Coolant loss

So, whenever I park the car after a trip it always leaks fluid when the A/C was on which I know is normal but now it seems to leak a lot more and I'm wondering if that's where all my coolant goes. Where exactly does it drip from from the A/C? Is that somewhere in the cowl?

So, whenever I park the car after a trip it always leaks fluid when the A/C was on which I know is normal but now it seems to leak a lot more and I'm wondering if that's where all my coolant goes. Where exactly does it drip from from the A/C? Is that somewhere in the cowl?

if you park on pavement the fluid will be red/orange if dexcool. the water increase with ac is due to the dewpoint of the air . like now where I am the dewpoint is 70 deg f that creates a lot of water. also if the air box/filter etc is with debris the air flow is restricted this will cause the evaporator to ice up. on shutdown after 1 hr or more of operation when parking this ice will melt creating a good sized puddle.

the loss of coolant which is hard to find on these engines is the water pump gaskets. re-torque the pump and add a small amount of sealer into the upper radiator hose. if it is a gasket seal problem it will stop leaking.

Bars stop leak works good use 1/4 bottle and pre-mix before using . install directly into the upper radator hose.

Took your advice jCat and so far it seems to be working, there was four different Bar's leak to choose from so I choose the most "aggressive" one that said to use the whole bottle for a 8 cylinder. It only has to hold up for a couple of months till I'm buying a new truck. This truck has been very good to me but it's time to get something a little newer.

Took your advice jCat and so far it seems to be working, there was four different Bar's leak to choose from so I choose the most "aggressive" one that said to use the whole bottle for a 8 cylinder. It only has to hold up for a couple of months till I'm buying a new truck. This truck has been very good to me but it's time to get something a little newer.


thats good it worked . i have used these products for a very long time. just what I do is add 1/4 of the bottle. then if needed I add another 1/4. most times only the 1/4 amount works with small leaks. since I keep my vehicles over 10 yrs I will use this product as P.M. . never had any issues since the coolant systems I have are very clean with 65 dexcool and the distilled water.

if its working good , your all set, don't worry about it .

I always thought those remedies like stop-leak were bad for your vehicle? Anyway, at 256,000 miles it's not gonna make a big difference I guess, still amazing this truck, original engine, transmission, cat's, plug wires etc.

I always thought those remedies like stop-leak were bad for your vehicle? Anyway, at 256,000 miles it's not gonna make a big difference I guess, still amazing this truck, original engine, transmission, cat's, plug wires etc.

you got all those miles on your vehicle because you did do the proper fluid changes. with that the use of these products do work in most cases . use recommended brands.

now if you had a corroded damaged coolant system from lack of proper care then you will find owners saying these products are really bad.

I have even used transmedic a transmission fluid additive this cleans and reconditions the seals. now since I use mobil synthetic transmission fluid I have had no leaks but years ago with dexron III I did and the leak stopped. also when replacing this fluid the metal inside was clean . good product that has been around 20 years plus.

Now you mentioned transmission's.....mine is still original, no rebuild but has some issues now and then. It used to act funky for a day and then the next day it was fine for up to months on end, what it did was the following: I couldn't take off in first it would just rev up but crawl so I just took off in second and then manually shift up and every time after a stop had to shift to second again. It would do this for the rest of the day and like I said it would be fine the next day. It happened a couple of times in the past year but now it lasts several day's and then suddenly it's fine again??? Look, I realize it has 256,000 miles on it and I'm probably lucky I got that far with the tranny. Looking for a replacement truck now, thinking about a ahum...F150...but now I'm also looking at Silverado's again but a 2500. My question is, I know the transmissions are stronger but will they last longer too? And the 6.0 engine is basically a 5.3 right? I know these will go forever and what's the deal with the 8.1 engine, how reliable are these? And thank you again jCat, I know you're a great source of information on this forum.

Now you mentioned transmission's.....mine is still original, no rebuild but has some issues now and then. It used to act funky for a day and then the next day it was fine for up to months on end, what it did was the following: I couldn't take off in first it would just rev up but crawl so I just took off in second and then manually shift up and every time after a stop had to shift to second again. It would do this for the rest of the day and like I said it would be fine the next day. It happened a couple of times in the past year but now it lasts several day's and then suddenly it's fine again??? Look, I realize it has 256,000 miles on it and I'm probably lucky I got that far with the tranny. Looking for a replacement truck now, thinking about a ahum...F150...but now I'm also looking at Silverado's again but a 2500. My question is, I know the transmissions are stronger but will they last longer too? And the 6.0 engine is basically a 5.3 right? I know these will go forever and what's the deal with the 8.1 engine, how reliable are these? And thank you again jCat, I know you're a great source of information on this forum.


transmission sounds like solenoid sticking or worn valve body.

with GM stay away from the AFM engines. also the new 1500 has strut springs that do cause problems [weak springs]. 2500 is good for work . 1500 is more light Duty than our 1500 2000 trucks. also you will see much more plastic.

the GM 2014 models are to have a new designed engine with variable valve timing. this appears to me to be similar to the Toyota 3.5L engine in how they are to increase MPG.

don't know much about the Ford 150 .

these new GM truck engines require the GM dexos engine oil spec. make sure you read all the maintenance instructions before you work on it . I found that the transmission cooler lines leak on these 2007 -current trucks for some reason. lines are very fragile . then they have a PCM controlled alternator. the alternator cuts out to increase MPG. 6speed Automatic transmission can be a problem when operating at certain speeds like 50 MPH. goes into a hunting mode at times.

some have oil consumption problems starting at 30-40,000 miles with the AFM engines. using 1 qt of oil 1000-1500 miles.

good luck with your next purchase. I looked last year and nothing got me that interested.

I know about the issues with the 2007 and up models, won't touch that one with a 10' pole! Don't like the looks either. My wife has a 2005 F150 CrewCab Lariat (which I love to drive) but up to the 2014 GM models there's no comparison between the two, GM really dropped the ball in my opinion. My Silverado has been extremely reliable but I would like something nicer to drive that's why I'm stepping away form GM.