Coolant leak. Got home and found coolant on fender..shit

Any help would be appreciated. Can't seem to find a definite leakage point. Got home from a total of 3+ hour trip taking my kid back to her mom and then this.

Smelt anti freeze, noticed on top of fender. Can't really seem to find definite spot it came from though. No over heating or gauge abnormalities. Sorry if video sucks.
Fan- no residue
Tire- no sign of residue
Wheel well wet, frame splatter on top of battery, under some of hood
All drivers side.
Didn't smell at all on drive. Drove with Windows down some and with a/c on some too.

Video was too large

 

So... any chance this came from another vehicle, then you drove through the "rain"? If you don't have a way to check the volume remaining in the radiator, but don't have any dummy lights on, this'd be my bet. I mean, I can't think of a way for "your" coolant to get on the hood of your own truck. The physics don't work....

 

Water Pump??

 

Underside of hood sorry. I'll post pics in bit.
I noticed it a after parking wasn't about to try to check any levels other than the reservoir which was at the full mark

 

Aw, bummer. Yeah that's probably yours.

So... you check all your hoses. That's my new guess. Can you see directionality of spray, to know where to start looking?

 

Nah, that's why it's so baffling at the moment. wondering if it's possible that the reservoir overflowed and it came out the overflow tube down but then I would assume it would be on the fan also

 

I think no, it could maybe not be on the fan because the airflow created by the fan would keep it away. I'll wait to see your pic but, so far, I'm not worried for you yet. Just a little curious though....

 

Probably the radiator hidden by the fan shroud. That sounds exactly like the leak in my first 2001 Tundra.

Problem with Toyota's and probably others is once the coolant level drops below the temperature sensor, it won't register correctly and you can drive it until your screwed.

 

Bottom corner of radiator does seem to be wet still. Level of resi was at full, now closer to low mark. It's even on running boards so I assume wind pushed it from either corner of the radiator up and under and on all those parts and the tire was somehow avoided...idk yet
Hoses all seem like they are not the leak point

 

Possible you have a leak that doesn't show up until it's hot and under pressure. Had a radiator once that would spray a small stream under those conditions only took me about 6 months to finally track it down.

 

Is it the original radiator? Pics kinda suggest that. At 13 years old she'd be approaching the end of her normal life.

Did you run it in the driveway, hot, hood raised and look around?

 

Check the radiator where the plastic meets the aluminum. Usually they crack there or they separate.

 

I believe it is and yes. Nothing noticeable but it possible that it wasn't quite built back up yet. Going to rent the pressure test tool to eliminate bad radiator cap, check level after she cools off. Any suggestions on radiator brands to buy or not to buy? Lol

 

Kinda looks like it seeped at the petcock and got flung by the fan. The fan would probably dry itself off by wind.

I hate chasing leaks, good luck.

 

You'll get a lot of different opinions on radiators. I ended up getting mine from O Reilly last month. If you're willing to spend a bit more I would just pony up for an OEM unit.

Whatever you pick, make sure you get the right coolant. Either Toyota, Aisin, or Zerex(Asian blend). It's very easy to replace and you might as well do the thermostat while you've got easy access.

 

Get it hot and let it idle, I bet you will see a stream coming from your radiator somewhere.

 

I thought so also, fan would probably have traces in it, everything else does.
Just gonna dry off what I can and see what's wet mañana. Thanks for the insight I'll update..

 

When it's cool, loosen the fan shroud. You will likely see fluid around the upper or lower tank where it seals to the radiator proper. The pressure tester will likely show where it's leaking.

As I recall Denso is usually a good choice, but watch for counterfeits. If it seems too cheap, there's probably a good reason.

 

Have someone watch it while you step on the gas. I had a cracked radiator once that would spray at 3000RPM but not even leak at idle.

 

A new Denso radiator cap is about $14. Its possible the cap is leaking under pressure and the fan is blowing the drippings up.

Your reservoir reading will fluctuate in fluid level height depending on the fluid temperature. Hot fluid will read higher in levels. Cold fluid will read lower do to pressure and contraction/expansion.

My OEM radiator lasted from 2002 til about 2015.

13 years and it started a slow leak around the plastic corners. Replaced with CryoMax by others.

 

Looks very similar....I hope it's not a Head gasket.

 

How does your oil look? I would start by cleaning up the engine bay so it will be easier to identify where it may be leaking from.

 

Rent a coolant pressure tool to find the leak and stop chasing it. Once the system has pressure the leak will show it self if it is there.

 

My good friend /mechanic, pressure tested. No leaks, held pressure. We think (I say we because I provide background knowledge to remind him lol) that because no leaks after test, removing
fan shroud finding no leaks on radiator, that a combination of molested shroud and vacuum leak(see pics) that the coolant came from over flow tube. Not having factory designed air/shroud to cool as designed.
Maybe an intermittent stuck thermostat, upper hose not building pressure like it should when running according to him.
Going to throw a stat and rad cap on, new fan shroud and underneath air dam plastic ( cross member to radiator support, whatever that's called)and go from there.

Back ground: truck had a super charger on at about 8,000 and at 9,600 was removed and shortly after the new short block was installed at the dealer. Shroud was molested to fit super charger. Vacuum line in pic was capped at T and cap had cracked over time and fell off when he tried to pull it off after me pointing it out. Seems less doggy now with new cap, wasn't doggy when I got it but it seemed to lose giddy up at some point. Now seems peppier. Will update....

 

Not sure how a vacuum leak would affect the cooling system, but that could certainly cause a lack of pep. A bad radiator cap could explain the coolant overflow. Air in the cooling system will make the hoses seem soft, may require burping.

 

He thinks it was running really lean on a 3 hour interstate trip with that fucked up fan shroud and weather being hot may have over heated the truck this causing it to come out overflow. Regardless, gonna do the cap and stat. I'm just glad it didn't point to a bad head