Coolant leaking Help

[Ernie Orwig]

I looked under my wifes car today because I smelled antifreeze. I saw fluid dripping from a plastic tube under the lower hose. It looks like the drain....why would it leak if it is tight and never leaked before...is there a seal that may go bad?
Thanks for your help!

[JDS60R]

Yes ,
The drain has an oring on it that makes the actual seal. My hope is that it is just loose.

Other known causes are.
1. Cracked plastic drain insert (cheap) or cracked/leaking radiator tank (expensive -includes replacing the radiator)
2. O-ring damaged by old nasty radiator fluid (rare)

Its helpful to have a bucket that fits under the front bumper available for when you inspect/open the drain.

If you wish, let me know your make, model,and year. I will gladly post directions for you.

Let us know how it turned out and if I can do anything else to help.

[Ozark Lee]

Be very gentle when you try to remove the drain plug. It is easy to crack the socket when removing it and at that point you are screwed and you need to replace the radiator itself.

...Lee

[charlyW]

Does the thermostat work correctly ? ie always sitting in the centre of the display? I had a similar condition when my 850's thermostat locked after a while ejected water out of the joint where the pipe goes from the thermostat housing to the radiator, replaced the thermostat now all is fine.