Passenger side coolant leak

I have a 2012 Escape with the 4cyl engine.
The water (coolant) pump is located on the front of the engine.
This would be on the passenger side of the car. Towards the front, on the passenger side, the top pulley is an idler, the next one down is the water pump.
And yes, the lower radiator hose does attach to the engine right behind the water pump.
The 6cyl Escape may be different.

Hi, maybe you have a faulty water pump or gasket, it's better that a mechanic check it as soon it's possible.

Well, if the coolant is leakimg from the HVAC drain, then you need a heater core, no matter what. You really have to jack it up and look, but I can give you a couple of pointers......

1. The water pump is leaking. That happens a lot. The coolant is leaking near the front of the car, near the center, but ever so slightly towards the drivers side. You need a special tool to replace it and I think gm has an updated cover and gasket.

2. The water pump housing is leaking. The gaskets that seal it to the block are made of plastic and deteriorate often. The coolant will be leaking at the center of the car, maybe up by the water pump, or back between the engine and transmission.

3. The heater hoses. I have only seen this 2 time, but the metal pipes corrode along the fire wall.

4. You could need a radiator. I have seen the side tanks leak a few times.....


Just A couple of places to look, but you have to get under and look....

look for a leak from the drain hole under the pump housing, if no leak not a water pump
take the car to a radiator specialist shop and have a coolant pressure test done to determine where the leak is
if it has plastic tanks for the radiator , they split with time and leak under pressure and a pressure test will reveal exactly where the leak is unlike a guess

If you have the V6 (2.5L) engine, be advised: it's a wearing task. Just getting to the radiator drain plug can be a problem without a 3/8 inch drive ratchet, a 3 inch extension, a universal joint. and a 19 mm socket. The drain plug is on the passenger side of the radiator on the engine side. The 19mm socket will fit over the drain plug to turn it open.
The coolant plumbing on this engine is the craziest I have ever seen. The thermostat is on the rear face of the engine (where the radiator hoses connect), but not on the upper hose where it connects to the upright pipe with the radiator cap on it, it is on the lower hose connection. Pull that hose off the housing, and remove the three bolts holding the thermostat housing to the engine. It will help if you first remove the big air inlet hose from the air filter housing to the throttle body. I wouldn't even bother with the thermostat till you have found the leak. Is any coolant leaking from the front of the engine, dripping off the bottom behind the crank pulley? That would be a water pump problem or SEAL, an o-ring on the back of the water pump. Now get on the driver's side and look around on the rear of engine nearest the firewall where engine and transaxle mate. Look down there for signs of coolant coming from rear of engine and running down onto the transaxle case. There is a metal pipe laying in the valley below the lower intake manifold, connecting the water pump at the front and the rear housing where the radiator hoses and heater hoses connect. This metal pipe uses an o-ring for a seal into the water pump, and the same size o-ring to connect to the rear housing. If one of those o-rings is leaking, you have a big problem getting to it.. I took the rear housing off once (never again!), Now I'm taking the water pump off to fix a leak. The water pump is run by the timing belt, so the front of engine needs to be stripped down, and the timing belt removed to take off the water pump. That metal pipe is held in place by a bracket with one bolt on the rear of engine; it may require taking the lower intake off (again) to get to both of those pesky o-rings. I hope you don't have the same problem, and if you have the 4 cylinder engine, the thermostat is a snap to replace, plus you don't have that crazy plumbing problem.

Put a large piece of light paper under the cars or truck motor area and let it set overnight. In the morning see what color the fluid is. Put your finger in the fluid that has leaked if any is there and see if it feels like water or oil. Coolant could be orange or green depending on the type you use. Coolant can sometimes be confused with transmission fluid. Check the water hoses that go into the dashboard for leaks. Also check for dampness on the passenger side of the front seat on the carpet area. If it is wet it is your heater coil that has a leak. Hope this hopes.

CHECK FOR LEAKING WATER PUMP WEEP HOLE OR GASKET.ALSO CHECK WATER PUMP HOSE FOR LEAKS.IF ALL LOOKS GOOD.YOU COULD HAVE PINHOLE LEAKS IN RADIATOR CORE LEAKING ON FRONT OF ENGINE OR INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAKING COOLANT.

The water pump is next to front right wheel, so if it is leaking around there chances are that it is the water pump...try checking the radiator by flushing water through it and checking for leaks, if not well then it has to be the water pump.

Make sure it's cool, pop the radiator cap, Remove the shield on the passenger side between the tire and front of engine. Relieve the tension on the serp belt,draw yourself a diagram of the pulleys and belt routing in case the sticker is gone on the strut tower, remove the serp belt. Take the bolts out of the pulley on the front of the water pump (3). Remove the lower radiator hose at the front cover to drain the coolant. Remove the 6 mm bolts holding the water pump to the front cover housing. tap on the pump with a rubber hammer. Install a new gasket on the new pump, and a weap hole diverter in the pump (round black about hte size of a quarter), use old one if there's no new one. Install pupm and tighten bolts snug with a 1/4" ratchet. Install pulley and 3 bolts. Install belt, top off radiator with 50/50 mix green coolant. start engine and run to operating temperature,make sure the belt is seated in all of the pulleys and is running true, radiator fans should come on. Shut engine down and let cool overnight. Check level in radiator and overflow bottle, top off as necessary.

Known head gasket problems on those cars. Suburu dealership have a good product called stop leak. Use that first add a bottle into the radiator run the car to operating temp. Recheck the belly pan for leaks. hope this helps.