Never ending coolant leak

Replaced the upper and lower rad hoses and the small hose off of the water pump as a matter of pm on a timing belt job. No matter what I do the car has a slow leak roughly in the vicinity of the lower radiator hose by the radiator.

 

After reseating all of the hoses multiple times I still have a leak. It only appears just as the car warms up or as you start driving. Car reeks of coolant or has steam coming from under the hood if stopped... then it goes away.

 

Do the radiators on these cars tend to go bad or the tanks crack?

I'm trying to figure out what the hell is causing MY coolant leak. Seems coolant is spritzing from where the UPPER radiator hose meets the radiator, but I can't figure out WHY. It's just a little but annoying, and I get that delicious syrup smell every time I get out of my car.

When my water pump went bad it LOOKED like I had a leak from the lower RaD hose but fluid was actually dripping down along the hose from the pump.

The lower radiator hose on our cars cars a pretty right bend and then it goes right into the t stat housing, I think that severe bend will never allow the hose to fully seat properly... even after tightening the clamp ( not too tight ) it might seep a little from time to time. Eventually it will get that crusty build up and stop leaking lol, at least that was my case. Mine might only be that way because the front end isnt very straight. the car was hit by a drunk driver while I was parked, and the body shop that did the repairs sucked, and didnt weld in the right spots, making the front slightly crooked and shifting the radiator over a bit, so it never quite lined up correctly ever since... One day ill fix the front end by myself and get it right.

water pump

Water pump is a new GMB unit. Seems to have sealed OK.

 

 

I used Dayco radiator hoses and I am not impressed. I had some success fixing other leaks by loosening the clamps and sliding the hose around then retightening the clamp. So far this connection hasn't responded to this.

 

I may take it in to have them pressure test...

 

I also hate the smell of burning coolant.

gasket on the t-stat installed correctly?

 

i once had a coolant leak that only happened when the car reached full operating temp. it turned out to be the hose clamp at the water pump. i tightened it up and no more leak.

 

i had another leak that appeared on the lower hose. i tracked it to the rad cap. it oozed coolant when hot and trickled down to the lower hose. i didn't find it until i removed the overflow bottle. again, it only leaked when hot.

 

check the cap. if it looks iffy replace it.

Cap is also replaced but the hose to the overflow tank has a crack in it near the rad cap. That could be it. I have a super nice tstat gasket that's silicone rather than Soft black plastic.

Took it to a shop, pressure tested it at spec and above spec, no leaks. Maybe it ended on its own... But the coolant was still low. Uh oh...

the hose to the overflow tank has a crack in it near the rad cap.

 

Fix that and report back

Maybe a small hairline crack. That get wider as the car gets hotter.

It's the radiator for the first two guys. The end tanks after time will start to seep then just leak.

117k miles having timbing belt done and mechanic called and said radiator plastic tank had a small leak. Looks like they start to go about this time..

The coolant by-pass hose to the heater core is an ass sometimes, its got that weird bend in it too, tracking down a leak after I did a water pump resulted in that the hose was like maybe 1/2 inch too long and kinked leaking by the hose clamp there.