Coolant Rear of the Engine Compartment Leak Question

[Metroneck]

Thanks in advance for the help. In previous strings I have noticed a quick fix for coolant leak at the back (firewall) area could be a loose clamp. I found the clamp right above the turbo. (I know it's coolant- after leaving a white paper on the garage floor, I did the old "college chemistry" ID: smell-taste-tastes like sweat tea---that's the coolant I know. That in mind- I tightened the two clamps (7mm hose clamps). They were what I would consider loose.



Here's my question: The hose that is clamped goes into an elbow bracket that is bolted to the engine block on the rear right side. On the back of that bracket it looks as if the elbow is "pinch clamped. " Could this possibly be the cause of this leak? It doesn't do it every night, does it hot or cold, and you can't smell coolant anywhere. The heater works fine. Maybe I'm getting a little too worried and should just see where this takes me. The coolant is about 3" from the full line.



Thanks in advance-



Rookie

 

[rbattelle]

Here's my question: The hose that is clamped goes into an elbow bracket that is bolted to the engine block on the rear right side. On the back of that bracket it looks as if the elbow is "pinch clamped. "

Any chance you could post a photo of the pinch you describe? I'm going by memory right now, but I believe that elbow on my truck is smooth.



But if the elbow were leaking, I'd expect a strong coolant odor because it would drip on the exhaust manifold, right?



Ryan

 

[Metroneck]

You bet I'll get a pic. up tomorrow when I've got good light. You're right about leaking right on the turbo/exhaust. The way I found the leak is on the bottom of the truck where there is a little 1/4 inch x 5 inch gap on the bottom where the transmission and the bell housing bolt up. I think it's the clutch that I can see inside the gap. Going on my limited know how- I deduced that there wouldn't be any reason for coolant to be leaking out back there. I thought head gasket- however wouldn't you smell it, and don't see/feel any evidence of leaking. Temp is running normal all of the time. Thanks for your response---best money spent on my computer in a long time---

 

[B.G. Smith]

I had the leak on mine, the reason mine was leaking was the clamp was not far enough up on the hose to properly clamp the hose to the metal tube, I loosened the clamp, moved it up on the hose toward the end, re-tightened and all has been well for two years. bg

 

[sag2]

It's usually just the clamp. Give it a couple of turns and it should stop leaking. They also generally only leak when the engine is cold.

 

[CDonaldson]

There was a TSB about this leak at that little heater hose. Mine leaked, I tightened the clamp, leaked again. When I was at my dealership I mentioned the problem, they knew about the TSB. Basically, they replaced the hose and clamps. The new clamps are supposedly a stronger clamp, something about tension being different in the clamp and the new hose is RED. You may need the new hose and clamps. Several people here and on other forums had the same problem and got the replacement hose and clamps under their warranty.



CD