03 1500 4.7L V8 Coolant Leak Cause?

[jordankail]

Hi all,

I have a coolant leak on my 2003 Ram 1500 4.7L v8 and I'm not sure what the cause is. The coolant is dripping from an area that doesn't make sense to me. It is not dripping from any of the hoses feeding in or out of the radiator, but lower than that. It also doesn't seem like it is coming from higher up. Please see attached photos.

The leak was going very slow for the last month and after a 4 hour drive yesterday it really started leaking a lot faster. Overflow almost empty in 24 hours.

If anyone can help me identify the cause of this leak I would appreciate it.

 

[That5hemi7guy]

No real telling get by this pic. Pop the hood and look down the firewall, and passenger side of engine. If I remember right from my old truck, some have a 3 way valve for dual zone climate control for front and rear, attached to heater hoses near firewall, and then you have the heater hoses connections at the heater core on the firewall on the passenger side on the 4.7's I think. Look at all that or take a bunch of pics for us, and post trailing the leak source. Give us a view of all the components best you can.

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[icywhite]

looking at the bottom of your truck i would say you live in a rust area(snow/salt) I would say if not a hose then check freeze plugs one may have started to rust though

 

[MarkV]

I believe there is a coolant pipe connection strait up from there.... under the air intake. beside the valve cover. For the cab hot air. It was rusty on mine.

 

[JPT]

Chances are it is the overflow tank. There is a hose that runs off of it down the passenger side. Mine was doing it, becuase my radiator cap wasn't holding pressure. I replaced it with an aftermarket one with the red flip up valve from Advanced Auto Parts. So if you do not see any sources, check this...

 

[Joshua]

The used lot replaced my cap too trying to fix this same problem. You need to pop the hood and have some one rev it up to about 2k or more and hold it while you look. I did this and turns out not my cap but the resivour itself had a crack in it around the full neck where the cap goes. Guess that's why they thought cap. Anyway it will spew out like mostly bubbly lot of air but some coolant. Just enough to make you wonder where the hell its coming from. Good way to tell this as well is look at the air box also maybe where the top half and bottom half of the resivour meet, if you see coolant puddled up anywhere around here then it's probably the resivour. I think they're like 50$ I've still gotta fix mine. I was thinking or sealing it with epoxy or something. Be glad when mine is fixed its getting coolant on my belts. Not enough to make it squeal but enough to give it an annoying constant chirp. Does yours do this as well?


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[MarkV]

The used lot replaced my cap too trying to fix this same problem. You need to pop the hood and have some one rev it up to about 2k or more and hold it while you look. I did this and turns out not my cap but the resivour itself had a crack in it around the full neck where the cap goes. Guess that's why they thought cap. Anyway it will spew out like mostly bubbly lot of air but some coolant. Just enough to make you wonder where the hell its coming from. Good way to tell this as well is look at the air box also maybe where the top half and bottom half of the resivour meet, if you see coolant puddled up anywhere around here then it's probably the resivour. I think they're like 50$ I've still gotta fix mine. I was thinking or sealing it with epoxy or something. Be glad when mine is fixed its getting coolant on my belts. Not enough to make it squeal but enough to give it an annoying constant chirp. Does yours do this as well?

Mine does the exact same thing. Gonna try fix it or just get a used one..

 

[Joshua]

Mine does the exact same thing. Gonna try fix it or just get a used one..

Mine is only cracked around the neck where the cap goes. Right where it goes into the body of the tank. Maybe about an inch or so not all the way around. I am thinking that once clean and prepped and as long as it done right, j b weld or something like that would work wouldn't it? Maybe even something rated for pressure. Idk. Part is cheap but if you are in a pinch for whatever reason, like me working out if town all the time always gone that's a good parking lot fix that might work for the rest of your life. Anyone have any input on said idea? I mean if your gonna replace it won't hurt to try it. Worse case it leaks and just appears to be bigger now. I just don't see why people would replace it if that would work. I thought I'd see that all over the Internet people fixing like that. Wondered what people thought about it before I did. Hell its just a small little leak. Only question is what kind of things does your coolant system not being able to pressurize right? What all would malfunction or even just act funny. Or I just completely oblivious and it will explode at any minute.


2003 Ram 1500 4.7 magnum 4x2
196k miles but well taken care of.


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[MarkV]

Mine is only cracked around the neck where the cap goes. Right where it goes into the body of the tank. Maybe about an inch or so not all the way around. I am thinking that once clean and prepped and as long as it done right, j b weld or something like that would work wouldn't it? Maybe even something rated for pressure. Idk. Part is cheap but if you are in a pinch for whatever reason, like me working out if town all the time always gone that's a good parking lot fix that might work for the rest of your life. Anyone have any input on said idea? I mean if your gonna replace it won't hurt to try it. Worse case it leaks and just appears to be bigger now. I just don't see why people would replace it if that would work. I thought I'd see that all over the Internet people fixing like that. Wondered what people thought about it before I did. Hell its just a small little leak. Only question is what kind of things does your coolant system not being able to pressurize right? What all would malfunction or even just act funny. Or I just completely oblivious and it will explode at any minute.


2003 Ram 1500 4.7 magnum 4x2
196k miles but well taken care of.

I was thinking jb weld also.... Probably would hold. It seems really silly for the engineers to put pressure on the plastic tank. They should know better. Right now im not to worried about it being able to make pressure. its cold weather right now. But im gonna have to fix it before summer here. Really need to make sure these 4.7 engines don't over heat!!

 

[augie4682]

2004 dodge ram 1500 4.7L coolant leak. Looks like its coming from on top of the starter and back side of the engine. Can it be coming from the firewall or somewhere else?