Coolant Leak

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RickPo

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I've had a small coolant leak for some time now. I would notice small drips at a time. I've read about this problem with the burbs, seems to be common. I was about to change the water pump today but I cannot see where the leak is coming from.
I put 16 lbs of pressure into the system and it held. Went underneath and I cannot see ANY leak. Had my hands in and around the water pump and I cannot feel anything getting wet.
I really do not want to spend the money for nothing.

Any ideas?
 
I guess it depends where you saw the small drips in relation to the engine. Did you grab the engine fan blades and check for excessive movement in the shaft coming out of the water pump?
 
Clean your engine good - then add some coolant dye to the system and follow the directions for getting it up to operating temp. Then with one of those small LEDs flashlights - they show ultraviolet light - look over the engine.

You should see some traces pop up when you scan over it with the light.

Here's a quick video on how it's done - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCLGXTlim0

Hope this helps
 
Zora, fan blade feels good. Thanks for the input
 
Remove the breather and as much stuff as you can off the top of the engine and looks for small drops along the intake. I've seen this happen on some vehicles over the years and it's not easy to find. You should also take a good look around your freeze plugs.
 
Thanks for the ideas guys. I tried replying last night but my internet wouldn't cooperate. Gonna hit it again here in a bit.
 
Have you tried putting some cardboard under it and looking for drips? Sometimes it can be as simple as a loose worm clamp on a heater or radiator hose. They can look okay, but once the engine heats up and the hoses expand a little and then start to cool off, they can drip. Just a suggestion.
 
I've had cardboard under it for some time. I don't want my garage too stained. Had the engine heated up, been underneath and still cant find it.

I'm going to try spritemans idea. I'm gonna run some dye thru the coolant and check for leaks that way but first I have to give it a good cleaning. Will try that this weekend. (if life permits).
My only question at this point is.... I have a black light bulb. Its one of those that you can put inside a lamp and make certain posters glow. Will this work?
 
That bulb sounds correct but you cannt focus the beam like with a flashlight.
 
Ok. I priced some kits for this, they aren't too expensive. Does one HAVE to have some sort of glasses for these dye tests? Also, one guy told me that glasses are specific for one test only, meaning you cant use the same glasses for an oil dye test as you could for a coolant dye test.
 
You don't have to buy the test glasses but they do amplify the dye and makes the leak jump out at your more.

Also - as long as you're using the same dye the glasses will work no matter where you put it, i.e. oil, trans fluid, coolant.

The glasses work by filtering out every kind of light except the light that's being reflected by the dye.

Change the dye and you may need different glasses. The main thing is to have a light that generates a focused beam of UV light.
 
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