Oil leaking from radiator area

[Radshooter]

Last night I noticed a small spot of oil near the front bumper. I crawled under the driver side and saw oil accumulating on some silver tubing near the radiator. Is this from the intercooler? How serious is this? It just started doing this a few days ago. 42,000 miles on the odo. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[p-Bar]

sure it's not the trans cooler??

 

[Slow Six]

You need to show details of your truck. If you have an automatic it could be from cooler lines or maybe from A/C lines.

 

[Radshooter]

sorry guys. That was my first ever post from a phone at the airport. I didnt realize my sig would not show.
It is an 03 6 spd 3500 dually.
Thanks again...

 

[MAleshire]

Can you verify whether it's motor oil, antifreeze, or diesel? With leaks it's often hard to tell where they are coming from. It helps to know what fluid is leaking. Lots of times where the leak is actually occurring is different from where you are seeing the liquid accumulate. If its motor oil it may be a front seal or gear cover. If you are just seeing an occasional drip you have some time to look around for the source.

Good Luck, Skip

 

[RVTRKN]

The front grill area with a manual trany should not have any oil leaks, unless its the AC condenser. However maybe your intercooler has some oil accumulated in it with a leak. (a very long shot) You should not have any oil in the intercooler, unless your turbo is leaking.

 

[p-Bar]

maybe power steering

 

[Radshooter]

Yeah, I didn't think there should be any oil there either. It is definately coming from that area though. It may not be oil, but something else combined with all the dust and dirt around here.

We are in Houston for a week for turkey with the inlaws, so I will look at it more when I get home next week. I just noticed it for the first time Fri. nite, and it was already dark. We were leaving earlly Sat. morning, so I didn't pay much attention to it then.

All I noticed was it was coming off a couple silver tubes (kinda looked like there was some braided material around one or both of them). Since it was the silver tubes and not a radiator hose, I am not sure what it was. I didn't have time to trace the lines in the dark. I do know I have a slow leak in the power steering pump/reservoir but this was lower and more forward.

Anyway, y'all have a good Thanksgiving and I will try to get more info when we get home.

Thanks again.

 

[David Pendleton]

Isn't that where the breather/blow-by vent is?

 

[wcjp]

My 06' the breather tube is more rear. I read a great tip recently in an offroad magazine. Clean the area as good as possible. Sprinkle with white baby powder. Follow the new wet spot. I'm wondering if it's antifreeze mixed with 6yrs of road grime? Waterpump?

 

[JWadford]

maybe power steering

mine tends to leak there from time to time

 

[MA2LA]

I just had to replace my power stearing cooler that developed a nasty leak. not a clue how it happened being in between the IC and the rad but it did.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Check/change the air filter.



It sounds like the same problem I had which was the turbo leaking oil. When the air filter gets plugged up it can cause the turbo to have some blow by. I found that info on the Holset website in their troubleshooting guide. I'm sure on mine it is a combination of a plugged air filter and a turbo with 130,000 miles on it but that cured mine.



Good luck,



Jeff

 

[Radshooter]

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize there was a power steering cooler in there. It may be that, or AC fluid.
Thanks for the air filter tip Jeff. I just cleaned and reoiled my AFE a few weeks ago, so I am sure that is good to go.

Thanks again everyone... .....

 

[Radshooter]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I had a chance to crawl under it today in the daylight, and it is the power steering. Now it appears to be leaking from both the cooler and the pump. Guess it is time to get fixed. Hopefully it is still under warranty. Have to check. I am kinda bummed out. The truck is 6 years old, and this is the first time anything has leaked bad enough to leave a puddle anywhere.

Now all I have to do is find a dealer since the one in Flagstaff went belly up. According to the Dodge find-a-dealer website, the next closet ones are. . in order of closeness ...
1. Winslow
2. Cottonwood
3. Holbrook
4. Show Low
Anyone in Norther AZ had any experience with any of these dealers????

Thanks again