98 explorer coolant leak question

[eXcali]

Well driving into work this morning I got a nice surprise, a snow plow with plow down on clear pavement threw a nice chunk of asphalt at me. I felt it smack the underside and soon after I got a lovely spray of coolant on the windshield.

I stopped to assess the damage and found a high pressure stream of fluid spraying out, I hoped it was a busted hose, but of course no luck.
The leak is a 2-3 inch long crack in what I believe is the trans cooler resevoir, It is the metal piece which has a 8"x3" small radiator attached to it.

My question is if this is infact the trans cooler would there be an adverse effect if I use a leak stop and patch with JB Weld? I know neither is a perm fix, I just need it to last a couple months.

Actually damage turns out to be right where the water pump connects to the hose. Here's hoping BARs fixes it.....

 

[nssj2]

coolant is in the radiator only. there should be 2 or 3 coolers on your truck. power steering cooler, trans cooler, oil cooler. antifreeze does not come in contact with them. i will never use any stop leak products after taking a motor apart that someone ran it through, but thats just me. if its your trans cooler, $25 gets you a new one.

 

[eXcali]

There is a small crack in the Timing cover where the fluid shoots in from the pump. Unfortunately due to $$ replacing the cover is not an option. I was able to stop the leak with Bars leak stop. Once it gets above freezing I am going to clean up the area really good and touch it up with some JB Weld on the outside.

Due to the fan causing false looking sprays I thought I must have missed some feature where coolant was routed to the steering cooler. Thought it seemed odd, that's why I kept digging. I am planning to do some work on the engine and flush all fluids this spring which is why I don't mind using radiator fix right now and I don't use the aluminum flake stuff.

 

[nssj2]

glad to hear its running again. sounds like the water pump might have got clipped. when you get around to flushing it, id replace the thermostat, as that's where some of the bad buildup can occur.

 

[eXcali]

Good idea, I will def look into the thermostat.