[sobieski]

Peeked under the '04 DII and noticed a 1/2 cup of coolant in the drip pan.

I can see no leaks from top or bottom.

I ran the truck for about 20 minutes, laying underneath it - I saw nothing.

Any ideas?
:confused

 

[Maximumwarp]

Which side of the car is the coolant spill on? Have you added any coolant lately? The reservoir does have an overflow vent, if it had too much coolant in the system and became over pressurized, it could have just released from that.

 

[columbiar]

If your tank is low, you are losing coolant somewhere. If it is leaking under the truck the best thing to do in my experience is to just take it in to a good shop and have a pressure test done. This will tell you for sure where it is coming from. Then you can divide if you are going to repair the truck yourself or have the shop do it.

 

[sobieski]

I topped off the resevoir and let the wife run several (like 6) near-by errands all day yesterday - about 25 miles worth.

Then, the truck sat all night.
Then, I ran it for at least 25 minutes this morning.

...And not one drop has hit the drip pan, nor can I see ANY leakage from top or bottom of engine. Resevoir still full, where it was at yesterday's top-off.

I am confounded.

FLUKE Idea:
The wife did casually mention that someone pulled out right in front of her and she had to "emergency" stop to avoid the idiot driver. This was immediate before seeing coolant on my garage floor. Could this be in any way related??? My gut says No, but I have seen strange things happen in this crazy world.

Any thoughts?

 

[Bosnian Discovery]

The panic stop is likely unrelated, unless of course it involved actually hitting the driver in front.

Just keep an eye on your coolant level and see if it progresses. Also take it on a longer test drive. Short trips with frequent shut downs like that (especially in colder weather) may not allow the system to build pressure.

Usually leaks from the front are caused by the timing cover, water pump, TB heater, or a cracked radiator.

I actually had a pinhole leak out of the plastic end cap on my radiator that was a complete bear to track down - it only presented after longer drives. Pull the shroud back and make sure that isn't the case with yours.

 

[NVDiscovery]

With my 04 Discovery I find that the overflow tank will "vent" if I fill to the cold fill line. It then stabilizes midway. I mark the level with masking tape for a quick visual reference. So far the level has stayed the same. For some reason my truck doesn't like the factory cold fill line. So, the mess reported here may be that overflow tank vent tube "venting". Once the "excess" has vented, then it stabilizes.

 

[sobieski]

finally just had to do it

 

[tyl604]

WLA - did you see this?

 

[reverendALC]

@WLADiscoII99 oooooooooooooh snap

there’s a new Allisport in town, and this town isn’t big enough for two (-:

 

[redtruck12]

 

[masantschi]

Yeah - 3 Coolant Reservoirs in 3 years.... I bought mine today as well. Just waiting on it to arrive. I'll send pics, unlike others...

 

[JUKE179r]

The Carrs4x4 coolant reservoir will be my next big purchase next to my stainless exhaust system.

 

[masantschi]

I too would like a Stainless Exhaust but have to rebuild my top-end after I get my bonus. Gonna go ahead and do the timing & oil pump while I'm in there too, as I have a leak at the crank seal.

 

[tyl604]

This may be silly but couldn't you repair that slight crack with maybe a heat gun?

 

[sobieski]

Sure. Until next time. And the time after that. and...

 

[discovering]

This may be silly but couldn't you repair that slight crack with maybe a heat gun?

Probably not, but there are some great inexpensive plastic welding kits on Amazon that would work. I had a mouse chew the plastic tank on the radiator of my BMW until it leaked. Instead of replacing the radiator I thought I'd give plastic welding a go. I'd just seen them do it on Wheeler Dealers on a bumper and thought it might be a good solution. It's been three years of service since then and not one leak (knock on wood). How do I know it was a mouse? The little jerk was laying dead in the puddle of coolant he'd been drinking.

I think this kind of crack indicative of the plastic being weak which means it'll probably crack again somewhere else. Plastic welding it would probably only be a good short term fix while waiting for the new tank to arrive.