smilin_todd

Hey guys I recently noticed that I was leaking anti freeze and I have yet to track down the cause. However in the search we have noticed a few things that we are unsure of. First off, does a 1995 F150 have an oil cooler on it? My dad has been looking at the truck for me and he noticed lines coming from the radiator that "T" off toward a block near the oil filter.

When checking things out we noticed that the radiator cap doesn't get warm when at operating temperature though the top radiator hose does get warm. Also the bottom radiator hose(im assuming the return line) is cold also when are operating temperature. Also the lines going into the suspected oil cooler are warm where the return lines are cold as well.

Does anyone have an idea of what might be going on here or does this sound normal? I have no problems with my heater though, it works just fine.

djhives

There IS an oil cooler on your truck. Theres just two lines coming off the radiator itself... in and out.

Are you overheating?

Coolant goes to the intake & engine. To the throttle body. And To the heater core.


As for your leak. The best way to find the location other than a pressure test is to get her up on ramps then wait til nighttime and put one of these on:





A head lamp, some goggles, and and another flash light. Try to find it with the car off. Then idle it. See if you can see a leak. If not begin to FONDLE the hoses to see if you can exploit a pinhole leak.

If you still cant find it have some one rev the engine. Some leaks only show themselves under pressure - I had a leak one time that only peed out of a pin hole in a hose when I hit 6,000RPMS or higher (not on this truck obviously another car)... once it went BELOW 6K the pee-hole sealed itself up!

Take your time, youll find it, its only plumbing, you just gotta hunt her down!

--good luck

00hives

redlightning93

If you have a 351 engine then your truck does have an oil cooler. The bottom radiator hose has a tee that goes over to the base of your oil filter.

djhives

Sorry

smilin_todd

Ok, the leak sems to be coming out of a corner of the radiator down by the petcock. Is it still normal that the coolant hose going into the bottom of the radiator to be cold and radiator cap to cold as well?

Maybe I just need to do a system flush. Do you know if they have to remove the thermostat when doing a professional flush?

redlightning93

Sounds like a new Radiator is in your future. The plastic tanks have gaskets where they join the metal radiator section and will leak after years of service. The leak will only get worse as time goes on.

The bottom (return) hose will be the cooler of the two hoses as the coolant has flowed through the radiator before returning to the engine. I would check the temps of the hoses and rad cap after a long run as you are probably not getting your system up to full operating temps.

I don't think a flush will help your leak problem and no, you would not remove the thermostat to flush the system.

djhives

Were you frisky with it? I thought for sure one time my radiator was busted up top. Coolant was all on the upper tank and pouring down the drivers side on to the ground. It was just a loose upper rad hose! It was trickling from the hose all the way on the top of the radiator and going all over the place...

Take a rag and get real intimate. Make love to your cooling system to be sure. Pat down the wetness until you find the special spot where shes leaking. Rub it around and around a bit more until you pin point that the radiator is truly leaking.

Usually the rad leaks from the tanks (top and bottom) when it fails. It's a juicy experience but you'll have piece of mind once you find it. And nothing beats that high.

djhives

Oh -- also: are you overheating or getting hotter than normal readings? That gives an indication as to the severity and location of your water leak....

smilin_todd

I dont think its ever overheating. Though to get my temperature gauge to work I have to pound on the dashboard, even then it only works sometimes.

techrep

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lmao