The hose in the pictures below seems to have coolant leaking from it? It comes out of the bottom of the radiator and goes up to the bottom of a container next to the overflow reservoir.
I commented in the pictures.....anybody know what it is? And will I have to drain coolant to replace it?
Thanks in advance!!!

 

What is the vehicle? What truck is this?
Looks like a power steering oil cooling line to me. Some trucks have integral radiators which have multiple circuits in them. Meaning oil cooler loops that go through on the inside of the radiator. Oil cooler loops for the power steering and/or the transmission can be in the main rad or in their own external mini rad.

What your pictures look like to me is the power steering oil cooler is in the bottom of the main radiator. The hose(s) you are pointing at appear to be power steering oil lines. Inside the hose pointed at should be power steering fluid, ATF. If there is coolant on the outside of the hose, it means the radiator is leaking somewhere, not the hose. If there is oil on the outside of the hose it means the hose is degrading and needs to be replaced. Examine the pattern of the coolant, dust, etc on the hose and around the rad to try to pinpoint the source of the leak and type of fluid it is. If coolant, then it may be the fitting in the bottom of the rad, for that hose, which is leaking. I that is the case a rad shop may be able to fix it, but doubtful. Usually requires a replacement radiator.

Hope that helps, in some way!

 

Yup I think you are right! I think it is the power steering return hose - reservoir to cooler. So do I drain fluid (not sure how to do that) remove and replace hose and fill fluid? Anything I need to know about filling the fluid? Just pour it in?

Thank you soooo much!!

Btw truck is listed in my signature below......

 

First, confirm which fluid is actually leaking (coolant or oil) and where from. This fix of course is dictated by that.

If it is the PS hose that is weeping. Quite simple. Remove the PS reservoir cap. Pop end of hose off at the radiator end and drain the oil from the hose/reservoir and the radiator internal oil circuit into a container. Properly dispose of the oil. Put a new hose on. Refill the reservoir. Start the truck. Slowly turn the steering to full left stop, hold against lightly for 5 seconds. Refill reservoir. Turn steering to full right stop. Refill reservoir. Repeat 3 more times. Done. The power steering fluid is automatic transmission fluid. Dodge specifies ATF+4. However, for power steering you are free to put any decent quality multi vehicle fully synthetic ATF in. Just don't inadvertently use the multi fluid to top off your actual transmission oil.

If it is coolant that is leaking, then you have to look more closely at the rad to pinpoint the leak - which can be anywhere on the rad because the fan blows it around and it drains externally to the lowest point, such as a low hose loop, when the vehicle is parked. It is common for plastic components of these rads to leak when they get old. The side tanks crack and/or the side tank gasket under the crimps leak. In that case you will need a new radiator. Another location for leaks are the solder joints of the nozzles for those internal circuits mentioned. Same fix. New radiator. ..... I replaced the rad in my truck last winter. Easy to do if you have the workspace and a few basic tools. Not a big job. Decent rads and fair pricing available from the vendors on Amazon.

Good luck with it!

 

Went and checked, it is not coolant. It is hard to get a good picture but the arrow is pointing to where all the wetness is. I can't get the new picture to show up but the one above where the hoses meet there is a "T" that is where it is all wet, 3 hoses meet there. Maybe it's just "T" piece in there where the 3 hoses are joined?

 

Are the clamps tight? Or are they fittings?

 

I'm not sure...maybe you guys can tell in the picture? The T section is where it is all wet.....also, not sure what the 3rd hose is or where it's going, thanks for your help!! I'm thinking I will remove the entire hose from all 3 ends and just replace it the whole thing?

 

Yeah, those are spring clamps on the ends of the hose there.

Is it just moist, or is it actually dripping? if it's just moist, I would leave it be.

 

If the line is running to/from the radiator, it is a transmission line, not power steering. These lines have a tendency to leak

 

The hose goes up to the bottom of the power steering reservoir, I'm thinking I will just replace the spring clamps with screw clamps and see if that fixes it. And yes it is dripping.