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Coolant leak on passenger side?

T

tom5170

New member
Haven't driven car since 4 days ago. Today I back it out of the garage and park it in the driveway. I noticed coolant on the garage floor where the passenger side was parked.

I popped the hood and couldn't find any coolant on that side around the water pump, coolant elbows. Etc. I also didn't see anything dripping or wet, nor did I see anything on the underside that was wet with coolant I did find out that hose running from the radiator to coolant reservoir was wet and the underside of this hose had beads of coolant. .


So what the hell? I replaced the coolant elbows a year and a half ago with the chrome ones and the front one failed at the o ring so I just replaced the o ring.
 


Nope not empty, and the radiator wasn't low either. This hose has always sweated with coolant on the entire hose.

It's definitely passenger side area on side of engine. Only thing I can think of is that it leaked as it cooled down. I just drove it 30 minutes with no sign of a leak. I checked everywhere.
 
I bought a new cap and reservoir hose because I had the same problem.
New cap still leaked. I used some Oateys plumbers abrasive cloth to smooth the inside of the radiator fill neck.
Then lubed the o-rings with superlube ptfe. Then it finally stopped
 
I just got home and checked it. After 3-4 hours cooling down and I see no coolant anywhere. I started it and ran it a few minutes and still nothing.

The reservoir hose had a coolant bead on the bottom of it again. I wiped the hose off and it's now dry. I checked the cap and made sure it was on tight. I don't see any leaks from the cap area. But the entire reservoir hose was wet and sticky And has always been this way since owning it.
 
Are you talking about the o rings on the coolant elbows? My reservoir hose has always been sticky and slightly wet the entire length.
 


I thought it was the hose at first. Drips underneath the first bend of the rad. It would drip onto the radiator hose.

I thought it was soft at the vent tube on the neck so I cut it back and put it back on. Nope

Bought a new hose, same thing. thought it was the clamp, Nope.

Finally caught the angle where I could see it coming off the rad cap. Bought a new one,still drips.

So finally after all that dinking around I remember on some W-body thread where they said to smooth the inside of the neck. If you run your fingers where the o-rings seat you will feel the roughness.
Get some 400 wet paper and give it a go. Crap I might have used 220 emery cloth but damn it worked.

Try this before replacing any parts.

Lube the orings with antifreeze before you push it it.
 
Hello had similar problem replaced plastic ones with aluminum ones, used dielectric grease on O-rings almost to the say date of yours leaks appeared. Pulled off to find the aluminum O-rings have a reaction to the grease not like the plastic ones. Same as dis similar metals react. Never could find it leaking just decided to pull apart. I am new or I would post pictures I took.
 
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