Leaking coolant or red liquid, passenger side

[sickcallawayc12]

Okay so my dishwasher points this out to me today. I start the truck (98 blazer lt 4dr 4wd) and there is this constant flow (not huge) of red liquid i'm assuming is coolant on the right side just above the skid plate leaking onto a part of the chassis making a lake/pool of this stuff. Fluid is all over the right front suspension area too. No other apparent leaks, oil and tranny fluid levels are good. Reservoir tank was low but still had coolant so i went and drove it home anyway (i know, not a good idea). I won't drive it anymore. Any idea where this leak may be coming from?

['97ventureowner]

My first guess would be the intake manifold gasket. That was a common problem on those era Blazers. What engine is in the vehicle? The design of those gaskets was poor and their deterioration was accelerated by use of DexCool coolant (reddish orange in color.) Keep an eye on your coolant level and refill as needed until you find the exact source of the leak.

[muddog321]

Right, lower intake on the 4.3, water pump, or a hose so if not easily seen get the free pressure tester rental and pump up the system to 16 lbs and look carefully around and you will find it - engine off of course with this.

[sickcallawayc12]

Okay, so i removed the skid plate today and i was able to locate the source of the leak. There are two metal lines next to the fan when you are looking at the engine and the leak is from the lower of the two lines. I'm guessing that the hole is very small since the stream is very small plus i can't feel an obvious hole when i put my finger there, but it is a fast powerful stream nonetheless. It looks to be in contact with a bolt, i dunno if it's supposed to or not nor do i know if that bold contact caused the leak but a lot of questions come to mind. Can anyone tell me for sure what these lines are? I assume they are the tranny cooler lines. Is this line supposed to be close to the bolt like this? Is this an easy thing to replace yourself? What is the cost of this part(s)? Or how long would it take for a shop to do it for me?

[Blue Bowtie]

Those would be transmission cooler lines, and they can be replaced with oil hose if necessary.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by sickcallawayc12

Okay, so i removed the skid plate today and i was able to locate the source of the leak. There are two metal lines next to the fan when you are looking at the engine and the leak is from the lower of the two lines. I'm guessing that the hole is very small since the stream is very small plus i can't feel an obvious hole when i put my finger there, but it is a fast powerful stream nonetheless. It looks to be in contact with a bolt, i dunno if it's supposed to or not nor do i know if that bold contact caused the leak but a lot of questions come to mind. Can anyone tell me for sure what these lines are? I assume they are the tranny cooler lines. Is this line supposed to be close to the bolt like this? Is this an easy thing to replace yourself? What is the cost of this part(s)? Or how long would it take for a shop to do it for me?

Right on Blue Bowtie. You can buy one of those small Tubing cutters from your parts store for about $5 US, and a short length of TRANSMISSION OIL LINE HOSE and clamps (It will say TRANSMISSION LINE on it). Hopefully, you can get the cutter into the area where the leak is and cut a couple of inches of tubing out on either side of the leak. If you can't get in to where the leak is, you may need to cut a longer section of tube out. Lube the inside of the new hose with tranny fluid and don't forget to put the clamps on, then push about 1 inch of the hose onto each end of the cut tubes and tighten the clamps. You don't need to replace the entire length of the steel tube. You might think this is a bit of a juryrig fix, but this is the same way an external tranny cooler is attached (Rubber Hose). The last thing I did to my '93 was I bought a package of the 1 inch diameter corrugated black plastic Heat Shield Tubing that is split from end to end and slipped it over the splice to protect the hose from the heat and also from the bolt that poked the original hole.

Don't forget to kiss your dishwasher or you'll sleep on the couch. ( I hate when they see this crap before I do )

[Sparky1349]

Question - How do you turn your dishwasher into a snowthrower?

Answer - Give her a shovel!

[sickcallawayc12]

Thanks very much for the help guys. Pretty much like changing a hose, thank God I got small hands. I think i gotta clarify something though. The "dishwasher" isn't a wife (23 is too young to be married) but my actual dishwasher employee (who also drives a blazer) showed me the leak at work. I'll kiss him anyway.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by sickcallawayc12

Thanks very much for the help guys. Pretty much like changing a hose, thank God I got small hands. I think i gotta clarify something though. The "dishwasher" isn't a wife (23 is too young to be married) but my actual dishwasher employee (who also drives a blazer) showed me the leak at work. I'll kiss him anyway.

Whew! For a minute there I was thinking you had a death wish. Thanks for clearing that up!

[captaincheez]

I had the same exact problem a few weeks ago. In the same spot too, actually. The entire line is 25 bucks or so at autozone, and isnt too hard to replace once you actually get the thing snaked through the engine.