Hey guys!

I've got a 1996 5.0 XLT that is having a coolant issue. I am right at 95,000 miles and decided since the truck was new to me, and the overfill reservoir was dirty looking that I should do a coolant flush. Might have been a bad idea because now I am experiencing a leak at the throttle body. Need assistance on what to do...



Coolant leaking from bottom hole here... Not much of a spray, but looks like seal is busted.




Better overview of where coolant is leaking from




Hose coming from water pump to throttle body.

 

As long as you don't live where it gets extremely cold, you can just uunhook and cap off the lines going to the throttle body. Plus it has the added benefit of cleaning up the engine bay a little bit.

 

Yeah I am in Oregon, and lately our summers have been HOT. Would I need to hook it back up in Winter to avoid freezing? What is the coolant doing in the throttle body that it needs to be there when it is cold?

 

Never dealt with that cold, but I don't see it's use. These are the only vehicles I have ever seen like that, mine was the first I had seen. But I am sure others with better knowledge can chime in.

 

It sounds like from this forum that they are freeze plugs... Best to JB weld them or get a new throttle body...

Coolant leak from throttle body plug - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans

 

Looks like it has been leaking a while, or in the past. Probably some scale built up and plugged the leak - your flush removed the scale and the leak started again. Not terribly uncommon, same thing happened to a buddy of mine's radiator.

IMO you can safely bypass the TB - those coolant lines are there to prevent icing on the throttle plates in the winter.

 

I haven't had coolant flowing through mine for two years. I know Oregon gets cold but Illinois winters are pretty damn cold too. I've never had a problem with it unhooked.

 

Do a google search on "Ford ranger heated throttle body" click on the 5:13 video.

I just capped off the throttle body heater on my neighbors Ranger, as it was leaking

We are in Socal, told him if he ever moves to Siberia he will need to reconnect it.

Some guys cap it off as a performance mod, but the neighbor said it runs the same.

 

Mines been capped off a couple of years. Never had a problem. Haven't noticed performance difference on way or the other. Like I said earlier, just makes up under the hood a little neater.

 

Yeah I bet you are exactly right. When I bought it, there was a bit of leakage coming from that, but nothing active.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I will check it out tonight and post back if I found a solution.

 

Okay, so... I got home, I decided I was going to do the bypass method of fixing this, as I may upgrade the TB eventually, but no need to go through a bunch of hassle doing it right now since we're going into summer. I got another 3/8" bit of hose and used it as a bypass from the water pump to the coolant line that was previously connected to the TB. I got 1 foot from Auto Zone for $4.68 and re-used my hose clamps from the line I removed. I started it up, ran it around the block and it seems to be running fine at normal operating temps. Check engine is still on, so I'll have to pull the code later. ( I did do Sea foam and coolant flush all at once, so who knows)

But for now, as far as I can tell it is looking good. No leaks anymore, and engine is running. Topped it off on coolant/water and we'll see how he does tomorrow.

Thanks to those who posted. Your replies definitely helped!




Finger is pointing at the new hose line. It goes under the intake hoses and connects below. I did remove the intake hoses to get to it, but you could probably get by without.




No more hoses connecting the Throttle Body.




Ta da!

 

I did the same thing 2 years ago. Recently my heater quit working and I flushed out the heater core. One of the hoses was brittle and it looked like it was leaking, so I replaced it. then I noticed that the TB bypass hose was leaking as well, so I replaced it; however, it still leaks from the TB hose right down on my alternator, shorting it out. Any advice on how to stop the leak? I used two hose clamps on it and it's still dripping right into the alternator.