coolant leak

[claude]

I just noticed that my l 400 is dripping and coolant onthe cabin floor by the passanger side at the bottom right corner of the gloves yone box. I wonder if anyone had the same problem and where this leak is coming from.

[jessef]

your heater core/blower motor is there behind the glove box.

take the glove box out and check the hose going into the heater core.

Also check the bleed valve in the engine bay. It's above the injection pump along the firewall. It looks like a black hose with a nylon nut screwed in. turn the engine on, let it idle, put the heat to full blast with the blower at full and the undo the nut. coolant should start to flow out. when it does, close it and then check to see if it still leaks inside.

[Rising Sun Auto Import]

your heater core/blower motor is there behind the glove box.

take the glove box out and check the hose going into the heater core.

Also check the bleed valve in the engine bay. It's above the injection pump along the firewall. It looks like a black hose with a nylon nut screwed in. turn the engine on, let it idle, put the heat to full blast with the blower at full and the undo the nut. coolant should start to flow out. when it does, close it and then check to see if it still leaks inside.

X2.

Probably loose clamp connection or cracked hose.
When it comes to bleeding, warm up the van up to the operating temperature, and open the nut (circled in red) until coolant comes out. The nut is made of plastic, so do not over-torque it when you tighten it. Be careful of the hot coolant as well.

Good luck.

Steven

[claude]

your heater core/blower motor is there behind the glove box.

take the glove box out and check the hose going into the heater core.

Also check the bleed valve in the engine bay. It's above the injection pump along the firewall. It looks like a black hose with a nylon nut screwed in. turn the engine on, let it idle, put the heat to full blast with the blower at full and the undo the nut. coolant should start to flow out. when it does, close it and then check to see if it still leaks inside.

Thanks for the info I will look at it.

[foxycanuck]

Mine just started leaking through the seam on the coolant bottle... has anyone ever tried actually welding the seam on those?

[jessef]

Mine just started leaking through the seam on the coolant bottle... has anyone ever tried actually welding the seam on those?

I've tried jb weld, epoxy, fiberglass/resin but still leaks. Your best bet to replace the old one with an OEM original.

If it bursts while you're driving and you have coolant loss, it will damage the engine.

[CREGAN]

For probably a little more you could get piece of mind and order an aluminum expansion tank from Lee in England:

http://www.tigweld4u.com/

I know he ships to Canada because I am rolling my pennies up saving for a dual battery tray. It would cost you about 128 pounds, so $205. I will get one when mine goes so I never have to stress about it again. Plus it looks flash.

Craig

[foxycanuck]

For sure gonna replace... just kind of curious about plastic welding. It seems to me that welding the seam together should be a LOT stronger than gluing or epoxying it.

If its a super common problem I wonder if we could get a local shop to do that kind of work instead of ordering the metal tanks from england.

[lopar]

For probably a little more you could get piece of mind and order an aluminum expansion tank from Lee in England:

http://www.tigweld4u.com/

I know he ships to Canada because I am rolling my pennies up saving for a dual battery tray. It would cost you about 128 pounds, so $205. I will get one when mine goes so I never have to stress about it again. Plus it looks flash.

Where did you did this guy up? shiny new toys to consider!

I always find it strange that you have to look so far (AT LEAST out of country) to find anything decent for a decent price. No offence to the 3-4 people in Canada that put out a good product at a good price. I would venture a guess to double the price on such products in Canada, chocking it up very little to material cost but to the producers pocket.

That's also my small town rant, as I can not easily search out Vancouver for many decent services and products.

[mrdueck]

I tryied epoxy's, jb weld, and had a plastics specialist here try to weld it. He said he couldn't get the plastic to co-operate. I tried to aftermarket tanks, no good. Got an OEM one and things are good as new now.
Rudy

[CREGAN]

Where did you did this guy up? shiny new toys to consider!

I always find it strange that you have to look so far (AT LEAST out of country) to find anything decent for a decent price. No offence to the 3-4 people in Canada that put out a good product at a good price. I would venture a guess to double the price on such products in Canada, chocking it up very little to material cost but to the producers pocket.

That's also my small town rant, as I can not easily search out Vancouver for many decent services and products.

I have been in contact with him from the Australian Delica site. He has several threads in the AU and the UK sites where he shows his products being made and installed on his Delica. I was thinking about getting a dual battery tray made here but it would be much more expensive and much crappier worksmanship. Since any part I would want constructed is not made for something in the oil industry, or for a massively jacked up pickup truck - there would be no incentive for someone to build it. That's seems to be Alberta's Mantra.

I think I am gradually going to be upgrading to a few of his things (battery tray, coolant tank, catch can - in that order)

Craig

[jessef]

The demand is higher across the ocean than here for L300/L400 aftermarket parts. The amount of L300/L400's in Canada is very small compared to overseas. That's why you don't see fabricators churning out stuff here. There is no consistent market to make any money on it. A fabricator would be doing it because they have time and love it, not for a good cash flow.

He's got good stuff.

[claude]

your heater core/blower motor is there behind the glove box.

take the glove box out and check the hose going into the heater core.

Also check the bleed valve in the engine bay. It's above the injection pump along the firewall. It looks like a black hose with a nylon nut screwed in. turn the engine on, let it idle, put the heat to full blast with the blower at full and the undo the nut. coolant should start to flow out. when it does, close it and then check to see if it still leaks inside.

I just fund the leak. I am not mechanically oriented and have no clue what is this plastic container and how to fix the dripping.

[joedelica]

Hi Claude,

I have a similar problem with mine; the smell of coolant inside the cab when the system is on. No wet carpets and no loss of coolant. I'm not quite sure what bleeding the system via the engine bay has to do with this type of leaking??? But did it work for your leak?

Thanks,

Joe

[thedjjack]

Heater core is just a really small radiator that engine coolant goes through to heat the inside....

Generally they get a small pin hole and when the system is hot it has around 10psi pressure pushing out fine mist of antifreeze gas....adds moisture so windows do not defrost well and the cab smells sweet...

Next they develop drips (takes a big drip use up fluid...sometimes the blow when they fail.

Basically you need to drain system, remove the heater core (replace or radiator shop can rebuild or custom one (my Jeep need a custom unit cost me $300 cash, my F350 new was $21.00)), replace, fill system, and bleed air.

Any radiator shop can fix..not sure if the L400 shares heater cores with another model (would not surprise me).

Cheers