Hi guys,

I just joined and was not wanting this to be my first post but I need your advice. Tonight when I got home I noticed a burning coolant smell on our 2001 Trailblazer (V6 Vortec engine) so I popped the hood and looked under the car but couldn't see anything. So I thought maybe it was a freak thing as I drive 45 minutes to and from work and thought maybe it just overflowed a little.

Well later that night I went and picked up my neighbor from work and when I got home I smelt it again and looked underneath and there was a lot of coolant coming out. I tried to see where the leak was and the closest I could find was somewhere around the water pump/hose area but couldn't see any exact leak area.

So my question is has anyone experienced this before and if so what was your issue? Also if it is the water pump, would it leak that bad?

I'm hoping it's just the hose but I can't see the underside that well, I'll need to take off the skid plate and see if I can find it.

For a little background...
Over the past weekend I took it up to Wyoming (I live in Colorado) to go Antelope hunting (didn't get any) in the Muddy Mountain Ranch area. Took it on some pretty good trails and it seemed to do great, no issues, crawled the rocks just fine and got me home without issues. I'm just hoping that maybe I just punctured the hose and it got worse over the past couple of days. About the roughest part on the whole trip was the dirt road heading up, lots of washboards but I took those pretty slowly, about 20 mph. I didn't bottom out. About the only thing I can think of that may have done it was a sagebrush I went over. I had pulled off the main road to allow other vehicles to pass as I was helping my buddy with his antelope and drove over some knee high sagebrush.

So any thoughts or suggestions you all may have and be willing to share I would greatly appreciate it. (I'll post pics of the trails later.)

 

Yes, I have had water pump seals go that fast. And also hoses.
..but.. it could be worse than that.
World's Worst Intake Manifold Coolant Leak - YouTube
If you think about it, it really doesnt matter if we've had the same deal or not.. whatever it is, you gotta fix it.

Whatever you do, do NOT dump some stop-leak crap in it!

 

I'm not certain what year GM started using Dex-Cool resistant gaskets, but there is a common issue with the intake manifold gaskets failing and allowing coolant to go places it shouldn't. The '97 I'm rebuilding had the issue, but I'm not sure if 2001 is susceptible.

Here's hoping it's just a hose... but if not, here are some of the links I've collected on the subject:

World's Worst Intake Manifold Coolant Leak - YouTube

https://blazerforum.com/forum/2nd-ge...?ref=ccm-ext-2

How To Replace Intake Manifold Gaskets On A GMC Jimmy 4.3 Liter V6 To Fix A Coolant Leak - GM Truck Engine Repairs

Chev / GMC Misfire, poppet injector diagnosis, troubleshooting and replacement - YouTube

 

Beat me to it!

 

GAAAAA! Don't show me those things! I can't handle gory stuff! Luckily I don't have that issue! It's definitely coming from the bottom. I haven't done much along the side of mechanic work in quite some time but from what I remember, if a water pump goes out it just goes out. No major leakage or anything like that other than the little weep hole most of them have. I think this is a hose issue. I'm taking tomorrow off so I have some light and take off the skid plate and see if I can find the issue.

Here's to hoping it's just a hose!

 

I got some of the pics posted from probably the most technical part of the trails we were on. I put them in this thread.

 

Looks like its the water pump seal thats gone bad. I hate doing those things so gonna get it into a shop.

 

Do a pressure test on it that will tell you where it is leaking. I have replaced my water pump and the intake gaskets on mine. Its a 97however.

 

My '96 LS started losing coolant, but had no idea where. Took it to a local shop and put a pressure tester on it. Immediately, coolant started coming out of the relief valve on the bottom of the water pump. It was fine when it was cold, but once it warmed up, it would start seeping out of that relief valve.

You can't see the valve unless you get under the truck, but it's behind the pulley. If it's wet around that area, a new water pump is in order.

 

I'm taking it in this afternoon which they'll probably do the pressure check. Lidberg, I bet your scenario is it as thats exactly what it does. It's fine cold but once it gets warmed up the rivers start a flowin!