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Coolant leak - HELP needed please
#11
09-13-2006, 12:48 AM
#12
09-13-2006, 04:14 AM
Champion
RE: Coolant leak - HELP needed please
Over 6 years and thousands of Durango related posts... never heard of a freeze plug 'problem'. Also, they don't just wear out. Doesn't sound right to me unless that engine has been VERY hot for a LONG time for some reason.
Also, no D's were ever made in Mexico. All Durangos are made in Delaware, they always have been. In Mexico there was a 2-door Durango/Ram mix called the Ram-Charger. That could be how you were mistaken there. The front half looks a lot like a D to the un-trained eye. The first time I saw them, I thought they were the new version of the Durango and was shocked. I was soon set straight by the posters on the forums.
Here is a link to many photos of the Mexican Dodge Ram Charger: http://www.durangoclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=25645
HTH
IndyDurango
Also, no D's were ever made in Mexico. All Durangos are made in Delaware, they always have been. In Mexico there was a 2-door Durango/Ram mix called the Ram-Charger. That could be how you were mistaken there. The front half looks a lot like a D to the un-trained eye. The first time I saw them, I thought they were the new version of the Durango and was shocked. I was soon set straight by the posters on the forums.
Here is a link to many photos of the Mexican Dodge Ram Charger: http://www.durangoclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=25645
HTH
IndyDurango
#13
09-13-2006, 03:24 PM
#14
09-13-2006, 06:47 PM
Champion
RE: Coolant leak - HELP needed please
Well that stuff will work to stop leaks I would use alumaseal but you have to be careful with it and it is not a permanent fix by any means. DO NOT use too much I would say if one tube of alumaseal doesn't fix it then get it taken care of the right way, if you use much more than that there is a good chance you could plug up parts of your system you don't want plugged.
#15
09-22-2006, 02:34 PM
RE: Coolant leak - HELP needed please
Following up on this issue. I threw in a bottle of the BarsLeak (the one that has the little pellets in it) and now I no longer have a leak. I'm typically not a big fan of this "black magic" type of fix, but for now, it seems to be working. As I said earlier, my guess was that the leak was coming from somewhere on the rear of the passengers side head, but I couldn't really pinpoint the exact location - too diffiocult to see back there. We'll see how long this "fix" works....
#16
09-22-2006, 02:55 PM
#17
09-22-2006, 02:56 PM
RE: Coolant leak - HELP needed please
Make sure you monitor your temp guage because in time, these stop leak products will eventually permanently plug up your radiator core and heater core. As Mean Green stated, this is just a temporary fix and it should never be a permanent solution. The cooling system was never design to have comtaminants much less solid objects floating within the system.
#18
09-22-2006, 11:30 PM
Champion
#19
10-09-2006, 04:57 PM
RE: Coolant leak - HELP needed please
For anyone dealing with a freeze plug leak, I just fixed my Durango so here's some advice. I have a 1999 5.2L V8 4WD
My Durango has been leaking coolant slowly for years from somewhere I couldn't find. I just kept filling it up every few weeks for a long, long time. I finally got ahold of a pressure tester and when I pumped it up, coolant came out of the water pump weep hole.
I replaced the water pump last weekend, poured in the new coolant, and when I started it up there was still a leak. I crawled under the car and finally traced it to a freeze plug that had rusted out. If you look inside the wheel well above the front right tire, you can clearly see 2 of the freeze plugs on the block. It was the the rear of these two that rusted out on me. The other one looks fine. I think this freeze plug leaking is the reason the water pump shaft seal went bad because the water pump was only about 25,000 miles old.
I scraped out the rusted part, pulled and twisted on it with pliers, and finally hammered a tent stake (for lack of a better tool with reach) into the plug until it rotated and I could pull it out by hand. I then scraped tons of black sludge crap out of the hole with my finger.
Although this plug is visible, and accessible I didn't know how I would hammer in a new plug until I found out about the rubber ones. I bought one for about $3 from Kragen. You pop it into the hole until a metal disk on one end butts up against the block and then tighten a nut on the outside of the plug. This expands the rubber and makes it seal. It took me all of 5 minutes and turning a socket wrench next to the block was far easier than trying to get a hammer in there and put the plug in even.
If you have a rusted freeze plug behind your transmition, you might be screwed, but if you can get see the plug that's bad, I would recommend fixing it yourself and not paying several hundred dollars for some mechanic to pull your block or rip you off.
I flushed my coolant system for a while using a prestone flushing kit that lets you attach a hose to the heater inlet hose. I did this because I didn't want to remove the thermostat. If you take your thermostat housing off, it looks like a pain to replace because scraping off the old gasket would be almost impossible without removing the alternator.
It is now holding coolant and there are no leaks anywhere.
My Durango has been leaking coolant slowly for years from somewhere I couldn't find. I just kept filling it up every few weeks for a long, long time. I finally got ahold of a pressure tester and when I pumped it up, coolant came out of the water pump weep hole.
I replaced the water pump last weekend, poured in the new coolant, and when I started it up there was still a leak. I crawled under the car and finally traced it to a freeze plug that had rusted out. If you look inside the wheel well above the front right tire, you can clearly see 2 of the freeze plugs on the block. It was the the rear of these two that rusted out on me. The other one looks fine. I think this freeze plug leaking is the reason the water pump shaft seal went bad because the water pump was only about 25,000 miles old.
I scraped out the rusted part, pulled and twisted on it with pliers, and finally hammered a tent stake (for lack of a better tool with reach) into the plug until it rotated and I could pull it out by hand. I then scraped tons of black sludge crap out of the hole with my finger.
Although this plug is visible, and accessible I didn't know how I would hammer in a new plug until I found out about the rubber ones. I bought one for about $3 from Kragen. You pop it into the hole until a metal disk on one end butts up against the block and then tighten a nut on the outside of the plug. This expands the rubber and makes it seal. It took me all of 5 minutes and turning a socket wrench next to the block was far easier than trying to get a hammer in there and put the plug in even.
If you have a rusted freeze plug behind your transmition, you might be screwed, but if you can get see the plug that's bad, I would recommend fixing it yourself and not paying several hundred dollars for some mechanic to pull your block or rip you off.
I flushed my coolant system for a while using a prestone flushing kit that lets you attach a hose to the heater inlet hose. I did this because I didn't want to remove the thermostat. If you take your thermostat housing off, it looks like a pain to replace because scraping off the old gasket would be almost impossible without removing the alternator.
It is now holding coolant and there are no leaks anywhere.
#20
10-13-2006, 10:14 AM
RE: Coolant leak - HELP needed please
ORIGINAL: supercharger
For anyone dealing with a freeze plug leak, I just fixed my Durango so here's some advice. I have a 1999 5.2L V8 4WD
My Durango has been leaking coolant slowly for years from somewhere I couldn't find. I just kept filling it up every few weeks for a long, long time. I finally got ahold of a pressure tester and when I pumped it up, coolant came out of the water pump weep hole.
I replaced the water pump last weekend, poured in the new coolant, and when I started it up there was still a leak. I crawled under the car and finally traced it to a freeze plug that had rusted out. If you look inside the wheel well above the front right tire, you can clearly see 2 of the freeze plugs on the block. It was the the rear of these two that rusted out on me. The other one looks fine. I think this freeze plug leaking is the reason the water pump shaft seal went bad because the water pump was only about 25,000 miles old.
I scraped out the rusted part, pulled and twisted on it with pliers, and finally hammered a tent stake (for lack of a better tool with reach) into the plug until it rotated and I could pull it out by hand. I then scraped tons of black sludge crap out of the hole with my finger.
Although this plug is visible, and accessible I didn't know how I would hammer in a new plug until I found out about the rubber ones. I bought one for about $3 from Kragen. You pop it into the hole until a metal disk on one end butts up against the block and then tighten a nut on the outside of the plug. This expands the rubber and makes it seal. It took me all of 5 minutes and turning a socket wrench next to the block was far easier than trying to get a hammer in there and put the plug in even.
If you have a rusted freeze plug behind your transmition, you might be screwed, but if you can get see the plug that's bad, I would recommend fixing it yourself and not paying several hundred dollars for some mechanic to pull your block or rip you off.
I flushed my coolant system for a while using a prestone flushing kit that lets you attach a hose to the heater inlet hose. I did this because I didn't want to remove the thermostat. If you take your thermostat housing off, it looks like a pain to replace because scraping off the old gasket would be almost impossible without removing the alternator.
It is now holding coolant and there are no leaks anywhere.
For anyone dealing with a freeze plug leak, I just fixed my Durango so here's some advice. I have a 1999 5.2L V8 4WD
My Durango has been leaking coolant slowly for years from somewhere I couldn't find. I just kept filling it up every few weeks for a long, long time. I finally got ahold of a pressure tester and when I pumped it up, coolant came out of the water pump weep hole.
I replaced the water pump last weekend, poured in the new coolant, and when I started it up there was still a leak. I crawled under the car and finally traced it to a freeze plug that had rusted out. If you look inside the wheel well above the front right tire, you can clearly see 2 of the freeze plugs on the block. It was the the rear of these two that rusted out on me. The other one looks fine. I think this freeze plug leaking is the reason the water pump shaft seal went bad because the water pump was only about 25,000 miles old.
I scraped out the rusted part, pulled and twisted on it with pliers, and finally hammered a tent stake (for lack of a better tool with reach) into the plug until it rotated and I could pull it out by hand. I then scraped tons of black sludge crap out of the hole with my finger.
Although this plug is visible, and accessible I didn't know how I would hammer in a new plug until I found out about the rubber ones. I bought one for about $3 from Kragen. You pop it into the hole until a metal disk on one end butts up against the block and then tighten a nut on the outside of the plug. This expands the rubber and makes it seal. It took me all of 5 minutes and turning a socket wrench next to the block was far easier than trying to get a hammer in there and put the plug in even.
If you have a rusted freeze plug behind your transmition, you might be screwed, but if you can get see the plug that's bad, I would recommend fixing it yourself and not paying several hundred dollars for some mechanic to pull your block or rip you off.
I flushed my coolant system for a while using a prestone flushing kit that lets you attach a hose to the heater inlet hose. I did this because I didn't want to remove the thermostat. If you take your thermostat housing off, it looks like a pain to replace because scraping off the old gasket would be almost impossible without removing the alternator.
It is now holding coolant and there are no leaks anywhere.
Any idea if its the freeze plugs that people seem to have a problem with or could it be something else?