Coolant leak 98 xlt 4.0 sohc

[cliff sanders]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. The oil looks good. There is no smoke or steam or coolant coming from the exhaust. Coolant can be see on top of the bottom hose as if it has leaked down from somewhere, the hose seems to be good. Once, three weeks ago, steam could be seen coming from under the hood. My wife had followed me to a restarant, I was already inside we she drove up. There was quite a bit of steam. My son and I went outside to see the problem, but could not find anything, or get it to happen again since then. That is when we let the car idle for an hour with the air conditioner on, and no leak. I added coolant before letting the car idle. My wife said the temp guage was not steady, the needle was moving back and forth quickly. I believe that if coolant and water was leaking into the combustion chamber, we would notice it from the exhaust. Is it possible that the engine would have to be to the point of being too hot before steam is produced and the point of the leak could be seen? Would it be too likely to damage the engine to let it get hot briefly to possibly see the steam and where it is coming from?

 

[robertoa1a]

This is a duplicate thread, unless you have two leaks 3 minutes apart.