I noticed a small spot of coolant on the ground (about 6" in diameter) under my 97EB 5.0. I took it in to the local Goodyear guys and they indicated that it was coming from around the petcock on the radiator. Said it was screwed in tight but there was still some coming definately coming out from around that area. They wanted $600 to pull the radiator and check it out. Since this is minor at this time, I told them to hold off.

I wondered if anyone had encountered a similar problem. Or if there are any ideas on a way to fix this short of paying a bunch of $$$.

 

Seems like a whole lotta $$$ to fix a leak. I just replaced the rad in my '94 4.0 and the rad itself was only $225 Canucklebucks. Not sure why it would cost so much but I don't know much about the 5.0. Maybe try a rad place. They specialize in that sort of thing and will probably have a better idea of what to do.

Good luck.

 

I think you need to better pinpoint where the leak is. 'Around the petcock' is too vague. Clean everything up, and start it up and look for the leak. I quess you can try and put a new petcock valve in, if that's where it is definitely leaking from.

 

Thanks maragtop - I changed the thermostat about a month ago and I used the petcock to drain about a gallon of coolant out. I was wondering if some dirt or debris maybe causing the petcock valve to be poorly seated? Or maybe some kind of washer or gasket that isn't seated properly???

Soooo....how tough is it to replace the petcock?

 

The pet***** on the 97's have a beveled seat, my guess is that is has some debris under the seat, drain the antifreeze, flush the rad and refill, check if it leaks..

FYI, I just fixed mine this morning, had cracks in the driver side tank, quote to replace $380cad+tax, cost to repair, 1/2 tube JB Weld, 1/2hr to repair tank + re/re.