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Well-Known Member
Hey folks,
So I was putting air in our vehicle tires tonight, and after parking the Ranger ('94 4x4 w/ 4.0, 5spd, ext. cab - daily driver, stock) I noticed a puddle of coolant under it. I keep a close eye on this system in particular. Primarily because I hate plumbing and am always looking for leaks, but also because I've been noticing the level in my reserve reservoir slowly dropping lately. I know I occasionally seep a tiny bit of coolant where the upper hose connects to the thermostat housing/water outlet. When i changed the thermostat 2 years ago I re-used the existing outlet, but the end was gnarly enough that in hindsight I really should have replaced it. Ever since, I tighten the hose clamp whenever I see it acting up. I also occasionally get a tiny bit of seeping at the other end of that hose at the radiator, but this is rare, and very minor - doesn't even drip. But I think the real cause is possibly a leaky heater core. Pass. floorboards have been damp, but they don't smell like antifreeze... Despite the lack of odor, I think I've convinced myself that that's what it is, and had planned to replace the core when it warms up a bit.
But none of this has ever resulted in a puddle under the truck - not even a drop (just quarter-sized spots of oil from my valve covers). I spent a while looking around with a flashlight, and was puzzled to see what looked like multiple possible causes. It looked like my upper hose-to-housing connection was acting up. I suppose it might also be either the temp sensor or the heater hose connection there - they're all kind of bunched together in an awkward spot. But it also looked like the water pump seal may be leaking on the pass. side (hard to tell though - this may have just been a drip path from above). I also noticed a slight drip from the connection between the lower rad hose and radiator. As well as what looked like seeping from the edges of the radiator itself - on both sides, near the bottom, where the plastic edges meet the metal. It almost seems like the pressure in the coolant system is too high, and it's seeping out all over?
Now the odd part: As far as I can tell, there's nothing coming from any of the weep holes on the water pump, and not a drop from the radiator fill cap(isn't the cap supposed to protect against high pressure and release before it blows out somewhere else?) Seems those are the two places I'd expect to see leakage first if there was a pressure problem... Also, I don't recall which side of the radiator is the pressure side, but either way, if this was a pressure issue I shouldn't see a leak from BOTH sides, right?
After looking things over, I figured I'd take it for a spin around the block to warm it up and get the thermostat to open, then watch for drips anywhere. Well, I got it back to the driveway, and found that most of the drip trails I'd seen were actually drying up. So.... I get a coolant puddle under the truck from pulling 5 feet up the the garage to put air in the tires, then backing it out of the driveway and back in to do the rear tires. But driving it around the block for 5 minutes does nothing?? Not really any unusual stress put on it lately either. It did get driven a lot more than normal on Friday (my wife got a flat tire Friday, and I went into the city for dinner with a buddy Friday night), but nothing I would consider stressful use.
Temp gauge and truck in general has been acting quite normally leading up to this (other than the slight drop in resevoir level I mentioned). The gauge does fluctuate significantly as the thermostat opens/closes (from between the 'o' and 'r' down to the low side of the 'n', and back), but it's always done that (well, at least since I replaced the tstat that was stuck open when I bought it - never got up to the 'n' in that condition), and from what I've read that's normal for these trucks. Oil has always been normal, so no internal leak. I admit I didn't think to check that tonight though (didn't occur to me, since the leak appeared to be external). As I said I replaced the thermostat 2 years ago, and I got all new hoses at that time. I also had the whole system flushed shortly after that. I threw on a new radiator cap for good measure a year or so ago. So besides some annoying seepage and my heater core (presumably), I thought I was in good shape. I had planned to to have it flushed again sometime this fall.
So, what gives? I'm due for inspection this month anyway, so I'm thinking of having them check the coolant pressure. And I've been kicking myself for 2 years for re-using that water outlet. Since I was planning on doing the heater core anyway, I was considering replacing the water outlet too (and thermostat while I'm there) once things warm up. But I didn't really want pay to replace the entire cooling system. What about the head gasket - is there a good place to look for coolant leaking from there? I also have a small oil leak at the valve covers and have been hoping the budget will allow me to replace them this summer (need new covers as well as gaskets - my current covers aren't worth putting back on once they're off). Should I be considering replacing the head gaskets too?
Anyway sorry this was so long, but I wanted to provide as much info as I could. Any thoughts on what might be going on to cause multiple seeping leaks like this? Or some other cause for what I'm seeing? Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks very much guys - any help is greatly appreciated, as always.
-Bill
So I was putting air in our vehicle tires tonight, and after parking the Ranger ('94 4x4 w/ 4.0, 5spd, ext. cab - daily driver, stock) I noticed a puddle of coolant under it. I keep a close eye on this system in particular. Primarily because I hate plumbing and am always looking for leaks, but also because I've been noticing the level in my reserve reservoir slowly dropping lately. I know I occasionally seep a tiny bit of coolant where the upper hose connects to the thermostat housing/water outlet. When i changed the thermostat 2 years ago I re-used the existing outlet, but the end was gnarly enough that in hindsight I really should have replaced it. Ever since, I tighten the hose clamp whenever I see it acting up. I also occasionally get a tiny bit of seeping at the other end of that hose at the radiator, but this is rare, and very minor - doesn't even drip. But I think the real cause is possibly a leaky heater core. Pass. floorboards have been damp, but they don't smell like antifreeze... Despite the lack of odor, I think I've convinced myself that that's what it is, and had planned to replace the core when it warms up a bit.
But none of this has ever resulted in a puddle under the truck - not even a drop (just quarter-sized spots of oil from my valve covers). I spent a while looking around with a flashlight, and was puzzled to see what looked like multiple possible causes. It looked like my upper hose-to-housing connection was acting up. I suppose it might also be either the temp sensor or the heater hose connection there - they're all kind of bunched together in an awkward spot. But it also looked like the water pump seal may be leaking on the pass. side (hard to tell though - this may have just been a drip path from above). I also noticed a slight drip from the connection between the lower rad hose and radiator. As well as what looked like seeping from the edges of the radiator itself - on both sides, near the bottom, where the plastic edges meet the metal. It almost seems like the pressure in the coolant system is too high, and it's seeping out all over?
Now the odd part: As far as I can tell, there's nothing coming from any of the weep holes on the water pump, and not a drop from the radiator fill cap(isn't the cap supposed to protect against high pressure and release before it blows out somewhere else?) Seems those are the two places I'd expect to see leakage first if there was a pressure problem... Also, I don't recall which side of the radiator is the pressure side, but either way, if this was a pressure issue I shouldn't see a leak from BOTH sides, right?
After looking things over, I figured I'd take it for a spin around the block to warm it up and get the thermostat to open, then watch for drips anywhere. Well, I got it back to the driveway, and found that most of the drip trails I'd seen were actually drying up. So.... I get a coolant puddle under the truck from pulling 5 feet up the the garage to put air in the tires, then backing it out of the driveway and back in to do the rear tires. But driving it around the block for 5 minutes does nothing?? Not really any unusual stress put on it lately either. It did get driven a lot more than normal on Friday (my wife got a flat tire Friday, and I went into the city for dinner with a buddy Friday night), but nothing I would consider stressful use.
Temp gauge and truck in general has been acting quite normally leading up to this (other than the slight drop in resevoir level I mentioned). The gauge does fluctuate significantly as the thermostat opens/closes (from between the 'o' and 'r' down to the low side of the 'n', and back), but it's always done that (well, at least since I replaced the tstat that was stuck open when I bought it - never got up to the 'n' in that condition), and from what I've read that's normal for these trucks. Oil has always been normal, so no internal leak. I admit I didn't think to check that tonight though (didn't occur to me, since the leak appeared to be external). As I said I replaced the thermostat 2 years ago, and I got all new hoses at that time. I also had the whole system flushed shortly after that. I threw on a new radiator cap for good measure a year or so ago. So besides some annoying seepage and my heater core (presumably), I thought I was in good shape. I had planned to to have it flushed again sometime this fall.
So, what gives? I'm due for inspection this month anyway, so I'm thinking of having them check the coolant pressure. And I've been kicking myself for 2 years for re-using that water outlet. Since I was planning on doing the heater core anyway, I was considering replacing the water outlet too (and thermostat while I'm there) once things warm up. But I didn't really want pay to replace the entire cooling system. What about the head gasket - is there a good place to look for coolant leaking from there? I also have a small oil leak at the valve covers and have been hoping the budget will allow me to replace them this summer (need new covers as well as gaskets - my current covers aren't worth putting back on once they're off). Should I be considering replacing the head gaskets too?
Anyway sorry this was so long, but I wanted to provide as much info as I could. Any thoughts on what might be going on to cause multiple seeping leaks like this? Or some other cause for what I'm seeing? Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks very much guys - any help is greatly appreciated, as always.
-Bill
