coolant leak

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AdamR

AdamR

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I decided to fill the cooling system with water today to check for leaks. I have plenty of them.
Thermostat is leaking,

temp sender is leaking (forgot to seal it)

my upper radiator hose is leaking its new but Im using factory style clamps any tricks to getting them to seal with them ?

and the intake is leaking around the front and rear most bolts. Please tell me they go in to water jackets and all I need to do is seal them. I really dont want to pull the intake again.

also while Im at it which header bolts go in to water ? I think its just the outside ones ?
 
Cool, I'll pull them and seal them and try again before taking the intake off.
 
Check your oil for water leaking into the engine.
 
New hoses usually will seal with a few heat cycles. If you don't want to wait for that then pour or run hot/boiling water thru them and get them soft then slip them in place and clamp them. And you will have higher chances of leaks from the outlet if it's chrome or a high gloss on the sealing surface just because the hose will want to slip. I prefer the t-bolt type clamps myself.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Check your oil for water leaking into the engine.
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All ready thought of that. Thanks

64dartwagon said:
New hoses usually will seal with a few heat cycles. If you don't want to wait for that then pour or run hot/boiling water thru them and get them soft then slip them in place and clamp them. And you will have higher chances of leaks from the outlet if it's chrome or a high gloss on the sealing surface just because the hose will want to slip. I prefer the t-bolt type clamps myself.
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These are the factory (corbin ?) clamps. They kinda worry me but regular hose clamps just wouldnt look right.
 
AdamR said:
These are the factory (corbin ?) clamps. They kinda worry me but regular hose clamps just wouldnt look right.
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You striving for the factory look? Have you seen or used the t-bolt type before?

tbolt_picture.jpg
 
Yes Im trying to keep the engine looking stock. It was a very small drip so I smear a thin layer of RTV in the hose to seal it. That should hold it. Of coarse all of these leaks were with out pressure in the coolant system.
 
Well the intake is still leaking. Looks like its coming a part again.
 
AdamR said:
Yes Im trying to keep the engine looking stock. It was a very small drip so I smear a thin layer of RTV in the hose to seal it. That should hold it. Of coarse all of these leaks were with out pressure in the coolant system.
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That`s the fix I`ve always heard of ; silicone the hose. You can try rotating the clamp to another position and that might get them to seal. If your thermostat housing is the chrome one and it`s leaking, throw it in the trash and buy a factory replacement. As dartwagon said, sometimes after a few cycles of heating and cooling, the leaks just stop? Beats me what`s up there but I`ve seen it happen.
 
Its a factory housing. I fixed that leak and the hose leak but its still dripping at the bolts.
 
Never had a problem with the chrome thermostat housing. I forgot who posted it, but sanding the chrome off the bottom was a great tip. Mine doesn't leak at all.
 
I used to own a rad shop and we always sandblasted our housing and repainted them. a good way to check for trueness is to place the housing on glass, a door window or something, and see if it is flat or if it rocks back and forth. I also swear by Mr. Gaskets "The RightStuff" its a black gasket sealer that would seal the hole in the dam somewhere in Holland it works that good!
 
The right stuff works great. but man, its not cheap ! The Thermostat isnt leaking anymore. Just the intake gasket leaking past the intake so back a part it comes. May be I'll make some changes while its a part.
 
silicone both sides of the intake gasket at the water outlets or they have gaskets with pre siliconed beads around that area(mr gasket?). try the edelbrock gaskets they work great, but they don't come with end seals since they suggest not using them on their intakes. also use gasgacinch on both sides of the intake, it seals really well.
 
Only the end header bolts (front and back) go into water jackets. I use the Peramtex High Temp RTV (comes in a bronze tube) and that works great on those header bolts.
 
Ended up that I didnt use any sealer around the water jackets. All sealed up and leak free now.
 
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