It's been pretty cold in my area, -10 to -20 at night for the past two weeks. My truck had to sit outside for most of that time when we were up north so I would plug it in at night. Well I see it's leaking radiator fluid from up front but only when it sits. When I'm driving it and it's warmed up and no leaks at all. Could that be the upper hose that everyone replaces with the updated one? Could it be the block heater did something? It's sitting in my garage where it's around 35 degrees now, -15 outside, and it's still leaking. Not a lot but little drops along the front. Any help would be great guys, Thanks........Also, I did order the updated hose last night just in case that's it.
Truck is leaking radiator fluid after using block heater.
- Thread starter slow poke
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sootie
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this is probably frowned upon by many here but i have used this on two work trucks and it worked both times. it doesn't clog everything up like the goopy stuff does, it is a dry powder. basically it expands when it contacts air aka the leak.
on my old truck, it worked for a year then started to leak again-i'm guessing there was still some in the system because in ten minutes, the leak had stopped again.
https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/AG...lobalProductDetailDisplay.do?item_code=KLF714
on my old truck, it worked for a year then started to leak again-i'm guessing there was still some in the system because in ten minutes, the leak had stopped again.
https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/AG...lobalProductDetailDisplay.do?item_code=KLF714
Thanks for the info you guys. When the truck is running and warmed up there are no leaks at all. It only leaks when it cools down and sits. I ordered a complete EGR delete today also. I'm going to try to bullet proof it as much as I can.
I went out tonight and looked it over. I don't think its radiator fluid after all. That would be green after looking in the over flow tank at it. The fluid is orange in color that it's leaking. I looked over the radiator area really good and it's dry as a popcorn fart and I think I already have the newer updated top hose. I can't tell where the orange fluid is coming from though but it's leaking/dripping at the very front of the truck almost under the front bumper. I'm stumped and any help you guys might have would be great before I take it in to the dealer to have it fixed and get bent over. Thanks guys.......
96stacked&smoken
New member
You should have cold coolant, if its green change it. Is the leak reddish if so its a trans cooler leak.
It's reddish/orange for sure. Not coolant. The coolant might have been gold-ish color but hard to tell by looking down in the bottle. Is the trans cooler lines a big job to replace? When I wiped it up with a rag off the garage floor it was more like a red/orange oil than a water based coolant.
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96stacked&smoken
New member
Sounds like trans fluid. No if the lines are leaking there not bad to change.
gambling209
New member
my fuel cooler had the gold coolant in it. cooler got hit by a rock and put a hole in it. someone could have put red coolant in it. should not have green. not sure the new tranny fluid is red.
Fixed it tonight, thanks guys. Super easy fix, I got lucky. It was a trans cooler line where it attached to the cooler. I took the hose off, cleaned up the cooler nipple and inside of the hose with paint cleaner and a rag. I also roughed up the nipple and inside of the hose with sand paper. Put it back together with the same OEM clamp but also added a hose clamp and it's tight now with no leak at all. Thanks again guys for the help.
most likely the other clamp would have fixed it, when things get cold leaks happen pretty often, most of the time its on the cooling system but anything with clamps and hose have a chance to leak cold. i was just going to chime in about the cooler hoses and being a good place to start there. Glad you got it going
