I'll start of by appologizing for the long winded description.

Couple things happend at once so I'm not sure what's going on. I had my oil lines leaking so under the truck around the pan always seemed wet. I also had a tranny problem which i just got replaced. When they did the tranny they said they had to change the main seal so I'm guessing that was adding to the wet look.. I just got done doing my oil lines this past weekend. Wiped down everything sooo everything should be dry.

Going over the truck after the oil line replacement I noticed that I was almost empty on anti freeze in the reserve so i refilled. Couple days later I noticed a spot under my truck. Looks to be dripping from the starter? I called the dealer that replaced the tranny saying I think the main seal is leaking.. When I told him the problem he said it could be anit freeze. That's when it hit me that I had to replenish the reserve.

Tonight I went looking and can't find where it's comming from. Nothing looks wet except for the bottom of the starter where it mates to the tranny and the bottom of the bell on the tranny. I know water ends up at the lowest points on the engine but I thought I see something leaking or wet. Climbed around on top of the engine looking down.. nada.. From underneith looking up.. nada..

Any idea what's right above the starter that could be leaking? I thought about pulling out the starter but that's a PITA to do unless I'm on going after something specific. Thoughts? Thanks!

Maybe a freeze plug, but most likely one of the heater hose lines that runs into the heater core.

i had the same mysterious coolant leak on my 93 some times it would be really bad and some times i would get nothing i know this isnt the right way to fix it but i dumped a bottle of bars in there and the problem went away hope yours is that simple

Steve,
are your hoses OEM yet or have they been changed?

Pull your overflow tube up and outta the dark so you can see the end of it, is it full of dust or is it wet, leave the tube up where you can keep a close eye on it, maybe even put some sorta catch can on it, (pepsi or coke, what every your favorite is), drive it around awhile and check the catch can. If your getting antifreeze from there it could well be time to look into head gaskets...

I have a similar leak, but as far as I can tell, it is my crossover leaking at the head (started slowly soon after IP replacement at dealer), and the coolant is running along the head, or in the valley, and down the back of the engine.

I checked the overflow and it seemed dry. That's an easy one to rule out.. I'll tape a papertowel over the end and see if it gets wet..

Everything is OEM. Are the heater hoses right above the starter? Does the starter have to come out to see them?

Heater hoses are just below that catch tank and to the right a bit, also above the starter.

Check the heater hose at the front of the engine also on the water x-over, it can leak into the valley below the intake and run out the weep hole at the back of the engine as the valley fills up, antifreeze may make it to the starter that way also.

There is also some plastic fittings there that are prone to failure. I replaced mine with brass pex barbs. The back corner of the head is also a god spot to develop a leak in the head gasket. I had one that would leak a small amount of coolant right at the back corner of the head. The gasket was fine other than that. I know a guy that had the same leak & sealed the area with JB. It actually worked but I would never have tried it.

Steve,
are your hoses OEM yet or have they been changed?

When you switch from OEM hoses, what do you use?

Take a good look at the freeze plug right behind and above the starter, sometimes a pin hole will develop and can't be seen very easily without removing the starter.

When you switch from OEM hoses, what do you use?
I'm going to replace my 11 year :eek: old oem aux heater hoses this weekend with stainless steel braided. Not going to be fun - I'm gonna have to remove the undercarriage protection (IF I can get it loose). I was under there to see where the hoses ran, and I found coolant dripping from them - I think from the outlets on the block (part of the A/C system is in the way)

The braided hoses are expensive, but the fewer times I have to do this the better ($10/foot) for 5/8" heater hose (and I needed 2 6'3 hoses). I forget the burst strength, but rated for around 300 degree coolant - if my coolant is 300 degrees, I think I have bigger problems to worry about.

Does anybody know where you can get that Goodyear blue silicone hose?

Thanks for the ideas. I'll go looking again. I didn't see anything wet. Guess I'll run the truck till it comes up to temp, run the heater a bit and then pull the starter and see what I find. Sure wish it wasn't 20 degrees outside...