coolant mess

[indiemo]

1059406

hey all. I took my TJ into a local shop to get the coolant system flushed the other day. well, twice now, I've noticed steam flowing from under the hood when I park. I took a look under the hood and there's antifreeze around the edge of the top of the radiator and drops antifreeze blown back onto the engine on the passenger side. There's a large hose running from the top of the radiator on the side with the leaking coolant, but it doesn't appear to be leaking. Anyone got any ideas? It almost seems like it's leaking from the seam in the top of the radiator, but I'm not sure why that would be happening. I'm probably going to call the guys that did the flush and have them look at it, but was curious if any of y'all might know what's going on. [addsig]

 

[jay89]

1059446

Most like likely it is coming out when your driving when the pressure builds up. Make sure to try and tighten all the hose clamps. They may not have tightened one. The best thing to do is find someone that has a pressure tester. If no one has it go to a autozone they let you use it for free. This way you can see where it is leaking from under pressure.[addsig]

 

[MORGSTER]

1059447

Run some clean water over the areas you see coolant. You can do this with a hose or even a cup of water. Make sure the motor is off for safety (Sorry...some people do have to be told)
Dry the water and then run the motor. You should see the coolant leak and track down the source. The leaks could be the radiator? Radiator cap seal? Possibly coolant spilled during the flush? (Not usually if there is steam, that’s a sign of a pressure leak) Split hose? Or it could be as minor as a loose hose clamp.
Cleaning and drying will remove any coolant that has been blown around the motor from fan airflow.
The green or orange color (Depending on the brand) coolant is a good tattletale.
[addsig]

 

[RAVEN13xxx]

1059532

You could go buy a cheap pressure tester and put the system under pressure to see where the leak is. That's how I found out both my water pump and radiator are leaking. I just ordered a 3 core radiator from www.radiatorbarn.com for 174.95. Also got a new KoolFlow water pump, new upper and lower hoses and a 160 t-stat.[addsig]

 

[bluebelle]

1059539

Rule-out the simplest first. Rinse off the engine to remove the coolant. Run the engine and look for coolant leaks. Please watch the fan. May be just spillage from the flush. In any event, a competent mechanic would have never let you have your machine back with such a leak. Reconsider this shop.[addsig]

 

[indiemo]

1059569

thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll probably mess around with it tonight and see what I come up with.[addsig]