Coolant Leak
 

I have a coolant leak and I'm trying to figure out where its coming from. While I was poking around looking for a solution I noticed some things. I took pictures of these things and I'm hoping that someone might be able to shed some light on them. My Jeep isn't over heating or anything but once I've stopped and the pressure has went away it starts to lose coolant.

Picture 1. On the side of my radiator I noticed this sticking out not capped.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-k...0/IMG01080.jpg

Picture 2. The view of where its located from the front.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3...0/IMG01081.jpg

Picture 3. I then found a tube that wasn't connected to anything.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H...0/IMG01083.jpg

Picture 4 I traced it around the engine.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M...0/IMG01084.jpg

Picture 5. This is where it ended up.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7...0/IMG01086.jpg

The tube is the radiator drain(petcock)

In picture 2 just to the right and down The corner
looks damp, mine was the same. I wasn't leaking
alot of fluid yet, caught it just in time. Replace radiator.

The vacumn line could hook to the plastic "football" behind
the bumper if it's not plugged off engine will run rough.


E

Thanks a bunch for the info!

No trouble at all, just doing the same job. Autozone
Radiator $109.00

So.. did you ever find a leak?

No I never did find the leak. I'm starting to wonder if maybe the petcock is bad or maybe loose. That seems to be where I see it being wet or the actual signs of any kind of leak.

If you can eventually find the leak and its on the petcock you may be able use JB Weld to fix it up. That stuff is super strong and could be a short/long term solution instead of replacing the entire radiator over one little leak.

Just some food for thought.

Are you having to add coolant to the res bottle?

If not maybe your AC line going into the condensor?

I am having to add to the res. Usually it wont go down past the add line but once it emptied out.

joexj97...I have what seems to be a similar problem. I'm leaking for a few minutes after I turn off the engine. I thought it was the lower hose because it was only dripping off of there. I flushed out the system and replaced it, but its still leaking from the same spot. For now I'm just carrying a bottle with me, but that can't last long.

Can you repost the pictures you had in your original post? They aren't showing up anymore and that may put me in the right direction.

97 XJ 4.0L

I had a problem with my drain plug leaking.

As in, I was rollin' down the road and the plug blew completely out on my way to work. :furious:

(immediately stopped it in the ditch and shut 'im down)

After work found the plug layin' in there behind the grill, put an o-ring on it and it blew out again. Pulled the radiator out and took it a radiator shop, put a different plug in and have had no further problems.

Lighttoast, i am having the same exact coolant leak. It looks like it is the lower hose where it conects to the water pump. I replaced the hose and no luck. Still leaks.
The thing that kills me is that I can stop somewhere, turn off the engine and it leaks. I get home and turn off the engine and it does not leak.It does not over heat and It is usually only when the engine is shut down. Only once has it leaked while running.
I am going to try the water pump this weekend.
It frustrates the hell out of me ,that I can not see exactly where the coolant is comming from. Sometimes it is a light leak and sometimes it is heavy. Has been happening for about two weeks now.

Sorry I forgot that I removed those pic's from my gmail account. I've since found the problem and it was in the actual radiator. So I'll be stopping by the auto parts shop for that haha

Don't delay. Small radiator leaks don't stay small forever. They can turn into a catastrophic leak in a microsecond, and then you'll have bigger fish to fry like an overheat.....tow....engine damage.

I was having that exact same issue, never did figure out the problem completely. First I had some really loose clamps and tightened them, good to go for a bit. Then rad cap went bad, fixed that. Now it never leaks unless I run it cold in under 25 degrees F, and then shut it off. Then it seeps about 50ml of fluid from both sides of the rad and it stops.

Check the obvious stuff first like clamps and hoses, then really get in close to see where the hell it is coming from. When you start to see the general area where it is leaking, clean it up and find a way to follow it up to where it came from the next time it starts leaking.