found my leak!! bhg :(

fixitman04

fixitman04

fixer of all things !!
Sep 18, 2008
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i have a coolant leak that i cannot find. :1zhelp:

i have been steadily loosing coolant. but the kicker is that the system will hold 14 psi all day long(had the tester on the car for 12 hrs and did not loose any pressure) i get a good sized puddle every time i park and no dripping at all running and warm???? i have looked immediatly after getting home and the whole front of the engine is wet with nothing visably leaking. the car does not overheat on my stock or my aftermarket gauge. but i fill the bottle daily and have to top off the radiator occasionally.

im a former gm,honda,toyota tech im stumped! what am i missing?:icon_evil:icon_evil
 
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fixitman04

fixitman04

fixer of all things !!
Sep 18, 2008
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no, i have removed it and inspected it. no leaks. it looks like it is coming from either the water pump or the t-stat housing. but i cant tell because when wet it is all over the front of the engine bay... and i cant get the damn thing to leak when im watching.
 
RacerXJ220

RacerXJ220

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Mar 30, 2005
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Maybe one of your coolant lines isn't sealing with the pressure when warm, or one of those lines is about to rip itself a new one.

My lower rad hose leaked a bit when warm, I readjusted the clamp (stock) and the problem went away.
 
mkiii222

mkiii222

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Mar 31, 2005
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I had the same exact problem.

Mine ended up being the water pump gasket. It would leak only during warm-up/cool-down. Hot it was fine and cold it was fine, but it dripped steadily anywhere in between. It was leaking down directly behind the crank pulley.

PITA to track down. I'd lose 1/2 gallon of coolant every 3-4 weeks.
 
fixitman04

fixitman04

fixer of all things !!
Sep 18, 2008
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exactly, i can drive mine all day,and only loose a puddles worth of coolant. getting really tired of smelling coolant. filling the damn bottle is getting old as well. hopefully whatever it is blows soon, because i cant trust my car right now.

im loosing about a gallon a week
 
mkiii222

mkiii222

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My bet is the water pump or the '90 degree' hose on the bottom of the t-stat housing (I haven't had a problem with it, but there's been countless posts about it).

The only other things in that area are the upper radiator hose or the t-stat housing gasket.
 
fixitman04

fixitman04

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Sep 18, 2008
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dye is worthless. especially on a leak like this where it is all over the engine when it is wet. it will deposit dye everywhere the coolant is. i have a dye kit. i have never sucessfully found a leak with it(that couldent be spotted without it). i have been a mechanic since 97 and have worked on thousands of coolant leaks.

this damn car is teasing me... i had a puddle this morning leaving work.... i had a puddle at denny's for breakfast.... i had no decernable leaks either time(coolant all over the front of the engine, but nothing flowing)..... i had no puddle at home, no leaks either.... i sat in the driveway for 2 hours watching the car cool down! it still has coolant in the radiator all the way to the top.
 
shaeff

shaeff

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fixitman04;1346902 said:
dye is worthless. especially on a leak like this where it is all over the engine when it is wet. it will deposit dye everywhere the coolant is. i have a dye kit. i have never sucessfully found a leak with it(that couldent be spotted without it). i have been a mechanic since 97 and have worked on thousands of coolant leaks.

this damn car is teasing me... i had a puddle this morning leaving work.... i had a puddle at denny's for breakfast.... i had no decernable leaks either time(coolant all over the front of the engine, but nothing flowing)..... i had no puddle at home, no leaks either.... i sat in the driveway for 2 hours watching the car cool down! it still has coolant in the radiator all the way to the top.
Click to expand...

LOL, if you say so. So why don't you wipe down everything that's wet, start the car, and look for where the dye comes out? You're making this much more difficult than it has to be, and it's all because of user error, or you refusing to think outside the box. There's never been a leak on any of my vehicles that I couldn't find within but a few minutes of looking.

I've never been a mechanic, haven't had to spot thousands of coolant leaks, and don't work on thousands of cars/year, but every time I'm confronted with a leak, I've found it. From drips, to weeping oil from a tiny void in the oil pan gasket, to waterpumps, hard-to-reach hoses, etc...

I suggest you clean your engine bay, put some dye in the cooling system, start the car, and watch...
 
jetjock

jetjock

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Jul 11, 2005
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Well, to each his own. I've found dozens of leaks that weren't visible without dye and I've yet to be stumped by any leak. After all this is hardly rocket science. However since I've never made my living as a mechanic or worked on thousands of leaks I'll defer to your experience :nono:


edit: beaten by shaeff...
 
fixitman04

fixitman04

fixer of all things !!
Sep 18, 2008
787
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north dakota
i have cleaned the engine off daily trying to find this damn leak.. i will eventually find it. i have pressure tested it both cold and warm. with no pressure loss! it should loose pressure on my tester if it is actively leaking. it should leak on any pressure test. that is what is pissing me off about it. this is a heat cycle leak it is only leaking at a certain temp i just have to be there with pressure on it.
 
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