Need help finding a coolant leak
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 225
Likes: 0
From: Keaau, Hawaii
Need help finding a coolant leak
Noticed a drip on my 01 today. Drips from the passenger front splash guard onto front leaf. Opened the hood and tried to pinpoint and can't find it to save my life. Any suggestions?
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 718
Likes: 2
From: Chattanooga, TN
First confirm that it is coolant that is leaking. Look on the lower rad. hose or the crank area under the water pump area to see if there's evidence of leaking. You can sometimes see white residue indicating dried coolant. If your hands/arms will allow reach under the WP and feel the weep hole to see if there is coolant leaking there. Sometimes you will need to check the side of the radiator as well for signs.
Hotshot
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 11,286
Likes: 263
From: North of Greenville
Could also be the heater hose connection on that side. If you or a previous owner installed a Ford Ranger heater valve to improve air conditioning performance, you can develop small leaks at the hose connections on either side of that valve, especially when it gets cold and things shrink due to really low temperatures.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 225
Likes: 0
From: Keaau, Hawaii
I had dye put in to check for AC leaks almost a year ago. No leaks, think I got one now. I smelled the liquid (which is coolant green, just brighter) and didn't smell like coolant. Question is, I thought you needed a black light to see the dye? I could be wrong though.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,546
Likes: 9
From: Wellington, Co
I had dye put in to check for AC leaks almost a year ago. No leaks, think I got one now. I smelled the liquid (which is coolant green, just brighter) and didn't smell like coolant. Question is, I thought you needed a black light to see the dye? I could be wrong though.
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Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 225
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From: Keaau, Hawaii
Not coolant, sure don't smell like it. Level in bottle hasn't changed, that's why I'm stumped.
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 979
Likes: 4
From: Vancouver
The ultraviolet flashlights can be found quite cheaply at auto parts stores to look at the liquid. It is much easier to id at night or at least at dusk. The dye will definitely pop with color under the ultraviolet. If the leak is a small one at this point, it may not show up as a noticeable lowering of the fluid in the degas bottle. An extension mirror can help you see the bottom of the water pump behind the pulley, if you shine that uv flashlight in the mirror. If it is the pump, the leak can go from small to large unpredictably. All that said, it seems unlikely that coolant can get from the pump over to the spring without getting a lot of stuff wet. I don't believe it is the pump. The 1" hose from the bottom of the degas bottle does run down that way to get to the bottom tank of the radiator. I would look at the degas bottle and the hose and its connection. Larry
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 772
Likes: 27
From: Brighton CO.
I just rented, actually paid a deposit, a coolant system pump for checking the coolant system cold from the AZ parts store. When I returned it they returned all of the money I was charged for it. If you do the same don't forget to get the additional attachment for the overflow degass bottle.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,327
Likes: 585
From: Amarillo, TEXAS!
If you had a refrigerant leak inside the evaporator box, the condensate when you ran the A/C could have carried some of the dye out the drain with it and made it look like coolant, I suppose. Not sure that's what happened; it's just a hypothesis.
