Looks like I'm about to get some good in-depth experience with my coolant system...
Background: On Easter I hit a large raccoon doing about 45mph. Impact was passenger front. The damage appeared superficial; cobwebbed fiberglass and some paint loss, but I was happy that at least it didn't break the bumper or even crack it.
A few weeks later I noticed my car was running pretty hot. I topped off the coolant and looked for signs of a leak but found none, so I called it good.
Another few weeks later the same thing. Spent a little more time, broke out the Haynes, but still no signs of a leak.
Then last week, she overheated quickly and bad enough to fry my thermostat. So a few days ago I replaced the thermostat and, while I was at it, drained and flushed the water system as per Haynes. Checked for leaks again and again found none.
Now today, I drove 10 minutes into town, and as I was parking I noticed the smell of antifreeze, then that the temp was just about redlining. Got out and found a steady stream of coolant pouring from the bottom of the radiator, just behind where that god-forsaken creature hit my baby. So this is what I saw:

This is the view from the center of the bumper, facing the passenger side. The leak was coming from somewhere above that grommet or whatever tf it is. At first I thought maybe the drain plug came loose until I got under there. You can see the drain spout behind the stream of coolant. It appeared to be draining from that grommet, so to make sure, I shoved a napkin behind it on the passenger side and it stopped the leak, until it saturated the napkin of course. So I look in from the front of the bumper and this is what I see:


I don't have time ATM to start digging, but I will here in a few hours. Just wanted to get some opinions of where this leak may be coming from or what may be causing it. I'll check back in a few hours when I get home before I start on her. Thanks guys (and gals).

 

pressurize the system, you can borrow/rent a tool from auto zone or advanced auto, then slide under the car where you think or know the damage was look in that area, I would bet a hairline crack in the radiator tank or a cut in the lower hose

 

neon radiators have plastic tops and bottoms, wich dont take impact's well, when my neon got wrecked it went under the rear end of a tahoe so most the damage was high took out alot of top parts of the engine and crushed in the passenger side a bit, but when i was able to bend the hood anough to get it open, i noticed i was leaking water/coolant but the radiator showed no signs of damage, so when i was straightning out the front clip i took the radiator out and noticed it was slightly bent and caused a small crack on the plastic top, so i look around and found out if its just the plastic houseing well messed up you can get it fixed, but that is not the route i took i found a aftermarket one for 75$ brand new, and it would of cost 50 to fix the old one, and from what i read around the stock neon radiators are known to blow out around 100,000 so i figured it was worth the other 25 bucks just to get a new one and not have to worrie about it, but like i said you can repair it too if its just the plastic top or bottom messed up.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I got it out and found the leak:

I'm off to pick up the new one now. Any tips on putting the new one in? This is my first time replacing a radiator.

 

patience... lots of patience.. when i did mine it was a pita to get the old one out and the new one back in. the computer and electronics next to it got in the way plus there isn't a whole lot of room to work with. if it's an auto i'd suggest 2 containers for catching the trans fluid when you remove the cooler lines and top off the trans fluid.

 

I got her fixed. The PCM was a PITA taking out the fan, so I unhooked it so I could move it around. I didn't even play with it putting the fan back in (didn't want to damage the new fins). I unplugged all the connections (which come to find out are color coded) and took it out. Made it much easier. The hardest part getting the new one in for me was getting it to sit in the condenser and line up. Wasn't too bad, but was kind of tricky. So I got it all back in, drove for 10mins to open the thermostat and pressurize the system, and did my leak test (parked over a clean piece of cardboard), while I let it cool off. Two hours later, no leaks so I topped off the tranny fluid and coolant. This morning I checked, and still no leaks. So operation successful. I'm proud of myself: First time changing out a radiator and I did it perfecto