Thanks Bill. I've got the exact same symtoms. Can you or anyone else tell me where these gaskets are located? I can see that apparently the water pump is at the front driver'* side of the engine. I see a black metal line running forward, but it is connected by a rubber tube.

Well, I got the car back from the dealer and the work order claimed the problem was a gasket that was mis-aligned. I still smell antifreeze when I park the car in the garage, but I don't get the small puddles I was getting right before I took it into service. I purchased the GMPP extended warranty for an additional 3 years/ 36k miles since I can't see buying a new car as this one only has 13k on it now. The extended warranty cost me $1180, but that'* chump change compared to a major repair on this engine or trans. I hope my problem is resolved!

There may still be some traces of anti-freeze that you'll smell for a little while. Let'* hope it'* all good. IMO, you definitely made the right choice in purchasing the GMPP warranty! It seems like a few hundred dollars to even open the hood these days. If it makes you feel any better, mine was over $2K and extended it to 5 years or 120,000 km. Welcome to Canada!

Well, seen as how I started this post, I'll finish it up by saying my cross over gaskets were leaking. The dealer charged $741 for the repair, with it only costing me $100 with my warranty. I knew it was a good idea to buy that warranty! I'm hoping that nothing will go wrong now for a while. The steering shaft is starting to "pop", but I know how to lube or "maintain" it as GM puts it. It will be quiet for another 15K miles. It'* already been replaced once. I don't see messing with another trip to the shop to replace my bad part with another bad part.

Thanks all!!
Gary

Hopefully all remains well. Not to deviate from the original topic, but I had my intermediate steering shaft replaced almost 50,000km ago (approx. 30,000mi) and I haven't had even a hint of a problem since. Just hoping it stays this way.

The gaskets are between the waterpump housing and the block. The crossover allows water to circulate from one head to the other. The Tech had to remove the cover over the belt that drives the water pump to see it. They said that whole assembly had to be removed.

Gary! Good to see you on here....I pop in and out of the forums every few months to see what'* new or check on a problem with GXP. Fortunately mine has been great for 5 years and almost 140,000 miles! I had it in for minor warranty stuff in the first year (fogs, steering shaft), but haven't visited a shop since then. I have the gauge cluster issue and now it looks like i have the oil cooler line leak, but otherwise this has been the most trouble-free car I've owned. We'll have to get together for that beer and swap GXP stories sometime soon.
Sean

It is probably a freeze plug in the block, most likely the back of the block. You cannot see it as the transaxle only allows about a 1/4 inch of space between it and the engine itself. But if you follow it (it'* easier when the engine is cold), you'll see it eventually flows down the crossover exhaust pipe and down to the ground.

Your best bet, without removal of the engine is to go to NAPA and pick up some Block Seal. You will need to be able to let the car sit for 24 hours also. So plan accordingly.

Essentially drain the cooling system. Once drained, refill with water and a can of this Block Seal. Run the motor until it fully warms, cooling system purges water is topped off, and it runs at normal operating temps. I'd let it run for 20 minutes or so, so that this Block Seal product can circulate thoroughly through the engine.

Drain this water/block seal out, letting the cooling system comepletely drain, and leave drainc-o-c-k open for at least 24 hours. This will allow the Block Seal to set up and do it'* job.

After 24 hours, refill with a mix of DexCool just like normal, purge, top-off, etc...

It'll probably be a good time to do hoses while you're doing the system flush. The upper radiator hose may be a pain in the butt to locate as they aren't commonly stocked items.