Think I found my coolant leak (470)

[natemoore]

Looks like this was the problem. Coolant was getting into my exhaust manifold through a leak in the exhaust elbow. The inside was eaten away.

Cha-ching. Another $200. At least my exhaust manifold is good.

I know we have a couple/three 470 rebuilders at the moment. This would be something good to check.

 

[Don S]

Re: Think I found my coolant leak (470)

You can't check it while it's laying down like that/

 

[natemoore]

Re: Think I found my coolant leak (470)

You can't check it while it's laying down like that/

I had a visual I.D. on the gaping hole inside. It isn't pretty inside there.

 

[gadget73]

Re: Think I found my coolant leak (470)

If you can see it, thats a different story. What I've done to check them in the past was to attach a plate to the manifold side, and install a gasket. Hook low pressure air (5-10 psi) to the water jacket, and fill the inside of the riser with water. If you see bubbles, its got a hole somewhere. Same trick works to check manifolds, and you can use the same plate. Just bolt it down where the riser would normally live and watch for bubbles in the exhaust ports.

 

[natemoore]

Re: Think I found my coolant leak (470)

If you can see it, thats a different story. What I've done to check them in the past was to attach a plate to the manifold side, and install a gasket. Hook low pressure air (5-10 psi) to the water jacket, and fill the inside of the riser with water. If you see bubbles, its got a hole somewhere. Same trick works to check manifolds, and you can use the same plate. Just bolt it down where the riser would normally live and watch for bubbles in the exhaust ports.

If I have a leak in my manifold, I don't want to know about it! That's a $900 part.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Think I found my coolant leak (470)

as the riser has NO coolent other than raw water running through it my bet is the manifold is cracked around the #4 cyl, normal especially if its the cast iron version.carefully pressure test the manifold and if its cast iron and leaking the riser will now be irrelavent as the AL manifold takes a different riser.
it is possible to haave a riser gasket leak and allow engine coolent into the ex at the riser joint but not from the riser on that engine.

 

[natemoore]

Re: Think I found my coolant leak (470)

My exhaust elbow, which is pictured, has a radiator cap and had coolant in it.

Are you thinking of a different engine?

The 470 has a closed-loop cooling system, and as far as I can tell, raw water only goes through the power steering cooler and the heat exchanger.

WAIT A MOMENT! The raw water exits through the brass fitting that I'm spraying water into, doesn't it? That would have been helpful information to add to the discussion. Never mind.