I own a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 V8 5.9L truck. Yesterday while going to pick up some food at Port of Subs I noticed that I had dumped about 1/4 gallon (maybe less) of anti freeze in the spot that I parked. Got the truck home ok and was even able to guess that the leak is coming from the lower hose which comes out of the radiator and into some point on the block. Looks as though either the neck of the hose is bad/cracked or the clamp is lose. Now today it suddenly starts bogging down to lower than normal rpms whenever I let off the gas, brake, or heck when I first start the engine. Though maybe my coolant level had lowered more than originally perceived so I filled it back up and noticed the exact same issue. Now what is curious about this to me is that when I first noticed the leak I also noticed that it sprayed somewhat in the engine compartment and am wondering if the subsequent rpm/engine I am now having is related to something getting sprayed that shouldnt have. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Keep in mind though that while I am mechanically inclined I am a termanology moron so using initials to describe parts tends to leave me lost and confused so please use actual names and not initials in your responses. Thank you.

 

remove the serpentine belt and wiggle/spin the water pump pulley. it should be tight and smooth. no wiggle. it should also spin easily w/no resistance. you may have a bad bearing which can cause both a leak, and a drag on your engine. when mine went, it went suddenly, and was so tight and screwed up the engine wouldn't idle at all.

 

Well things just got a little worse and weirder. I removed the belt as recommended and checked all the pulley (except the auto tension adjuster of course) no problems apparent. Ran the engine for a while just to see if I could get it to leak so that I could clearly see the source of the leak and after doing so for around 45 minutes there was no visible leak, nothing on the ground either. Now for the changeup, There is a severe loss in voltage to the battery. When I get it to start the dash meter reads fine as for where the battery should be when running but not running it is registering almost dead (key in on position). And the last time I started it (about 30 minutes ago) it barely cranked over, fired and started but just as quickly shut down. This happened three times in a row. Maybe it is not related but somehow I get the feeling that the leak I mentioned may have sprayed something causing some sort of short but after looking over everything I cant find anything (aside from the alternator) that was actually hit by the "spray" from the leak. My wife seems to think that maybe I have a bad fuel pump or clogged fuel filter and that the leak timing was just coincidental to this other problem. Last time I checked though a bad fuel pump or clogged filter wouldn't drain your battery (brand new by the way) so I am at a loss and financial times being what they are an overpriced mechanic isnt exactly an option right now.

 

well you're right, that's wierd. have you got a voltage tester ? probe the output of the alternator, also the battery when engine off and engine running. engine off should be about 12 volt or so, engine running - battery and alternator should be about 14-15 or so.

water or coolant really shouldn't hurt anything. i was my engine all the time with it running. it doesn't hurt it. the worst thing that's ever happened is i got some water inside the distributor cap a long time ago on some old car. wiped it out and it was fine.

a lot of times a leak will show up after you turn the motor off. it builds up heat and pressure, finds a weak spot, and blows off a little for about 20-30 min, then cools off and seals back up.

no offense to your wife, but i can't see that a coolant leak or weak battery would have anything to do with a fuel pump or filter. but its nice that she gets involved.