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Why?!?! Coolant Leak


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I've searched other topics trying to figure out what's going on. Hoping it's not a blown gasket or ANYTHING related to the turbo, since I just had it replaced.

 

Took my 05 LGT out for a quick drive to the post office. On my way I noticed the temperature rising and I pulled over. There was coolant leaking all over the place near the passenger side of the engine. Upon further inspection it looks as if it's leaking from one of two hoses near the air filter. Walked back to my apartment complex to grab my scooter, so I could buy some coolant and noticed that there was a puddle of coolant leaking where the car was parked. I had driven the car a couple of hours before without any incident. Any ideas?

 

http://home.comcast.net/~philnguyenucd/IMG_0159.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~philnguyenucd/IMG_0164.JPGhttp://home.comcast.net/~philnguyenucd/IMG_0165.JPGhttp://home.comcast.net/~philnguyenucd/IMG_0163.JPG

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Check all hoses for cracks or damage and hope you find the culprit.

 

If you aren't that lucky then it might be the water pump or radiator that has given up. Really bad luck means a bad head gasket or cylinder head.

 

You might have better luck if you look under the hood with the engine idling.

 

Just add water if you have a known leak, then you can just drain it all when you have fixed it and then fill up with correct anti-freeze. It's likely that you will have to drain everything anyway when fixing the leak.

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From the looks of it, I'd guess upper radiator hose is leaking at the radiator.

 

You may need to pull the air inlet duct to see it.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

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From the looks of it, I'd guess upper radiator hose is leaking at the radiator.

 

You may need to pull the air inlet duct to see it.

 

Ditto. Grab the hose where it connects to the radiator and see if you can turn it on the nipple being VERY careful not to stress the nipple itself. The people that did the work could have cracked the nipple already and if that's the case, then you need a radiator. Gluing those damn things never works, at least not in my experience, even with kits made specifically for that kind of repair.

 

Remove the stupid spring clamps and replace with good clamps. ALL of them on all of the hoses as these are a known failure point.

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Remove the stupid spring clamps and replace with good clamps. ALL of them on all of the hoses as these are a known failure point.

 

If the clamps are actual "spring" clamps, they should be pretty good really--constant pressure that will self adjust over time. It's the non-spring clamps that seem to cause problems, no...? Over time they loosen up and cause issues.

"Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>>

 

Not currently in stock :(

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:stupid:

 

The spring clamps are far superior to standard worm gear clamps since the spring clamps keep a constant tension throughout temperature changes, whereas the worm gears cannot.

I like to cook my pets and my family.

 

Use commas. Don't be a psycho.

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I have had a lot of Chryslers over the years and the clamps are a good failure point so I generally replace them with "good" flex gear screw clamps from Ideal. They have a sleeve under the worm gear and a spring on the worm gear drive that allows continuous pressure without having a hot spot like the general hose clamps do. I have these on my 05 LGT 5EAT and no issues ever at any hose connections.

 

You should try some of these clamps. They really are excellent.

 

Another good clamp is the Gates heat shrink (Power Grip) clamps. They shrink initially with a heat gun to grip evenly all the way around and then as the vehicle heats up, they completely fit themselves to whatever they are clamping with even pressure the entire length of the nipple. No undue pressure anywhere on a plastic heater hose or radiator nipple. They work flawlessly but with one drawback. Once you shrink them on, if you have to remove the hose, you have to cut the clamp off and replace it with a new one and they are fairly expensive, at least to be throwing them away.

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That's odd that you had issues with the Chrysler clamps. Previous to getting into Subarus, I had had 25 years in a Chrysler dealership, and still work on Neons regularly. The factory clamps are all I'll use because I have yet to see one fail.

 

I'm with you on the Gates power grip though. I was looking into those for my ACR.

I like to cook my pets and my family.

 

Use commas. Don't be a psycho.

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That's odd that you had issues with the Chrysler clamps. Previous to getting into Subarus, I had had 25 years in a Chrysler dealership, and still work on Neons regularly. The factory clamps are all I'll use because I have yet to see one fail.

 

I'm with you on the Gates power grip though. I was looking into those for my ACR.

 

As long as you have the nice V groove pliers those clamp are real easy to work with. Used to be a Chrysler man my self.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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My opinion on clamps:

 

Use proper hose clamps and a proper tool for them. Just plan ahead so the screw head ends up in an accessible location when mounting them.

 

http://www.bedug.com/pics/hoseclamp1.jpghttp://www.bedug.com/pics/hoseclamp2.jpg

 

Tool:

http://www.bedug.com/pics/hoseclamptool.jpg

Don't use ordinary sockets/T-handle since that will put too much force on the seal, and you also risk that the socket sticks to the clamp and you will be standing there with a socket extender while the socket ends up in a tight spot.

 

Spring type clamps are so/so from my point of view.

http://www.bedug.com/pics/hoseclamp5.jpg

They make things better than no clamp, and works fine when handling vacuum hoses or low pressure hoses, but not for high pressure like coolant. And it can be an effin headache to get the pliers to grip them sometimes and then also move the clamp off the seal area. It's always in a tight spot where the offending clamp shall go. :p

 

I see zip ties as more than a curse than a solution since it's a problem to get them tight enough where you need them and they are impossible to open when you realize you forgot something that should have been tied down too.

 

Notice that not all hose clamps are good, the wire type cuts through hoses:

http://www.bedug.com/pics/hoseclamp3.jpghttp://www.bedug.com/pics/hoseclamp4.jpg

 

At least this is my opinion formed through experience of different levels of headaches with hoses and clamps.

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Man, I love this forum. Turned out to be the hose near the front of the engine attaching the intercooler. there was a tear inside of it. My question now is that my engine is really shaking after the fix. It shook a little before, but not it's getting more noticeable. ANy thoughts?
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