How to Check for Cooling System Leaks in a Pontiac Bonneville

Iskandar Blogger 10:56 PM

To keep your Pontiac Bonneville in top working condition, it's important to perform periodic maintenance inspections. If you check for cooling system leaks on a regular basis, you could catch a problem in its early stages, saving you the money and effort required to fix the much larger problem of an overheated and damaged engine later.

Instructions

    1

    Move your Pontiac Bonneville from its original parking space and check the area underneath. You should be able to spot any leaked coolant as all coolant comes in bright colors like orange, red, green or blue. However, if there aren't any signs of leakage, there still could be a cooling system leak, because the engine heat could have vaporized the coolant before it ever reached the ground.

    2

    Open the hood and inspect the cooling system hoses. Look for any bulges, splits or cracks. Check where the hoses connect to the radiator, engine and heater core respectively. These connections can loosen over time due to engine vibration. Verify whether there is fresh coolant, corrosion or discoloration to confirm the cooling system leak.

    3

    Inspect the Pontiac Bonneville's water pump and the gasket seal for any signs of fresh coolant, discoloration or corrosion. The water pump is behind the engine fan, and the gasket seal secures the water pump to the engine block.

    4

    Use a flashlight to examine the radiator for any signs of leakage. Again, these signs are discoloration, corrosion or freshly leaked fluid. Inspect the underside of the radiator carefully because rocks and other road debris can damage the radiator during the normal course of operation.

    5

    Remove the radiator cap and fill the radiator with fresh coolant until it's about to overflow. Be very careful when you open the radiator, as the internal pressure can cause an eruption and burn anyone in the area.

    6

    Start the Pontiac Bonneville with the heater on high and allow it to run like this for about 15 minutes. Sometimes, leaks may not be visible unless you operate the car long enough for them to surface, such as heating the engine up so that pinch or pinhole leaks show up in your hoses.

    7

    Switch off the engine and re-inspect all the auto parts from the previous steps. If you still can't find the leak, then it's probably an internal problem. In which case, seek the services of a cooling system specialist to diagnose your Pontiac Bonneville further.