Strange radiator leak

crowz · Apr 14, 2012

Ok this is a new one. I just parked the truck and notice antifreeze dripping from the front of the truck. So I climbed under the truck and its leaking antifreeze around the 2 hoses that connect to the radiator on the passenger side at the bottom. Also the corner of the radiator mount has antifreeze on it. I cant figure out where its coming from. Its dry above the hoses, both hoses look fine and they arent wet except on the bottom side. Anyone else had this happen?

crowz · Apr 14, 2012

Heres a few pics of the problem.

The leak seen from the front of the truck.

From under the truck.

In this last one you can see its dry above the leak.

crowz · Apr 15, 2012

Also a movie of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz2SOCrVROk

Zaairman · Apr 15, 2012

You probably have a crack in the plastic. Wash the dirt off and see what you can find. It'll be very small.

neverkickn · Apr 15, 2012

^^^I hope you are due for a coolant flush. Maybe if you hit it with some brake cleaner you can pinpoint the leak with out pulling the radiator.

crowz · Apr 15, 2012

Its switched out to the long life stuff awhile back so nope not due for a change

Im going to clean it up good today and see what I can find. Just want to make sure thats what it is before ordering a radiator.

TyCorr · Apr 15, 2012

It could be leaking.in.front if something.went through the front of.the.radiator and running down and back. You are definitely gonna have to wash up under there to find it.

MossBack · Apr 15, 2012

Clean it then pressure test it. My guess is its cracked at the little neck to the radiator that I believe goes to the Degas bottle.

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obsstroker · Apr 15, 2012

crowz said:
Its switched out to the long life stuff awhile back so nope not due for a change

Im going to clean it up good today and see what I can find. Just want to make sure thats what it is before ordering a radiator.

I was having a similar issue with mine. One day after driving the truck for a while I soaked everything down with Simple Green for 15 minutes, then sprayed it off. I was able to track down my leak way faster.

crowz · Apr 16, 2012

Well since im pretty sure its not a hose Im going to order a new radiator tomorrow. Better safe than sorry. Just didnt want to replace it if it was just a hose or something but I cant find anything wrong with those and cant find any cracks in the radiator itself. So I'm replacing the radiator.

Zaairman · Apr 16, 2012

Might as well replace the hoses while you're there too. And if the water pump has 316k+ miles, might wanna do that as well...

crowz · Apr 16, 2012

I replaced the waterpump at 295k miles i think. Wasnt long ago. I'll probably change the hoses out though.

dietoremain · Apr 16, 2012

crowz said:
I replaced the waterpump at 295k miles i think. Wasnt long ago. I'll probably change the hoses out though.

If that was the OEM pump thats amazing, lol. without coolant filtration they dont exactly last too long.

crowz · Apr 17, 2012

That was the factory pump. It was worn slap out too. Blades had ground out a good chunk of the housing inside.

Well the radiators changed out now. The leak was coming from where the plastic tank joined the aluminum part. Cant find the exact spot as my son didnt move the radiator before I pulled the truck forward so its kinda beyond diagnosing for sure now

TARM · Apr 18, 2012

Usually the bearings go before or close to 100K and are puking coolant out. I lost mine @ about 75K and could smell coolant from 65K. Did a full flush with the replacement. Need to get a filter on it soon but am thinking about actually going to a IH pump and be done with it for good. I can use the extra ports on the pump for the water cooling for my turbo. That will also get me the short stem t-stat which you can get more temp ranges for without a special one. Along with the built in filter it just seems like a good choice even if you do have to use some none stock hoses.