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Puddle of coolant

C

CLASSVT

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
737
Location
Fort Wayne, In
Opened my garage door to find a puddle of coolant in front of my car. It was not under my car exactly, but I assume there is a slight slope to the garage floor. It was a good sized puddle, and my coolant light had come on momentarily yesterday. I still have enough coolant in my resevoir, and I have not been smelling any coolant burning. But I looked under the car and found a drop of coolant ready to drip off of the frame, right behind the radiator on the driver side. What are your thoughts on where the leak could be coming from? Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
first things first, get a drop light, and follow the coolant to the source. probably just a hose or something
 
I planned on getting under the car after work, to see if I could find the source. As long as I don't smell coolant burning, should I not worry too much?:shrug: I guess it's a little silly to think that any of you could tell me where the leak is coming from, without seeing it. I suppose I was just curious if anyone had similar experiences.
 
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Coming from the drivers side i can only think it could be a loose hose clamp or perhaps the washer for the radiator drain plug has perished
 
Mine did that when the WP started to fail in would shove the coolant back up the reserve tank and spew all over.I checked my hose and clamps and even changed my t-stat,but in the end it was the WP.....just tryin to offer my help
 
The first thing to do is to fill the coolant back to half inch above max line. If it is leaking at one of the above posted places, it should leak again after it is warmed up, driven for a while and shut off again. The leak should then be more pronounced. If not, clean the suspected areas well, dry well, sprinkle talcum powder, warm up, drive, shut off the engine and then check inspect again.
 
After checking all the obvious and have not found anything, you may also want to check with the radiator under pressure, the crimps on the tanks come loose and you get a leak.

I suspect after the system pressurizes you will find it!
 
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Thanks for all of the replies. I haven't had a chance to get under the car yet because of work schedule. I have been actively checking the coolant level and looking for more puddles, but level has remained constant and no more puddles so far. I'll get under the car tomorrow and see what I find. Thanks for all the help.
 
Found it. The hose that returns to the top of the resevoir had been cut by the small belt over near the IMRC. I cleaned it up, sealed it, and re-routed it farther away from the pulley/belt and outside of the IMRC cover. When I was in there I noticed the cable from the IMRC was also rubbing against the pulley and was beginning to wear.:blackeye: So I tried to tuck the cable away from the pulley, hopefully it doesn't wander back under it.

EDIT: The sealant didn't hold. There's a puddle of coolant under my car again. Any ideas on how to seal the small hole? Would it be ok to cut that section of hose, and fit both ends into a larger hose with clamps on both ends? Seems like it should work.
 
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It's hard to explain, but the hose is molded into a cross-connection on a larger hose. In other words, I can't just buy the one hose, it would probably have to be the whole assembly.
 
Fixed it. I cut the bad section out of the hose, then reconnected both ends by inserting a tube through the middle. Follwed by some hose clamps, it works perfectly.:cool: Thanks.
 
CLASSVT said:
... Any ideas on how to seal the small hole? Would it be ok to cut that section of hose, and fit both ends into a larger hose with clamps on both ends? Seems like it should work.
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Cut the hose, install a plastic hose connector of the same Inner Diamater of the rubber hose, two hose clamps on its ends and you are done. That is how a Preston coolant flush kit works. ;)
 
Tony2005 said:
Cut the hose, install a plastic hose connector of the same Inner Diamater of the rubber hose, two hose clamps on its ends and you are done. That is how a Preston coolant flush kit works. ;)
Click to expand...


Thanks, if you read the post above yours that is exactly what I did.;)
 
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