Coolant Leak, Cant Find Where!

[patty]

So iv noticed in the last couple days that half the time a drive (not every time) there will be a snow melted puddle of green liquid (coolant) under the drivers side of the deli. The melted snow puddle is usually around 4 inches long by 3 inches wide, so its fairly large. Any one know of a culprit in the general area? It is certainly not the overflow tank as thats on the passengers side of the deli.

ontop of this, what is the coolant mixture ratio (at least i think there is one)?

I'll go out and really take a look now. Just thought id throw this up now so once iv failed at finding the leak later, i wouldn't spend the day rolling around in the snow for nothing.

thanks!

[loki]

So iv noticed in the last couple days that half the time a drive (not every time) there will be a snow melted puddle of green liquid (coolant) under the drivers side of the deli. The melted snow puddle is usually around 4 inches long by 3 inches wide, so its fairly large. Any one know of a culprit in the general area? It is certainly not the overflow tank as thats on the passengers side of the deli.

ontop of this, what is the coolant mixture ratio (at least i think there is one)?

I'll go out and really take a look now. Just thought id throw this up now so once iv failed at finding the leak later, i wouldn't spend the day rolling around in the snow for nothing.

thanks!

if it is drivers side behind the front wheel it's the hoses too the rear heater core or the heater core itself.

[patty]

it was the big ass hose infrontof the alternator, and had been dripping onto the front axel, spreyin it all sorts of every where. i tighten the hose clamp and hopefully thats that. now i just need to look into coolant mixing and topping off. im alittle lost on all the temperature expansion and what not.

[loki]

last time I put coolant in the ratios where on the bottle I think it was max 70% coolant min 50% but don't take my word for it

[patty]

butch said 60/40 so ill go with that

[jessef]

Go to a shop that uses dye.

They put the dye into the coolant system, run it and then with the 'special' light, you can see exactly where the leak is. Pretty neat stuff.

Same goes for oil and fuel leaks.

[Erebus]

it was the big ass hose infrontof the alternator, and had been dripping onto the front axel, spreyin it all sorts of every where. i tighten the hose clamp and hopefully thats that. now i just need to look into coolant mixing and topping off. im alittle lost on all the temperature expansion and what not.

Hopefully it hasn't been dripping on the alternator. If it has, it might be killing your alternator. I had a leak (due to sloppy installation of a rad hose heater by ProActive in Calgary) that dripped on it. By the time I figured out where the leak was, I was getting the dash-lights-flickering dance, and ended up rebuilding the alternator.

As for filling up coolant, when in doubt, just put in straight coolant. A little stronger isn't likely to hurt.

[patty]

the leak persists....think ill go jesses route and get some dye in there.

[EnviroImports.com]

This could be a silly question, but have you checked your Hose clamps to make sure they are tight, alot of the vans over from japan dont even have hose clamps , just those terrible spring type bands.
also, how old are your rad hoses?
this has been a pretty cold winter so far for those who have been banished to the mainland and prairies and alot of vans are leaking at weak spots like hose ends, and clamps.

[patty]

when i first looked it seemed to be one of those clamps not tight enough. so i super tightened it and the leak persists. i bet they are super old hoses, so perhaps ill have to change em...winter time makes me hate my delica alot

[Green1]

winter time makes me hate my delica alot

nooooooo... "my delica makes me hate winter time alot" would be much better....

[Erebus]

winter time makes me hate my delica alot

nooooooo... "my delica makes me hate winter time alot" would be much better....

And "my delica makes me hate winter time a lot" would be even better, since there is no such word as "alot".

Oh, did I mention I work for the language police? No? Oh, sorry.

[patty]

haha, that would work but i love winter.....

[CVI]

Hey Patty,

Sometimes. overtightening the hoses can cause it to crack up even more so make sure the hose is still flexible enough or better yet, replace it. Up and foremost, find out where the leak is coming from. And most importantly, dont let the engine overheat!!!

Best regards and Merry Christmas!

Butch

[FalcoColumbarius]

One thing, Patty ~ I had an issue with my top and bottom hoses but did not know it. I drove the Miss Lil' Bitchi for likely a year and I was impressed with what I thought were kevlar hoses (being from technologically advanced Japan, so I thought) due to the criss-cross pattern on the hoses. I then learned that this is a sign of decay of the hoses. I replaced them. I actually had no issues and I believe I was lucky. This pattern that I speak of I understand can be the precursor to a burst hose and that would really suck. Just thought I'd mention it, while you are underneath the van looking at them.

By the way, when I replaced them my cooling improved a little bit... not sure why .

Falco.