Just spent a whole day on a coolant leak that wasn't where I thought

Had a 6.7 Powerstroke come in with a slow drip. Pressure test pointed right at the water pump, so I pulled it, cleaned the surface, and put a new one on. The leak was still there after four hours of work. Turns out the upper radiator hose neck had a hairline crack you could only see with the system hot and under pressure. Has anyone else been fooled by a leak that seemed to come from one spot but was actually from another?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_carr727d ago

Yeah I used to be like nina147, thought pressure tests were the final word. Then I had a Subaru where it looked like the thermostat housing was weeping. Replaced the whole unit, leak came right back. The real leak was a cracked plastic coolant crossover pipe three inches above it, dripping right down onto the housing. Took me two tries to finally see it. Now I always look way above where the wet spot is.

the_abby28d ago

Pressure tests can straight up lie sometimes.

nina14727d agoTop Commenter

Seriously, how often does that actually happen though? Most of the time they give you a pretty clear picture of what's going on. People just don't like what the test tells them.