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Before I really crawl under the car to see where this freakin' leak is coming from, I wanted to ask this forum if anyone experienced this catastrophic leak before? It is coming from the driver side and it is running down the transmission bell housing. I didn't want to stick my head in while it was dripping because it was hot. It leaked more when the car was turned off. Glad my daughter was on her way home when this happened. Any ideas on what i may look for? See the picture.
It looks like right above there might be the Expansion Tank. I would check that and the hoses that are attached. Also the heater core inlets and outlets are easy to check (at least visually) even when hot. Anything from the top of the engine can be at least visually looked at even when hot.. just a friendly reminder - wear safety glasses (goggles) and gloves of some sort. It looks from the picture that it was leaking while the car was being driven into the driveway correct. Or was it only after the car was shut off. As for leaking more when it shut off this could be from the coolant heating up a bit since there is no circulation and the subsequent increase pressure.
I checked the heater hoses and reservoir and they are OK. It looks like it is coming from the back of the engine, not sure if it is the coolant flange or not; I used an inspection camera but can't get a good shot of where it is coming from. I need to wait for my daughter to come back to help hold the camera while I navigate the fiber optic. Here is the funny thing: While it is cold, when I unscrew the reservoir cap, the liquid leaks like a sieve (using water now since I don't want to waste G12 Antifreeze. When I screw the cap back on, it stops. Check the hoses going from the reservoir and all looks good. I am in the general area but still can't pin point the leak.
That is odd regarding the cap except it makes sense that there is a leak lower than the tank and that by removing the cap allows more air and releases the vacuum and when you replace it it creates a vacuum and slow or stops the flow. A suggestion in case you did not think of it regarding the cap. Fill the expansion tank and put the cap on then when yo try to see where it is coming from unscrew the cap just enough to have it leak hopefully slowly and it might be easier to see. Also if there is a way to determine how much water is leaking before it stops might help in determining where it might be. If I think or find anything else I will post it.
Last edited by ProfileTrader; Sep 7, 2020 at 05:48 PM.
Thanks for all the replies; I haven't had time to look at the source of the leak yet. My area is right in the middle of the smoke in California and the air quality is too bad to work outside. My garage is full of "stuff" so I can't put the car in there. As soon as I find it, I will let everyone know.
Update: First of all, thanks for all your inputs. After wildfire smoke cleared up and being able to be outside again, I did some more troubleshooting. Good News, it is not coming from the coolant flange - I also think on the 2.8L engines the coolant flange are metal (that is what I heard) so failure is possible but only slightly (checked and it is OK). Got a camera and fished around for few hours and got close to the source. It was leaking closer to the front of the car. I removed the tire so I can see better - and behold! The source of the leak! I think that is one of the heater hose - can someone confirm? How that popped off, I have no idea. It looks like it does not have the quick disconnect. Location is driver side; just above and towards the front, ahead of the CV Axle. Need advice: Should I replace the whole hose? Should I attach a new section to the male part and connect it to existing hose? As mentioned before, the water just leaked out as i poured it into the reservoir, stopped when I screwed on the cap. Don't mind the stick - I was using that as a reference point.
Yes, I saw that too but clamp is the type that is crimped. I probably can cut the hose at the clamp and reattach with a hose clamp. I don't think I want to go that route since it will stretch the hose and may touch something hot and will end up leaking from another spot. I found out the hose is actually the heater hose. If you look closely, the quick connect is just to the left of the hose opening.
You should be able to remove the clamp by snipping the crimped portion perpendicular to the way it is crimped. I have done it when removing the clamps on my axles and outer tie rod boots (there are short vids showing this). You might be able to rotate the clamp to get a better angle too. Then there is no reason to cut the hose and you could either then use another crimp (ear) clamp (but it is best to have the crimp tool for that or a worm clamp. If you are concerned with the worm teeth biting into the hose they make smooth versions of them. The worm clamp is easiest as one thing you have to be sure of with the ear clamp is assuring proper size (less margin for fitment).
Major AntiFreeze Leak
