+1 to the 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water.

 

[thewombis]

50/50 + some Redline Water Wetter. Stuff really works well.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

I'm not having an overheating problem and the stuff on the ground doesn't look like antifreeze or oil. When I wrote straight antifreeze I meant the 50/50 stuff.. Sorry for the mistyping, it was to imply that there is not straight water in there.
Could it be the cap even though the overflow never fills up?
Also, its not the A/C because I havent turned the A/C on since last summer.
The leak looks like water, no signs of brown like oil and no signs of green like antifreeze, nor does it look like power steering fluid, and it doesnt have a smell.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

quote... Could it be the cap even though the overflow never fills up?

No.

As for what you have leaking, I'm like WTF

If you say it looks/smells like water and the only place you have straight water is in the overflow reservior and the leak is only right under that reservior then I would guess that you have a cracked/leaking reservior. Maybe take out the overflow reservior and check it over real good for any cracks/leaks. If you're sure it's not that then I don't know what else it would be. Good luck friend

 

[Defiant]

If you aren't in snow, use 30% antifreeze to water.

Your AC condenser is pulling moisture from the air, as it's supposed to.

 

[EclipticalGS]

Def. stole my post

+1 to 30/70 mix, straight antifreeze and straight water have low boiling temps. but a nice mix of 50/50 in the winter can really help to not freeze, but 30/70 in summertime is cooler temps.
Please dont ever use orange, with the green mixed either, a oil change place mixed the 2 and i had mud coming out of my heater core return pipe.

nvm, anyway

+2 A/C moisture drips.

 

[wwarlock]

Are you running your defrost. That will turn your A/C on and you will get condensed water from that.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

I am not sure what was wrong but since I replaced the radiator cap the problem went away.. There have been no leaks whatsoever after doing that. However, the overflow tank never filled up.. not even when I let it run and drove it for 30 minutes..

 

[Defiant]

It's an expansion tank. Fill the radiator cap, then fill the expansion tank. Go for a drive, come back home, cool the car off and re-fill the expansion tank. Do it three times and your cooling system -if it's healthy- will have purged itself of any air.

 

[chiuchimu]

It's an expansion tank. Fill the radiator cap, then fill the expansion tank. Go for a drive, come back home, cool the car off and re-fill the expansion tank. Do it three times and your cooling system -if it's healthy- will have purged itself of any air.

Exactly, and also, when you put the tube back into the overflow reservoir, make sure its not kinked. The 2G reservoir is bizarre design. A kinked tube inside the reservoir will let overflow coolant out of the radiator and into the reservoir, but during cool down won't let the coolant back into the radiator system! The reservoir will keep rising and eventually overflow. If not noticed, it will appear to be a leak in the coolant system.