Mystery coolant leak!

[Vanislpajero]

Ok....I'm outta tricks....I simply can't find this coolant leak to save my life. There are small drips if coolant on the transmission cooler lines right next to the engine. I am always loosing coolant in very small increments and smell coolant after driving any distance. Still. I can't find the leak. anybody else ever have a mystery coolant leak and could shed some light? I could use the help

[Feds]

When a water pump seal fails it will drip out of the weep hole at the bottom of the pump. It could be that.

[Vanislpajero]

Yeah it's not that....already ruled out the water pump

[mararmeisto]

Heater core?

Water pump is not right - water pump is on the front end of the engine.

[403delica]

Is it by chance lines to a rear heater core?

[mararmeisto]

Is it by chance lines to a rear heater core?

That's a possibility too. Must consult the maintenance manual, see if there are coolant lines heading back to there.

[403delica]

pressurize the system with a coolant pressure tester... and wait! it will show its self. You can also add a ultraviolet dye to trace the leak

[mararmeisto]

Is it by chance lines to a rear heater core?

That's a possibility too. Must consult the maintenance manual, see if there are coolant lines heading back to there.

There are coolant hoses running back to the rear heater unit as well. Not sure where they leave the engine bay, but I would imagine it would be near the transmission. Might be good to have a look around there.

[Vanislpajero]

If only it wasn't so tight in all those areas!!

[jrrodger]

I had this exact problem and found that it was the Engine to Heater Core(s) (front rear) connections underneath the plumbing straps. My advise to you is to "cut" about 1/2" off each connection to the heater core or even better re-do the hoses in that area around the engine. My experience was when the engine was cold, you could not see the crack, but when the coolant was hot/warm, a tiny crack formed in the rubber.

Also as the Coolant in the Pajero tends to get very nasty very quickly, I would also recommend a flush of all the coolant and gunk at the same time as this chemical mess is not good for preserving rubber hoses... (there are some good postings on how to do this on the message boards).

If you are a youtube watcher, I believe "davidsfarmlives channel" has an example of doing this trick in a Crysler with the same results. (or at least this how I figured it out).
regards,

JR

[Vanislpajero]

Ok...upon searching deeper into this matter I have to ask if my turbo is water cooled or oil cooled. It's coming from the turbo side for sure

[Vanislpajero]

Ok..my error...it's an oil cooled turbo. The leak is still coming from that area. I haven't pulled anything apart yet but it could very well be the metal heater line that comes of the thermostat housing, travels along side the engine, behind the turbo makes a right corner behind the the engine and connects up to the rubber fittings for the heating system. There are also frost plugs in that area but I don't see that as an option. You can see where the coolant is running down the side of the engine. There's a patch that's clean where the rest of the engine is covered in oil. You can see drips of coolant around that area but none point to particular spot. That's the annoying part.

[Shaun Van Ramen]

Is it sun spots or what? I just recently am having said similar problem. Tried tracing it today with minimal luck. The coolants is all along the skid pans (rear of engine) but I am assuming that is from wind when driving.

It only seems to leak after driving and very minimal.

I'm gonna do a test on the overflow to eliminate the (possibility) rad cap.

I will post up if I resolve this issue - thinking that most Delicas act the same.

[Vanislpajero]

That is exactly it...drips along the skid plates and cross members and only after driving...no trace on the drive way. I'm losing coolant enough to check the rad every few days and top it up a bit

[Ruffstuff]

It sounds like a leak I had last year - go ahead and check the thermostat bypass pipe. It's a small aluminum pipe that feeds coolant into the head from the thermostat.

Mine had a rubber o-ring in the thermostat side of the pipe that had perished, and had been slowly leaking coolant from the underside of the pipe, then running down the block. probably evaporating along the way, because I never had any puddles.