coolant leak

[Guest]

2002 3500...smelled antifreeze when driving..got home and saw that coolant was spraying in a small stream out of a tiny hole on the passengers side on the back of the cylinder head.Is this a small plug that came out or is it there to let you know there is a bigger problem like the weep hole on a water pump? thankx for any help!

[cummins2k]

Are there any bubbles in the radiator? Sounds like either a cracked head or a head gasket, but when its light out i will look and see if i can find any plugs on the back of my cylinder head.

[Guest]

I dont think it is a cracked head because it is spraying out of a little that looks like would have a plug in it..it is about 3/8 of an inch round.

[Mopar1973Man]

Hmmm... If its a freeze plug I would just change it out... But... Why did this happen? :confused: I know the answer. It because the coolant flush/changes were not done as needed.Just because the coolant is still green it does mean that the coolant is still good. As the coolant ages it starts to become acidic or basic. Then it starts attacking metals of the coolant system. Heater core, radiators, freeze plugs, even head gaskets...So with that said I would flush the system and start over...

[Guest]

I started my truck up this morning and no leak...Drove it to the jobsite about 25 miles away and it was up to temp. and still no spraying..Drove back home and still ok...Any thoughts on this?????

[Mopar1973Man]

Here is my thought on this...

Coolant is not forever. A lot of people open the cap and see green, orange, or yellow coolant and then think "Oh! it still good because its not rusty!" This is WRONG! Coolant will turn to a acid or base over time. During this time it start to eat the metals of the cooling system (Radiator, heater core, freeze plugs, head gasket, etc). Now when you see the rust color its too late because it been acid for a long time now. Coolant flushed are required at 30K miles regardless of the color of the coolant.

So As for you leak I better you got some trash floating in the system and it plugged the hole in the freeze plug for the moment. I would still flush the system and inspect it. Because when summer gets here and the temps get hot it will blow that plug (debris) out. Or the other possiblity is that the coolant pressure didn't get high enough to spray out. (cooler day)

5 Years and 100K miles later I got now rust, lime scale, or any kind of coolant system problems. It all about change your coolant thats all!

So flush the system out completely and get the hole to open up so you can find it. The I would use a punch and twist the freeze plug in its hole or use a slide hammer with a screw on the end. Remove the freeze plug and replace it.