HELP COOLANT LEAK.....im stranded

[barry1me]

Guys I have a coolant leak from the front of the motor on the driverside....I parked at brothers house and came back an hour later and there is half a gallon or so on the ground. I cant see where its coming from, I did a coolant flush a few weeks back, and replaced the thermastat. Truck has been running normal temps, first time it has leaked. It looks like its coming below the thermastat area.....any ideas?

[Evil Eye]

Check the clamp on the hose coming from your thermostat. When I changed mine out, the clamp lost enough tension to drip coolant like you describe.

[barry1me]

Originally Posted by Evil Eye

Check the clamp on the hose coming from your thermostat. When I changed mine out, the clamp lost enough tension to drip coolant like you describe.

Did you replace the clamp or just reposition? Did you loose a lot, like a 3 foot puddle in a few hours?

[Evil Eye]

Originally Posted by barry1me

Did you replace the clamp or just reposition? Did you loose a lot, like a 3 foot puddle in a few hours?

Yes, I lost quite a bit and thankfully I had some extra coolant in the truck. I was in the street, so it drained into the gutter, so I couldn't guess on the size of puddle it would have been. I installed a second "standard" clamp on it just to get me back home. (I had towed my daughter's full-size Blazer to her house 2.5 hours away.)

Actually, I realized I had a pic of it and you can just make out the puddle of coolant under the truck. Maybe not a 3 foot puddle, but you can tell it's a decent leak.

[barry1me]

Originally Posted by Evil Eye

Yes, I lost quite a bit and thankfully I had some extra coolant in the truck. I was in the street, so it drained into the gutter, so I couldn't guess on the size of puddle it would have been. I installed a second "standard" clamp on it just to get me back home. (I had towed my daughter's full-size Blazer to her house 2.5 hours away.)

Actually, I realized I had a pic of it and you can just make out the puddle of coolant under the truck. Maybe not a 3 foot puddle, but you can tell it's a decent leak.

Thanks for the pic.....I just went and repositioned it, and maybe I put another clamp on tomorrow.....weird thing is I have drove a few hundred miles since the flush....if thats the problem its weird how it just started......I pray its not the water pump or something worse.

[Evil Eye]

Nah, not likely the water pump. You might not have gotten the coolant temps (and therefore pressure) up to where the leak was manifesting itself. After my thermostat change, I drove it around the block to confirm no leaks. The next day, I towed the setup you see in the pic and when I stopped, I ended up with the puddle.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

[barry1me]

Originally Posted by Evil Eye

Nah, not likely the water pump. You might not have gotten the coolant temps (and therefore pressure) up to where the leak was manifesting itself. After my thermostat change, I drove it around the block to confirm no leaks. The next day, I towed the setup you see in the pic and when I stopped, I ended up with the puddle.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

well that is interesting....I did the same as you, and then towed my xp to brothers house today....75 mile journey. ECT never got over 206F while towing, but maybe running extreme street tune and towing maybe pushed it a little to much. Thanks for the help, I will keep everyone updated.

[barry1me]

update: I drove truck 250 miles or so this weekend, and leak has disapeared. Repositioning of the clamp on the thermastat must have been the issue.

NOTE: Myself and Evil Eye now have both performed flushs/thermastat change and both had a leak at the hose clamp area after the flush. It might be a good idea for others to also keep an eye on this clamp after performing a flush/tstat change

[Evil Eye]

Originally Posted by barry1me

update: I drove truck 250 miles or so this weekend, and leak has disapeared. Repositioning of the clamp on the thermastat must have been the issue.

NOTE: Myself and Evil Eye now have both performed flushs/thermastat change and both had a leak at the hose clamp area after the flush. It might be a good idea for others to also keep an eye on this clamp after performing a flush/tstat change

Glad that it ended up being something simple.

[a2elvis]

Seen that leak before.... Possible EGR cooler hose from egr cooler to oil cooler?