Technical Coolant leak

[Waffleman07]

Hi I have a problem where I have a quite severe coolant leak and it seems to be coming from the above the exhaust flex point I've put a picture of the area it seems to be coming from sorry it's not the best but I am unable to get under the car properly and I was just wondering If it's serious, I can also hear a glugging sound from the passenger footwell and don't know if it is because of the leak.

 

[koalar]

Don't run the car any distance untill it's fixed

What start as a simple.fix.can quickly escalate

Could be from a few things,.needs eyes on investigation I am afraid

Thermostat, welch plug or oil cooler would be my guess. But that really is just a shot in the dark

You normally don't have to get under the car, often but a torch often helps

Look for red staining, damp, feel the underside of the hoses also

 

[Mike1alike]

and I was just wondering If it's serious, I can also hear a glugging sound from the passenger footwell and don't know if it is because of the leak.

It is very serious. If you run the engine in that state you'll blow the head gasket in no time, if you didn't already.
Yes, sound from passenger footwell is because if leak. Coolant leaked from the system and heater matrix there has some air in it too, instead of just coolant. And that gurgles.

 

[DaveMcT]

Leaking onto the exhaust pipe is probably the steel pipe from the back of the water pump. It runs between block and exhaust catalyst and notable for corrosion.
Pattern parts are cheap (I have one) but it does make bleeding the system more difficult.