Coolant leak somewhere?? 91 YJ2.5

[jleland]

I noticed a couple weeks ago that I had some coolant dripping from, what I thought at the time, the lower radiator hose closest to the engine. I changed the hose and no drips for a day! Where ever the leak is, it is running down that hose and dripping onto the differential. My first thought was the water pump gasket, but of course everyone else is screaming head gasket or cracked head or block.

Now this may be a dumb question, but could my hose clamp be bad? I noticed the head on the screw part doesnt sit flush, it actually looks like its about halfway out. I need to figure this out before I go back to work on the 23rd. Is there anyway to tell if it is the head, head gasket or block?

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Could it be coming from the water pump weep hole above the hose?

 

[jleland]

I'm not too mechanical, so could you describe what I should be lookin for and I can go look right now.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Find the water pump above the crank pulley and look or feel on the bottom side of the pump for a small hole. It's common to leak when the water pump is going bad.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Find the water pump above the crank pulley and look or feel on the bottom side of the pump for a small hole. It's common to leak when the water pump is going bad.

Or it could be that the radiator is leaking at the bottom tank/core joint. The other possibility is that the tank is cracked at the outlet the hose attaches too. I've seen both.

 

[jleland]

Ok, I let it run for a few minutes and the leak has got to be the water pump. The coolant is running right down the backside of the hose. My hands are too big to get in and feel for the weep hole, so I just got underneath and tried to watch.

 

[EarthCruzn]

Try to use a small mirror and a light, run the engine till you see water dripping. Turn off engine and have a look around you should see a small "weep" hole on the bottom of the pump if theres water at the hole the pumps going bad. ... could be the lower hose connection at the pump, you really need to find the leak to be sure.
Jimmy

 

[jleland]

I'm planning on replacing the water pump, radiator and thermostat housing. I don't know when or if any of these have been replaced. Hopefully this will fix the leak and keep me runnin for a bit longer

 

[EarthCruzn]

+ hoses & hose clamps, Go all the way! Get It Right.:shades:

 

[jleland]

Alright, I'm gonna try to pick everything up today. I have one more question. I said earlier that I'm not too mechanical, so when I refill the radiator do I need to do anything to get the coolant into the water pump or just fill it and start it up?

 

[EarthCruzn]

Once you reassymble everything, fill the radiator with your coolant/water mixture (50/50 here in FL), start the engine let it Idle keep filling it till its full, when the thermostat opens you will see water movement in the radiator quickly top it off and put the radiator cap on put some of your mixture to the radiator overflow tank to the lower "add" mark.
Allow engine to cool, add more to the radiator till its full add more if need to the overflow tank to the "cold" mark, drive it check it and the next day recheck to make sure your levels are good, don't forget to get a new radiator cap when you get the pump.
This way gets all the air out of the system, you could fill the rad, start the engine, wait for thermo to open, add more to the rad, put cap on, fill overflow to cold, drive it, check the overflow level, but I would still look in the rad the next day when its cold to see if its full.

 

[jleland]

Well went to the parts store and they need to know if I have a radiator with a 1 inch or 1.5 inch core. Does it matter or will it effect anything if I get the wrong sized core?

 

[EarthCruzn]

Get the same size, ask them how they measure it!

 

[jleland]

Well got everything put back together, started fillin with coolant and it started pouring out of the thermostat housing! I noticed when I was puttin it back on, the top bolt was not wanting to go back in. When I had it all apart, there was some dirt in that particular hole. So my question is, could that dirt cause the bolt to not go all the way in and seal, and would it hurt to try and flush the dirt out of the hole? I really don't have the money to take it to a mechanic so hopefully someone can offer some advice.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

You can flush out the hole, but I'd run a tap through it to clean up the threads.

 

[jleland]

I finally got everything put back together! I had never changed a thermostat so I did it wrong the first round. I had put the gasket over the thermostat on the housing!! I'm learning....I hope! Anyway, I fired it up after sitting for 2 weeks and everything is sealed....no coolant leaks. On the other hand, after I let it run for a bit I noticed gas dripping from right above the frame rail in front of the driver's side rear tire. Please tell me this is just a rubber hose that can be replaced fairly easily!!

It only leaks gas while the engine is running

 

[ljrubitm]

Just
Empty
Every
Pocket
Sorry I had to do that.
But yes it could be a rubber hose before it goes to the fuil line.