[rxter]

I get a single drip once in a while - no big deal. Or sometimes maybe 10 drops. Anyway, I got under there today. This is what I see. Thoughts regarding the whereabouts of my mystery leak are appreciated.



       



And a specific question. The aluminum tray under the radiator - is that connected to the rad? Seemed to be separate, but when I take the allen bolts out there appears to be no give. Any tips on how to remove that piece? Getting that off might let me to see whether I have a hose/clamp leak or the radiator itself.



   



Thanks

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rl968]

hard to tell from the pics. Looks like in the first pic I see a drop on the bottom of that pan/tray right in the middle. There's really only a few places it can come from. Check the thermofan switch, drivers side of radiator near top (you can only really see it from beneath, it has a fiber gasket on it that can go bad. There are two hoses directly above that switch, a big one and then a little one. The little one has a fiber gasket on it, that could also be the source. You can see that from the top once you remove the airbox and the radiator bracket (two screws on each side). The only other places I am aware of where you might see drops on the tray are the big hose on the bottom of the radiator that comes down from the water pump or the radiator drain plug. These are all pretty simple fixes, but it's a PIA draining the radiator.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[94SilverCab]

Maybe your heater Control Valve (HCV) is about to let loose. Usually they fail big time, but perhaps you are getting a warning.



Just my $.02,



Jay

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

it looks like it has been dripping down onto the lower hose for a while - check the fitting at the top



as for the tray, it sits on top of the side brackets - you can't remove it without first removing the radiator

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

From the top.



Is this normal? Looks like an open port. Passenger side. Edit: Did some more reading. I am going to guess that the open port is for the ATF heating chamber.



   



This is the driver side hoses. I see some green crud on the big one.



   



   



Tomorrow I'll put the box back on and run the car till hot and see what I can see.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

how old are the hoses? they only have a max life of 8 years - they could just be sweating now

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Dubai944]

Buy, beg, borrow or steal a coolant pressure tester. Pump the system up to 10psi or so when cold and you will find your leaks pretty quick.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

All original far as I can tell. They've held up remarkably well considering...



So I ran engine through 4 or 5 fan cycles and waited. Nothing obvious. I am going with the old hose theory.



Also noticed a couple of old drips on the HCV heat shield. That piece of hose looks pretty bad. Time for a visit to the shop. If we did not have the road trip coming up I'd do this one myself. Just hoses and clamps right? I think even I could do that without screwing it up. Good news is that I got the Passport hard wired while I waited for the engine to cool down.



   



Get a new HCV while I'm at it? Water pump was changed last year thankfully.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[timbits]

Yes get a new HCV while you're in there. If you're going through the effort of replacing the collant hoses there's no extra work to replace the HCV, and the part itself is pretty cheap.



The HCV is just plastic and glue so after years it gets brittle and weak and they're known to let go. When it does goes it'll throw most of your coolant all over your engine. Not fun.



Also I just noticed in one of your pictures you don't have a cap on the outlet on the top of the passenger side of the raditator. I believe that's normal to not connect to anything, but mine has a cap over it (http://www.paragon-products.com/product_...103.02.htm). I wonder if you're radiator is really plugged up or if this is blocked off internally on some radiators. On the drive home from getting a new radiator installed the cap split and thew coolant all over the engine. Luckily for me I was almost home so I was able to pretty much coast into the garage before all the coolant was lost.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

i would change all hoses if they are original - they are bound to fail when you least want them to



the open port is not used on 6 speed radiators

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

At least it's clean... if only there were a concours division for radiator tops.



   

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

And the winner is



http://www.youtube.c...feature=related



RL



leaking at the temp sensor switch. Since the other hoses were all pretty cruddy and old, and the coolant was out - in go new hoses and a new HCV. Should be good to go for summer now.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.