Coolant drip question

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nick62087

Registered User
Hello Everyone,

After drving the car for a while, i notice a coolant drip in my driveway. The spot is makes its small, maybe a little bigger than a baseball. When my cousin did my motor mount, he told me that the plug on the radiator is leaking a little bit. Location of drip identified.

Now the question... I will be changing my coolant this weekend probably, im a bit scared that if i take the plug out, it may be stripped and i will need a new radiator. There is also the chance that it isnt stripped, and i just need a new o-ring. So my question... Should i take the plug out to drain the coolant, or should i jsut disconnect the bottom hose a let the plug as it is?? I dont really feel like getting a new radiator.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions on any coolant additives. I hear "water wetter" is good to use, but i dont have any experience with it. Another thing... i noticed that my coolant seems to be a bit 'gunky'. It has a disgusting brown-ish color and texture :eek: . I think someone may have put dex-cool in there, but im not sure.

Thanks
-Nick
 
Personally if your radiator is leaking...fix it....you wouldn't want to have it blow out these engines run hot enough...
 
nick62087 said:
Hello Everyone,

After drving the car for a while, i notice a coolant drip in my driveway. The spot is makes its small, maybe a little bigger than a baseball. When my cousin did my motor mount, he told me that the plug on the radiator is leaking a little bit. Location of drip identified.

Now the question... I will be changing my coolant this weekend probably, im a bit scared that if i take the plug out, it may be stripped and i will need a new radiator. There is also the chance that it isnt stripped, and i just need a new o-ring. So my question... Should i take the plug out to drain the coolant, or should i jsut disconnect the bottom hose a let the plug as it is?? I dont really feel like getting a new radiator.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions on any coolant additives. I hear "water wetter" is good to use, but i dont have any experience with it. Another thing... i noticed that my coolant seems to be a bit 'gunky'. It has a disgusting brown-ish color and texture :eek: . I think someone may have put dex-cool in there, but im not sure.

Thanks
-Nick
Click to expand...

And if your coolant is as bad as you say, I'd pull the rad anyway to at least see what kind of condition it's in (the inside). It may need more than just a flush.
Mike
 
If your coolant is looking that bad I would definitely 'back-flush' the whole system and, also thoroughly clean out the reservoir. Maybe put in a new thermostat, rad. cap and hoses while you are at it. I'd also stay with Prestone rather than DexCool coolant & Prestone now makes a long life mix. As for the 'Water Wetter' that definitely helps in the summer; but more importantly (depending upon your local water supply) is to use distilled water to re-fill your system. It'll really help in keeping down the rust and help the long-life coolant last. The rad. drain cocks aren't usually a problem and ours are easily replaced at the local parts store - so I'd go ahead and remove it.
 
I run a blend of 75% distilled water - 25% ethylene glycol + 1 bottle Water Wetter. Runs cool as a cucumber in S. TX. This might not provide enough freeze protection in northern climates, though. In that case, adjust to 50% - 50%.

Unless your coolant is "clean and green", pull the radiator, and back-flush everything before refilling. The new thermostat idea is good, too. I run 180 deg. thermostats in my cars.

JD
 
Thanks for all the imput. I was leaning towards properly flushing and fixing everything, and i think now thats the path i'll go.

Does anyone know how hard it is to change a t-stat? Ive never done one before, so any imput on how to do that is greatly appreciated.

T.y
-Nick
 
If you look at the top hose on your Radiator it goes into a black steel pipe that turns down and goes into the top of the engine...where that pipe bolts (2 Bolts)to the engine take that loose and the Thermostat is underneath it. make sure to clean all the old gasket material off before you replace it with the new one....;)..also make sure you point the thermostat the right way...you wouldn't believe how many peeps don't...
 
which way does it point?

Can anyone recomend a good repair manual to buy? Id like one thats good on the technical stuff and has good electrical schematics.

Thanks,

Nick
 
I like the Haynes (only around $17) for general maintenace because it's a 'hands-on' type publication. However, the schematics at the back are ok but not super accurate for all model years. The official Ford (Helms) manual has got to be over $80 now (if still published for our old cars) and you can get a separate electrical manual as well. You can also do a search and some members here were offering to copy their CD versions (I got my '94 for $10) but you really need a laptop in your garage to use it effectively. Some people have also praised the Chilton manual for our cars, but I was never impressed with them in the past.
 
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