Coolant leak

[reags8]

I've got a minor coolant leak that has developed into a major coolant leak - The purple "T" fitting under the radiator on the drivers side seems to be leaking. I took the fitting off and couldn't see any visible cracks and used some hose clamps when I re-assy the three lines but it appears that I havn't fixed it.
Question what are these lines leading to ? and would it be easy to just swap out the lines ?

 

[Rockledge]

Those lines and the T Fitting under the radiator are not coolant lines, although often-times they can look like they are leaking coolant.

I had a similar looking problem pop up in both my old '93 Sable and my '94 SHO ...in each case it looked like those lines were leaking coolant, but instead it ended up being a hole in the radiator, with the coolant leaking down from the hole.

The plastic end tanks on Ford radiators are famous for seperating from the aluminum core, and this is what happened in both cases...

 

[N3FOL]

You must be referring to the T right below the drain **** of the radiator. If so, I think someone told me that that has nothing to do with the radiator coolant/radiator. Your leak may be coming from the upper radiator hose or the coolant hose connected close to the throttle body. Tighten most of the connection of your hoses and hopefully that will stop the leak. If not, then your problem might be the same problem I had last year.

My radiator was leaking between the plastic part of the radiator and the aluminum portion. It took me about three weeks to figure out the problem. My car would leak coolant only when the engine is cold and stop leaking when the engine warms up. I ended up replacing my radiator right before Christmas - last year. You should not have problems getting a replacement radiator. I got mine from Advance Auto...Autozone will have some for sale as well. Good Luck.

 

[Bizzy]

Colder climates are great this time of year for finding coolant leaks. Let the car warm up to operating temp, shut the car off and look for the steam rising. It will lead you to the problem area. (be careful, HOT!) Look for wet spots on the radiator, especially on the plastic tanks on the end, they are notorious for splitting. Look for drips under the car, not always as accurate, but they can give you a pretty general idea of where to start looking.

 

[SonicRiot]

my T-thingy is definately leaking...

as far as I know there IS coolant in that thing...

They become really brittle over time

 

[Rockledge]

Those hoses are air/vacuum lines, which I think (I'm not positive) are associated with the Fuel Vapor Cannister Venting System.

If they were coolant lines, then I would suspect that the hoses would pop off the T fitting and/or leak almost right out of the factory, as there are no clamps on them.

 

[AutoSHO]

Rockledge:
Those hoses are air/vacuum lines, which I think (I'm not positive) are associated with the Fuel Vapor Cannister Venting System.

If they were coolant lines, then I would suspect that the hoses would pop off the T fitting and/or leak almost right out of the factory, as there are no clamps on them.

Exactly. They are vacuum lines. They do NOT have coolant in them.

 

[SonicRiot]

hm. yeah, you're right. No coolant. Went and dried them off. No more "leak" from those lines. I know my core was leaking...

just hoped it would be an easier fix, I guess! Wishful thinking. oh