Goblin blood on my garage floor

[nfpgasmask]

Since my antifreeze level is low, almost to the MIN line, should I fill it up? And what kind of juice should I use? Is there a preferred type/brand for the VX?

Thanks - Bart

[Tobert]

Prestone has a universal green antifreeze that should be safe to mix with anything. If it's brownish, it's GM Dexacool, which shouldn't be mixed with standard green. But you already said it's green, so just get standard green or the universal stuff and you'll be fine. Be sure to get a pre-mixed 50/50 bottle or pick up some distilled water on your way home.

[nfpgasmask]

Well, I marked my tank and its definitely leaking. The level has gone down about a quarter inch from where I marked it. I guess the leak must be really slow though, or pooling somewhere other than the garage floor. I looked underneath and it looked like this:



Looks like its splattering all over down there, especially on the oil pan, which isn't good, as I'm sure antifreeze might be somewhat corrosive? I'm gonna start poking around in there Saturday. So, there's a tube that goes from the tank to where exactly?

Thanks,

Bart

[nfpgasmask]

I am not leaking from the reservoir to the radiator. I took the radiator cap off also and there was visible green fluid there, so that looks ok. After I took the above picture, I jacked up the VX and rolled under for a closer look.

It looks like the fluid is slowly pooling underneath, onto of whatever this thing is:



and then spilling down when I drive. I will take another photo tomorrow to better show where it is pooling.

Now, after some reading, I found an article about a leaking heater core. That said, I have been running my heat lately (been in the teens here in Reno at night). Is this a possibility?

Tomorrow I will add some more coolant to the reservoir and continue to watch the level. I will also post better photos so I can hopefully get to the bottom of this.

I am afraid its something bad, or something that might turn bad if not stopped.

Bart

[Dumke]

Yeah Bart mine is leaking from the same place.. well not same place but same ending result I guess. Course my is dribbling down the rod underneath and then onto the ground. What is sad I havent been able to look @ it till this weekend. Dam my one day weekend looks liek I got some work to do. I will see if I can find out where it is comming from or Bart if you find it before me well then awesome.

[Ldub]

Bart,

If it's your heater core, you would know for sure...it usually smells strong of antifreeze in the cab.
That "whatever it is" looks like your front axle housing, but I don't remember what is above there that could be leaking, & it's too cold for me to generate much enthusiasm for crawling around under mine.
Hope you find what's leaking...maybe carefully examine all hoses under the hood again.

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, I'm gonna do some more intrusive poking around on Saturday. I was too tired to do anything more last night.

So, let me get this straight: The coolant reservoir has a tube that goes into the top of the radiator (this I can plainly see with no problem, and there are no visual signs of leakage here). From the radiator, is there another tube that goes somewhere? What should I be looking for and where should I be looking for it? I mean, I can see where the juice is pooling. I stuck my finger up on top and sure enough, it was wet with green blood up there. So, I have a good idea where the "center" of the leak is, but it is unfortunately surrounded by a lot of parts that I cannot easily see around.

Last night I lost another hour of sleep reading other websites about coolant leaks. I do not think it is a head gasket leak, as my oil is normal looking. So, I think its either something simple (jeez, I hope so) or possibly the water pump.

Has anyone on here ever had to swap their water pump? Is this a likely culprit with the VX? I read on planetisuzu that you have to remove the timing belt to get at it...ugg. I hope that's not it.

I hate when my baby is sick.

Bart

[Tone]

If it is coolant, it is probably leaking on top of the engine UNDER the intake manifold and running down the back. Is there a strong smell of AF when you open the hood as it would have to leak a lot to fill the space under the manifold to then spill over. Pressure washing the underside of the motor will make it MUCH easier to really identifiy where it is coming from. Check your oil to make sure it is not contaminated (which would indicat a bad thing) as well as opening the radiator cap for inspection. I don't believe it is leaking from the are you indicate as it is behind the main oil pan / engine - it is simply running down there.

[nfpgasmask]

Hey Tone,

My oil looks good. And thinking about this further, last time I changed my oil was on Nov 17th. When I was down there then, I did notice the white stains on the underside, but it wasn't as bad as in my photo above, and I didn't think much of it. I figured I drove over a puddle of something nasty or whatever. Plus, I never had any puddles on the garage floor until the day I posted this thread, and that said, I haven't had once since. But its definitely leaking as my reservoir level has dropped. Anyway, what I'm getting at, is that my oil looks clean and normal. Last night I opened the radiator, and the fluid was right there at the top, nice and green.

If the fluid in the radiator is contaminated, is there an easy way to tell? It just looked green to me, but then again, I didn't do a finger test

Thanks, Bart

PS - I was planning to get underthere and hose off as much as I can Saturday morning. I don't have a pressure washer, so hopefully I can get it clean with the hose.

If it is coolant, it is probably leaking on top of the engine UNDER the intake manifold and running down the back. Is there a strong smell of AF when you open the hood as it would have to leak a lot to fill the space under the manifold to then spill over. Pressure washing the underside of the motor will make it MUCH easier to really identifiy where it is coming from. Check your oil to make sure it is not contaminated (which would indicat a bad thing) as well as opening the radiator cap for inspection. I don't believe it is leaking from the are you indicate as it is behind the main oil pan / engine - it is simply running down there.