Coolant leaking from...somewhere

RSchanz

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I noticed a little dried up puddle under the truck last week but it was raining so I brushed it off. Yesterday when I turned it on and sat for a second before leaving I noticed a solid drip coming down the block on the passenger side and mostly off of where the oil drain plug is, drip.....drip.....drip....drip - that kind of speed. Checked all of the hoses, and drain plugs and didn't find it leaking from there. It only seems to leak or at least gets worse when the truck runs. I ran the truck again this morning and the leak seems much slower but still there. The coolant seems to be building up in the area that I circled red. I'm really having trouble determining where it's coming from. I know this conversation is going to go down the headgasket road :(. I referenced this post to get some leads going but his problem seems to be the opposite side of the vehicle although I think we're on the same path.

Recent things I've done:

-Adjusted IP timing by 1-2mm
-Replaced radiator and started using fleetcharge not green 50/50 about 300miles ago

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Starting to become best friends with all of you!
 

Ky85

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can you get a second set of eyes on it, like a friend or a go pro camera something
 

RSchanz

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can you get a second set of eyes on it, like a friend or a go pro camera something

I think it’s just running down the block there through. You can kinda see to the left of the pulleys there that it’s running down. I could probably get some better photos after work if it would help
 

The_Josh_Bear

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Before I knew this trick chasing coolant and oil leaks drove me nuts.
Since learning, it's just about the easiest thing ever:

Get ultraviolet dye. Add it to coolant.
Get UV flashlight/black light.
Drive to work. Work. Drive home, use flashlight to locate source of leak.

Bam done!

(Edited to sound more human)
 
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RSchanz

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Before I knew this trick chasing coolant and oil leaks drove me nuts.
Since learning, it's just about the easiest thing ever:

Get ultraviolet dye. Add it to coolant.
Get UV flashlight/black light.
Drive to work. Work. Drive home, use flashlight to locate source of leak.

Bam done!

(Edited to sound more human)


Haha! Thanks for the reminder. I read this in passing somewhere when it wasn’t relevant and totally forgot.

People are always talking about head gasket failure and I’m curious where exactly I can find the head gasket. Below the valve covers like halfway down the engine block? It seems like people discuss having issues with it on the rear of the block.
 

IDIBRONCO

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People are always talking about head gasket failure and I’m curious where exactly I can find the head gasket. Below the valve covers like halfway down the engine block? It seems like people discuss having issues with it on the rear of the block.
The head gaskets are underneath the heads which are what the valve covers bolt to. I think that the reason that most leaky head gaskets seem to leak at the back of the engine is that the engine is slightly tilted backward so the coolant would run toward the back of the engine and then down. That's not why the engine doesn't sit level, just why the coolant runs toward the back. Since yours it at the front of the engine, and being due to it's location, I would suspect that your leak is either coming from the upper radiator hose or the thermostat housing. The upper radiator hose attaches to the thermostat housing on the engine side of the hose. A leaky water pump usually (but not always) either leaks straight down or toward the driver's side from being blown that direction by the radiator fan.
 

RSchanz

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The head gaskets are underneath the heads which are what the valve covers bolt to. I think that the reason that most leaky head gaskets seem to leak at the back of the engine is that the engine is slightly tilted backward so the coolant would run toward the back of the engine and then down. That's not why the engine doesn't sit level, just why the coolant runs toward the back. Since yours it at the front of the engine, and being due to it's location, I would suspect that your leak is either coming from the upper radiator hose or the thermostat housing. The upper radiator hose attaches to the thermostat housing on the engine side of the hose. A leaky water pump usually (but not always) either leaks straight down or toward the driver's side from being blown that direction by the radiator fan.

Hey Bronco....haha

Yeah, I checked around the upper rad hose and it didn't seem damp. I kinda had to loosen the hose clamp to get the Cold idle solenoid off to adjust the IP pump so this was my first thought. I wrenched the clamp tighter this morning before driving it and it didn't seem to change. The engine is so dirty it's hard to tell whats really going on but it does look like the Tstat housing is damp. Doesn't really seem like water pump but I can inspect closer. If it were the water pump I'm guessing it would be fairly obvious in that photo where I circled red?
 

IDIBRONCO

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If it were the water pump I'm guessing it would be fairly obvious in that photo where I circled red?
I would guess that it's not likely since it coming down the passenger's side. If it was coming down the driver's side, I would guess water pump. A leaking water pump does not seem to get antifreeze on top of the engine crossmember where you made the red circle. I'm still thinking thermostat housing. Especially since you mentioned that it seems damp.
 

RSchanz

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I'll clean it up and inspect tomorrow if I have time. I like the UV dye and blacklight tip also
 

RetiringColt

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If you're running green coolant you dont necessarily need to add the phosphorus die. Green coolant reflects pretty good with uv light and yellow glasses. Napa sells a basic leak detection kit for $18.00. This is a newer version of the one I used to use. Just take your time looking and don't rush to any conclusions before you have scoured it over. A mirror on a stick is helpful too.
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RSchanz

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If you're running green coolant you dont necessarily need to add the phosphorus die. Green coolant reflects pretty good with uv light and yellow glasses. Napa sells a basic leak detection kit for $18.00. This is a newer version of the one I used to use. Just take your time looking and don't rush to any conclusions before you have scoured it over. A mirror on a stick is helpful too.
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Thanks for sharing the product.

I'm running Fleetcharge 50/50 now so it basically just looks like water. I used to run green 50/50 and I feel like it was thicker. I'm suspicious of the new fluid just because it seems like its thinner and less sticky. On anything older it seems like as soon as you change literally anything something is bound to go wrong because of it.

Also, just a little bit of comedy (writing the review because he won't be able to sleep LOLLOLLOL-Flame Thr)

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riphip

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2 of my 6.9s leaked at rear passenger head & 1 at passenger head top front corner when head gaskets had leaked. You may try re-torquing head bolts (they may break), I chose to replace. I think age got to them more than anything else. I visually checked the heads, no milling, cleaned up with brush on a drill, lapped the valves & new seals. I did replace the lifters, pushrods and 7.3 rocker arm assys since they were cheap for good new ones on eBay when eBay was thrifty for US Made engine parts. Studs were not the 'thing' at the time for the first 2 trucks or I would have used them as I did on #3. No trouble afterwards.
 
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square1

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The leak I struggled to locate was
AF from a barely leaking radiator being flung into the engine by the fan. Not until the leak became greater did I finally see droplets jumping from the fan to the block.
 
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