when to replace hoses on coolent tank?

So all the coolent leaked out of my car, and I found that the hose conecting the coolant tank and radiator was still intact, but the one on the side was hanging straight through my engine and out the bottom. My question is did the hose just pop off need to be reattached, if so where do I reatatch to? or if it broke I obviously need a new hose but what kind of hose to buy.

So all the coolent leaked out of my car, and I found that the hose conecting the coolant tank and radiator was still intact, but the one on the side was hanging straight through my engine and out the bottom. My question is did the hose just pop off need to be reattached, if so where do I reatatch to? or if it broke I obviously need a new hose but what kind of hose to buy.


Thats an overflow hose, its suppose to be like that. If all your coolant went out through that hose your engine was seriously overheating.

OK, Could you give a little more info. Like what size is the hose that is hanging. 5/8", 1 3/4", ect. Also, what is it connected to. Front left side if the engine, Top side of radiator, ect.

So all the coolent leaked out of my car, and I found that the hose conecting the coolant tank and radiator was still intact, but the one on the side was hanging straight through my engine and out the bottom. My question is did the hose just pop off need to be reattached, if so where do I reatatch to? or if it broke I obviously need a new hose but what kind of hose to buy.

ok well, almost all of my coolent was out, so if that means I have a leak how to I check for it and fix it? and if it is not a leak and my car was over heating and the coolent went out through the overflow hose what could be the cause of it over heating bad enough to where the coolent would over flow?

Stuck thermostat...plugged coolant passages...any number of things. I suggest running a fill up of plain tap water and Prestone cooling system CLEANER (Not the flush) for a few days after replacing your rad cap, thermostat and a good reverse flushing of your heater core. After 3-4 days of running on the mixture of cleaner and water, drain the system, pull the block drain plugs and flush her out good with the garden hose until all of the water you see running out of the block is *clear*. Stick the hose into your coolant overflow tank to flush it out thoroughly too and then unbolt it, so you can tip it over to drain it out. Refill the system and recovery tank with a 50/50 mix of your favorite coolant after replacing the drain plugs on the block, using three turns of fresh teflon sealing tape aound their threads. Turn the truck over and with the rad cap off, let it bleed and bubble the air out of the system...wait until the system is hot enough to open the thermostat at idle and then top off again, slowly pouring your coolant mixture in until it comes right up the neck of the radiator and put your cap back on. Watch it over the next few days, looking at the level in your coolant recovery tank and topping up the tank as needed. Check again in several days, make sure she is water-tight and then forget about it.

Or - take it to a shop and forget about it for $120 more than if you did this at home. ;)

If you find that you are still loosing coolant, there are a few places to check: (Do this and LOOK for leaks while you have the cleaner and tap water mix in the engine. If you loose tap water and the $3 for the cleaner it's no big deal. Loosing $20 in coolant will sting ya. ALso, one can "borrow" a cooling system pressurizer from Autozone for a nominal fee, returnable to you once you return the tool so you do not expose yourself to HOT, hazardous leaks.)

Look at the heater core lines. If they are not snug, they will leak and make the truck look like it's dropping fluid like the A/C is on.

Look around the area where the intkae plenum mates to the block against the sides of the valve covers. If there is fluid leaking here, it's a bad lower intake seal. Mine sputtered fluid at the rear of the passenger-side block seal when it went. I had a mild overheat and loss of coolant when this happened. It also dumped coolant into the oil, which leads me to:

Pull the dipstick. Do you see, smell anti-freeze in there, or is the oil beaten to a foamy, milkshake looking consitency? Definitely a lower intake seal gone in this case. When there is a leak on the back of the engine around this seal, you'll see anti-freeze pooling on the ground behind the transmission bellhousing. It runs down over everything back there. There is also a freeze-out plug back there that can turn loose with age and dribble. If it's the plug, you're in for a very expensive shop repair. Only way to get to it is to lift the engine after seperating the tranny from the backplate of the block. Sorry Charley.

If you see it dripping around the nose of the truck, as if it were coming out from the splash pan, look for leaks around the water pump where it seals against the block. I had a leak here that made the poor girl sweat coolant from all under the nose area of the truck when I parked it and it was still hot.

If it's dripping directly to the ground along the sides of the engine, I would first look at the block drain plugs, just to be sure - but most likely it would be a freeze-out plug that went after rotting through. They are made of a cheap stamped steel and are not very resistant to corrosion from either the inside or outside. Ones on the sides of the block can be done at home, but you have to be a contortionist, weigh less than 100 pounds soaking wet, and have hands that would make a Japanese elf viciously jealous of you. They are well hidden. I replaced one on my '84 Oldsmobile Delta-88 C'Cruiser wagon once.... Once. Never again. I take the truck/car into the shop when I have to knock one of them out. It's a royal pain to work on them even if they are in plain sight. Luckily, getting them back in is a cinch. Good luck!