Good day fellower 'strokers! I went to check the oil on my truck the other day and noticed that the coolant level in the overflow tank was low. Like really low. I ended up topping off the tank with about 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon of coolant.

Now I've been driving the truck a lot this past week or so. A lot more than usual as in like 50 miles a day. My truck unfortunately sits home more than I'd like it to. My car went down so I've been riding my truck around.

I topped off the coolant about a week ago now and it's been fine. It hasn't noticeably dropped. It's possible it's a very small leak but I don't see or smell coolant burning off and I don't think its burning off in the motor. The engine has 183,000 miles. It's been relatively well maintained if that means anything to the life expectancy of the engine but doesn't rule out an issue.

If I were burning coolant would I notice any symptoms? I don't see any white smoke out of the tailpipe. In fact I don't really see any smoke except a little blue at colder startups. There is a slight misfire.

Just trying to get an idea as to where I need to look next. I doubt it's head gasket but how about injector cups going south? Are there any known leak points in the cooling system I am overlooking? If it's an internal problem I'd like to get ahead of the game...hopefully.

Thanks in Advance,

 

The one time I had a leak it was the water pump. I don't use my truck regularly either, but over a period of months my coolant level would drop a little. After a lot of looking and even rebuilding my oil cooler in the suspicion that maybe that was it, I finally saw a drop of coolant hanging down near my water pump. I changed the pump and no more leaks.

 

This is the common area. Same happened to me.

Check your lower radiator hose for signs of coolant residue.

 

Is start with pressurizing the system

 

I just replaced the water pump with a supposed quality pump...and a new lower rad hose. I didn't see anything wet but I'll do a more thorough check just in case something came loose or is leaking where I couldn't see.