leaking coolant

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02v6ls

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Great. Ever since I changed my reservoir tank I've been leaking a lil by lil coolant. Yesterday on 2 different occassions I walked towards the car and noticed a big puddle right behind the drivers wheel. Looked underneathe but there wasn't a leak. Sure did look like coolant and my tank is missing some now.

I don't see any leak from on top or underneath. I think it might be the tank?? What do you think? I hate having to take everything apart to check the tank. But it's gotta be the tank.

I did rip off the petcock and half of it is stuck up in there so I don't know how Im going to drain it.
 
Which tank did you get?
If the non-Motorcraft, double check how well the cap seals onto the tank. Folks have reported that the threads aren't are good match to the OEM, so they also have to buy an aftermarket cap.
 
i got a aftermarket dorman one. it seems like its got a good seal. its gonna be a pain in the ass if i have to take everything apart just to check the bottom of it.
 
The Dorman tank is a cheap replacement. The first time it gets hot and you remove the cap it will not thread back on tightly. I have searched everywhere for the dorman cap to see if it was the cap or the tank threads going bad and I dont think you can buy the Dorman cap without buying the whole tank. The other caps will not fit the dorman tank threads. If your tank is bad, buy the Motorcraft one. Its higher quality and any cap will fit it.
 
When your degas bottle heats up the cracks in it will expand and the pressure will force coolant out of it. These cracks are usually very small and not easily seen. When your car is cool the bottle usually wont leak. Sometimes your car will be hot and not leak at all. It can be confusing but its likely your degas bottle if its leaking on the ground behind your drivers side front tire. It could be leaking out of the cheapo Dorman cap also.
 
yup. i drove to work and dropped off car. 3 hours later i walked up to it and a huge puddle of coolant in the same spot. i checked around the cap and i didnt feel any coolant around it so it should be from the cracks on the bottle itself? its a huge puddle but the coolant is still right at the minimum.

What the hell! i spent around 70 bucks for this dorman and now i might have to spend another 140 for an OE one?
 
02v6ls said:
yup. i drove to work and dropped off car. 3 hours later i walked up to it and a huge puddle of coolant in the same spot. i checked around the cap and i didnt feel any coolant around it so it should be from the cracks on the bottle itself? its a huge puddle but the coolant is still right at the minimum.

What the hell! i spent around 70 bucks for this dorman and now i might have to spend another 140 for an OE one?
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It sucks man but it'll be worth it in the end. I think the OEM bottle is thicker and/or higher quality IMO. Just think about this....your car is an 02, its 10 yearsd old, how long did the OEM go with before it shot craps? In my '00 I went thru 2 dormans in 4 months before I got smart enuf to get the OEM one and its got a few years on it now without fail. This tells me that the OEM one is much better.
 
Wow, I'm an idiot. I didnt even notice that was the fan reservoir. Too much going on in my head.
 
hite337 said:
Wow, I'm an idiot. I didnt even notice that was the fan reservoir. Too much going on in my head.
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Well, it looks like it is. However, the parts callouts on that site leave much to be desired, so I'm not 100% certain.
 
joegr said:
Well, it looks like it is. However, the parts callouts on that site leave much to be desired, so I'm not 100% certain.
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It looks like it is the fan res. Thats why it's pictured next to the fan, I can't believe I didnt catch that. $140 is what I paid for my Motorcraft degas bottle.
 
I changed to the dorman tank a year ago, and noticed that the hose off the bottom to the heater was a very poor, loose fit. I'll bet that is where the leak is. You may want to check that, and add a second clamp to the hose.
 
ok so i took off the dorman reservoir tank and the bottom hose looked intact and i dont know what to do. so if its not from the top or bottom then could there be small cracks that only leak when it gets really hot?
 
hite337 said:
The Dorman tank is a cheap replacement. The first time it gets hot and you remove the cap it will not thread back on tightly. I have searched everywhere for the dorman cap to see if it was the cap or the tank threads going bad and I dont think you can buy the Dorman cap without buying the whole tank. The other caps will not fit the dorman tank threads. If your tank is bad, buy the Motorcraft one. Its higher quality and any cap will fit it.
Click to expand...

This happened with my dorman tank I just installed. Threaded perfectly and sealed before I installed it. Installed it and the first time it heated up the cap that came with it didnt thread correctly and I could hear a slight hiss as air pressure escaped when it was hot. Just for the hell of it I tried fitting the cap that was on the original reservoir on the dorman tank and put a little radiator hose grease on the threads of both and it sealed perfectly. No hiss; airtight. YMMV
 
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