I had a suspension check and wheel alignment carried out today on my SV8 by my usual workshop and the mechanic noticed that the engine has developed a slight coolant leak in rear right hand side region. It is significant enough to be seeping along the right side of the transmission housing. Due to time constraints, he was unable to investigate the problem further and the overflow tank level doesn't seem to be obliviously abnormal. His advice was to not panic, keep a regular watch on the coolant level of the overflow tank and make sure that the problem gets repaired before summer starts here or any long journeys are undertaken.
Before I start to dismantle the engine, is there an issue with coolant leaks in this area of the engine that anybody else has encountered previously?
The car has travelled 123,000Km.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

It could be the water pump. I just got a coolant leak fixed in August it was an intercooler hose. And there was another leak last month it seemed to be a hose. When I took into my regular service shop, he took apart a lot of things and it turned out it was a water pump and a couple o-rings for a couple hoses.i finally got my car back last week, it took them one week to find the problem. It is very common for the water pump to go bad, specifically for the 09 SC. I had no problems with the water pump in my 09 SC, until now and I have 115,000 miles. Generally, water pumps are supposed to last 100,000 miles or so, so mine probably wasn't faulty it was just an age issue. Anyways good luck.

 

Thanks for sharing your recent experiences with this but from what I understand, at the right hand rear section of the S/C engine there is only pipework for the heater and for the EGR valve. The 2 pumps plus the plumbing for the intercoolers are at the front of the engine according to the manual.

Can anybody confirm or dispute this please?

 

I wouldn’t drive it for long with a coolant leak. If something splits by the time you know there is a problem you may have destroyed the engine

I’d suggest having it pressure tested. Should be pretty easy to find the leak. Lots of plastic and connectors - could easily be any of those that have aged from the heat cool cycles

 

There is also a heater hose below the supercharger that leaks. It connects to engine block under supercharger and runs to the Throttle Body. These are quite common, but not that bad of a job to do yourself. Below is what the hose looks like. Best to have it pressure tested first to locate the leak, if you cant see anything at the top or in front, most likely this will be the culprit.

 

My mechanic confirmed today that no leaks exist and I received confirmation from the previous owners mechanical workshop this afternoon that the hose under the supercharger plus the hoses connected to the EGR valve were replaced less than 12 months ago. The coolant stain on the engine and transmission must just be residual from this because no fresh coolant has appeared at any time during pressure testing.

WHEW!!!

 

Lucky you.... might be wise to have cleaned off at some point so it doesn't get mistaken.