Hi All,

Since owning my truck, I've been dealing with initially some coolant leaks that I've tried to take care of over time, but liquid is a pretty persistent element, it always finds the path of least resistance to leak...

1.- I haven't replaced the radiator yet, but planning to do so eventually; for the time being I've managed to repair the little plastic tube that you connect the hose that returns coolant to the expansion tank, it drips every now and then, but nothing to focus on immediately;

2.- I've bypassed the "throttle body heater" completely, which was the main leaking culprit since I've own my truck; but in the attempt, the little tube that comes out of the top of the engine and lets you connect the hose that feeds into the throttle body, since it was very corroded, all the movement broke it off; but managed to plug-it and it is still holding pretty well, no signs of leakage there;

3.- I've replaced the water pump and no more leakage signs in that area too;

4.- I've replaced the Thermostat because it cracked: and ultimately

5.- I've replaced the "T" where the bleeding screw is since it cracked.

But lately I've had to weekly top off the coolant since it's being consumed some. I haven't seen sings on leakage on the ground where ever I park, but noticed a small puddle on top of the engine (see pic attached); all I see is the puddle, no signs of it dripping down from the metal hose above the puddle, which I dried up pretty well today to see how long it takes to build up; but looking around I also saw signs on the passenger side (see pic attached), by the firewall, hopefully from some of that coolant on top of the engine being pushed back by the wind, and finding its way down thru there.

I managed to dry up most of it, and will be vigilant this coming week to try and determine where it is coming from, but if any of you can shed some light as to where to focus on, it will be very much appreciated.

 

Solution to your 1) is, go to lowes and buy a fiberglass cloth($8).Then buy the jb weld (the one that comes with 2 tubes, one black, one red).
Cut the fabric in long rectangles and soak them with jb then roll them about the little 'outlet'.I did 2 layers, let it dry, and added 2 more layers. I broke the whole thing last week and fixed it with this method and it is holding strong even after about 100miles.
ps: it will look super ugly! Lol

 

...I'm sure it will! ;-]# ...minus the fiber glass cloth, that's how I did my temporary fix on #1, the shiny goo is JB Weld... yes some coolant manages to siff thru in time, but again, not enough to make it a prob. What is now troubling me is the coolant puddle mentioned last. ;-]#

 

Hi All,

After a couple days it clearly shows where the leak is coming from; apparently from the connection of the "Heater Pipe" and the "Inlet Manifold", hopefully is just the "O-Ring" that gave-up or the screw that holds the pipe to the inlet got loose.

Any input as to what to expect when loosing the screw and attempting to change the "O-Ring" besides a good amount of coolant spilling out? Had anyone had to changed this before or attempted a repair?

I'm adding the latest pics of this issue.

 

very straight forward, remove the bolts and gently pull the pipe out. Clean the pipe thoroughly and the hole in the manifold. I normally lubricate the oring to ease install into manifold.

 

Word of advise: order the correct o-ring from one of the usual suppliers (AB, RN, etc). I took the old o-ring in to the auto parts store where I work and matched it to one from our master o-ring set. It looked spot-on identical, but after it was installed and the vehicle started, I realised it wasn't as coolant was spewing out.

 

Nothing here to help me