coolant issues

Need some much need advice.
I have a 2001 ram 1500 v6.
.
Im loosing coolant some how and dont know were.I had to refill the overflow tank 3 times in the last few months and I need to do it again now.I drove the truck 1.5 hours yesterday and lost 5 inches of coolant in the overflow tank.
.
When I start up and go around a corner I hear what sounds like a water fall noise under my dash it only happens once ,then it doesnt do it again until I start up on a cold engine.I was talking to a buddy at work he said head gasket and he told me to do a few more things to verify it.
I checked the oil no discoloration or foaming at all.
I pulled all 6 spark plugs to see if coolant was getting into a cylinder and steam cleaning a plug ,they all look normal.
I dont have coolant on my driveway.
No coolant smell in the cab.
The truck doesnt over heat and I see no temp spike when putting a load on the truck.
When I did all these he was stumped and said he doesnt know now, COULD it still be a head gasket or something else.


thanks for your help

It could be. Have you noticed any smoke coming out of your exhaust? That noise youre talking about is most likely just the coolant running through the heater core in your dash, itll make that noise if theres air in the system

I'd say your leaking someplace and the gurgling noise is air being sucked in as the coolant escapes. So it is happening on the "burp" cycle as the engine expells coolant and then tries to pull it in as it cools.
Since you've pretty much eliminated the worst stuff...head gasket, cracked head, heater core...

I suspect thermostat gasket (stumped me) which you can't always see, lower drivers side radiator tank seal, frost plug or even intake gasket.
Sometimes these are hard to pinpoint, sometimes your nose will lead you to them.

Edit: That &*^%$#@ bypass hose between the water pump and intake.

I had the same problem about a year ago with mine. The water pump gasket was seeping a little. I could smell coolant every once in a while when I walked in front of my truck but never saw any spots under the truck either

And you're right Okie, that bypass hose is one major PITA

Never smelled coolant when walking around truck, no smoke or coolant smell from exhaust.
Just ran truck in driveway for 5-7 minutes temp was almost up to normal.Was looking for a leak didn't see any thing. Looked all around the water pump nothing.Followed the hoses from radiator to the cab and back to the water pump didn't see any thing.Felt the hoses they were solid and firm didn't feel soft (like they were empty).



thanks

Well mine looses coolant randomly. I know your pain. No smoke out the exhaust no leaks that I can find. Truck is cooling properly. But I have to put in coolant every so often. I'll start to hear the gurgle behind the dash and I will check the bottle and yup low on fluid. So I let the truck cool. Pop the radiator cap off check the fluid there and add as needed. I start the truck with the cap off and let it run till I start to see the fluid flow. Add more coolant as needed and close it up. Fill up the bottle and all done.

Could be a intake manifold gasket as well. I had that on one of my chevys. Basically coolant was going into the intake but I had no signs of where is was going. Only found that out by forum searching and tearing it apart. Not as bad as head gaskets but still a project.

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Here's a tip for your random coolant loosers...I went through this for almost 6 years with filling my overflow tank about every month or so. While checking the system for the umpteenth time, i saw a bubble of antifreeze pop out of the coolant tank hose where it ataches to the radiator. I remembered pulling that squeeze clamp off about 8 jobs earlier.

A new squeeze clamp solved the problem and I haven't lost a drop yet.

I am victim to this as well. My truck has about 95,000 miles on it and looses about a gallon of coolant or so every 8,000 miles. I just check it and top it off once a month. I have gone over the whole engine compartment and have seen NO leaks at all anywhere, no coolant smell out of the AC vents and no abnormal smoke from the exhaust. I have also heard the gurgling sound behind the dash before but not since I have been keeping track of and filling the reservoir regularly. I think I am going to replace the cap when I get home. Crazy thing is I can drive 300 miles in one day and not lose a drop, then the next 300 miles its down a pint or so....