Coolant leaking now
 

'87 300E 137K

So while i was filliing the transmission with sealant this afternoon, the 'radiator' symbol warning light came on on my dash. When i moved the car to see if the transmission was still leaking, there was antifreeze on the road!

I topped up the radiator header tank a couple of weeks ago and I'm thinking that was when i started seeing something dripping off the drip pan. The drips felt, smelt and looked like transmission or power steering fluid which is why i was topping off the transmission with sealant today.

OK - is there anything containing antifreeze that could be leaking and dripping down onto the flange between the bell housing and the engine on the passenger side? Or could it be the heater core inside the car? The engine is just so close to the firewall i can't see where the leak might be coming from...and if someone says 'head gasket' I'm not going to be happy.

Subscribed
 

Hi,

I have the same problem in my car. I don't know the answer but I'm subscribing to this thread to see if someone help us.

In my car, the transmission oil is cooled in the engine radiator but my car I have replace in the last year: radiator, water pump, head gasket, hoses, etc and overhauled the transmission.

My car leaks only about once a week. I first thaught it was tranny oil because the leak is in that area but oil level is ok and I have to add a small amount of coolant once a week.

Let us know if you find the leak source.

...and your car only has 50K on it! My engine oil doesn't show any signs of water in it and there's no oily film in the radiator fluid. The oil gauge on the instrument panel is showing good pressure so I'm thinking (and hoping) its not the head gasket. The radiator warning symbol must have come on because the level dropped below the sensor in the header tank. The leak seemed to subside yesterday after i drove the car a short distance but i'm guessing it will return when I will top up the header tank and drive the car again.

I can barely see some fluid on the back end of the engine (i think it's on top of the bell housing) but I don't know what it is or where it's coming from - I can smell antifreeze when I'm driving and the engine is warmed up.

Hopefully this is enough information to zero in on the problem - any suggestions would be welcomed!

Look on the rear of the head on the driver's side and check the heater hose connection. This hose gets very soft and will leak.

Thanks for suggestion - it would be great if it is the hose that's leaking because I can hopefully fix that myself, right?

That was it! The hose looked fine but i cut off about 1/2" from the end that attaches to the engine, reconnected it and all is good! Thanks slk230red - nice quick and cheap fix.

I'll check that too when I get back home from a business trip. Thanks.