Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Losing Coolant...Where is it going?

[GAmes]

All the coolant is gone from my reservoir. It took about 3000 miles pulling a 13k trailer across the states. There is no water in the oil and the truck runs fine. I can't see any leakage from anywhere. Anyone have any ideas? I'm a long way from home.

 

[pwerwagn]

Maybe the head has a crack and your burning the water? thats my only guess.



--Jeff

 

[ttbird]

First thing there are a lot of coolant hoses on our engines. There are like three or four on the left side of the engine down near the heat/oil exchanger that you can't see and if leaking a little would account for your loss. It has to be a small leak if driving across the states you only lose the reservoir. Maybe a quart +. I had a small leak in hose on the front top of the engine, the 90 degree one, which almost was only weeping that I didn't discover for almost a year. I also was wondering where my coolant was going. Look again at all your hoses. What I finally did was replace all of the hoses with Mr. Bob's complete kit. A little more than I wanted to spend on hoses but after ten years without a failure. I thought it made good sense to replace them all for reliability.

 

[JFaughn]

Get a pressure test on the system , then look for leaks , if you only lost the fluid in the res. not bad , did you check the rad ?
If the pressure test leaks down and you see no leaks look for stains on exhaust seams & tail pipe , BEFORE TURNING OVER , TURN BY MANUALY , GET A BARRING TOOL , IF ITS LEAKING INTO THE CYLINDER YOU DO NOT WANT TO TURN OVER WITH STARTER , WATER IN CYLINDER COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ,
If there seems to be water in cylinder then you may need to losen injectors to let water out , then you will know witch cylinder is affected .

 

[Skydiver]

Be sure to check the freeze plugs on the head .

I think there is a small one on the rear of the head also,not sure. I helped a friend replace one on the rear of the head on a 24 valve.

 

[GAmes]

Thank you all. ttbird had it right. A very small hole in one of the heater hoses going to the firewall apparantly jetted the water directly to the exhaust pipe so I could never find a drip... ... until today when it split. What a relief since I had thought about the water into a cylinder scenerio too. All is well 2000 miles from home.