Coolant Problem...

So I go to leave work yesterday...fire my truck up and drive 3 min down the street...noticed at the lights smoke was comming out the engine bay...it smelled sweet so I knew it was coolant...pulled over immediatly and shut off my truck...popped the hood coolant was pouring out the bottom of the truck...before I left work I checked the overflow tank and it was at full...when I pulled over it was almost at low...I just put a thousand dollars into this truck a month a go for regular maintence tune up...Timing belt...Water pump...Thermostat...All belts...Oil change...etc...any ideas what it could be...?

 

Hard to tell without seeing it in person. It could be a leaky hose, a hose either going from the radiator to the block, or the hoses coming from the heater core or throttle body, or perhaps even the water pump. If you can fill it back up and run it at idle until it warms up, see if you can pinpoint where the coolant is actually coming from. It could be just as minor as a leaking hose, which would be a 5 minute fix.

 

Pray for a leaking hose or clamp, this will be a quick and cheap fix

 

Didn't see any leaks from the rad...overflow tank...or hoses...seems like it was comming from inside the engine...could it be a cracked head...?

 

^^ Beat me to it

 

Is it a 4 banger of V6?

 

duh! My bad. I should have read it more carefully. If its a V6 and its the water pump, that's going to be a royal pain in the ass. Then again, if its the water pump and it was just replaced, then the shop installed it incorrectly and should re-install it.

A 4 banger would be cake since the water pump is right there on the front.

 

It's a V6 3.4L...I didn't see any coolant spills around the rad...hoses...overflow tank...or the front of the engine...more so comming out the bottom near the back and seems like it only loses fluid when the engine is running...

 

Makes me think its the heater core since hoses run to it through the firewall. Get out a flashlight and do some more "research".

 

98Taco is talking about several little hoses that connect to the underside of the throttle body. One or two of them connect to the coolant system.

 

We have a winner!!!

Thanks guys...for all your input and quick replies

 

Update...turned out to be the heater core plug popped out...is this a common problem on these vehicles?...i got it fixed...then drove it home...started leaking coolant again...looks like its around the same area but only a small puddle now as before it was pouring out the bottom near the back of the engine...

 

I think my heater core is on its way out...the shop said they were going to replace it but couldn't find the part in town so just replaced the plug...

 

My mistake...it was the block heater plug...not the heater core...is this a common problem?...the shop said it rusted out over the years...

 

Upadate...shop put a new plug in...drove my truck home started leaking again...took it back in the next day...they put another plug in...drove it to work...started leaking again...3rd time in the shop for the same problem...they said they were really sorry for the inconvience and are going to use a special sealant this time...what a hassle...