Just the other day, I drove to the local parts store, when I came out, there was a pool of radiator fluid on the ground right under the driver side of the radiator. My hubby and I popped the hood, started her up, but couldn't see or hear where it was leaking from, so we put all the fluid we had on us into the radiator and drove home.

Then, yesterday, I took a look back under the hood, and believe I found where it is leaking. I don't know exactly what the hose is called, but it's a metal tube on the d/s, right below the larger black hose. We're not sure if it's leaking from the tube itself, or from where it is connected to the radiator. So, since we don't have the money to buy a new radiator now, we hitched a ride from a friend to the parts store to pick up some stop leak. We put it in, and drove it for 10mins, which is what the directions said.

Everything seemed fine, I drove down the road a few miles and drove straight back. Temp never went above 210. When I got home we left it running in the driveway for a couple minutes, with no leak. So, we naturally assumed that the leak was temporarily fixed. I drove to work, checked it after she had cooled off, still no leak, and still full of fluid. After work, I drive home, pop the hood to check, and she's hissing from around that little metal tube. The whole d/s of the radiator is wet, but not soaked. So, I moved the truck into the grass, off the pavement, and left her until this morning.

This morning, I wake up, go out to check the fluid level, and she's full. Didn't have to add a single drop. So, of course, this leaves me in a spot. It's obvious that something is wrong with my cooling system, given the spilled radiator fluid, but since the radiator is still full with fluid, I'm not quite sure it's the radiator itself. Perhaps a hose? Or something else? Not sure, and I need some ideas. This is my only vehicle and my husband and I both have jobs. Need to get it fixed right away.

Also, if no one has any quick solutions, I'm gonna have to take her to my buddy over at the local GM dealership to get a diagnosis, which we all know will cost a fortune.

Thanks ahead of time for all advice, or just for reading this.

 

Tomorrow I'm off from work, so it's then when I will be working on her, trying to figure out exactly where the leak is. Hopefully it's just the hose, but you never know. Maybe going to get some dye to help us find the leak.

 

Are you sure there isn't a small hairline crack in the driverside plastic side tank? I just found this on my 97 so I am sourcing a used radiator for $50. Whole driverside tank is wet about 3-4" down from the top. Big puddle of coolant and really only starts leaking when the truck hits full operating temperature.

Might be something to look at. Maybe if you can find the crack if that turns out to be the issue they can patch it for you or maybe just replace the side tank. However it might be best to source a good used rad from the wreckers.

 

if youre in a serious pinch, you can plastic weld the radiator if there is a small crack in it. ive done it before, but only as a temporary solution.

find the crack, get out your soldering iron (or plastic welding kit if you have one), grab some zip ties (which are ABS plastic, same as your radiator), and apply the hot iron directly to the crack with light pressure. this will burn the sides of the crack together and create a valley. hold the zip tie over the valley and carefully melt it into it. smooth it all over with heat from the iron, working the plastic until it overlaps the sides of the crack by at lease half an inch. allow it to cool and cure for about an hour and then reinstall the radiator and test.

 

Thanks, you two! I will definitely look into both ideas. Will keep you all updated on progress.

 

My car did the same exact thing. It was leaking like crazy one day, then stopped and my car doesnt overheat or anything. you could try some "radiator stop leak" or something like that.

 

I already tried the radiator stop leak. Worked long enough for me to make it to work, but the seal broke on my way home.

 

UPDATE
We were able to find the leak. For some reason, she would not leak while running, but as soon as you turned her off, and the radiator was starting to cool off, pop goes the little hole. Was lucky that I happened to be standing in the right spot to see it squirt out.

So, the crack was on the front of the radiator, on the plastic. Was able to scrounge up a little extra cash and went to pick a brand new radiator. Did not want to do just a temp fix and have to constantly be worrying if the temp seal is holding or not.

Thank you everyone who has read this!! And special thanks to torchred04, mierze, and matt92 for your advice.

If an admin happens to come by this thread, please close it cause my problem has been solved.