Leak

[stubiePW]

Gents, top of the morning. I have had an odd leak and I can't quite figure it out. I think it is coolant because of the color. It is orange not red like tranny fluid. I think I have it to where its leaking, but not sure. And it only does it if I DON'T drive the truck…. The fan dries it all up, then when it sits I get a leak. I have not driven the truck since Friday night. Not moved it since. It seems like as the day warms up it might leak more? I pulled the big upper hose off I thought it might be and didn't see anything odd. The gasket/o-ring looked attached to the motor?
Here are a few pics.

Not the best pics and the 2 are from under.

[RustyPW]

2 ways to tell what it is. The touchy feelly test, and the taste test. Try looking at the weep hole under the water pump to see if anything is leaking from it. Might have to use a small mirror.

[lastmanalliance]

My 2005 is doing the same thing right now. I looked behind my fan shield and found a small crack in the radiator.

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[w2dodge]

That wet spot on the driveway doesn't look to be oil..do like rusty said..and add a smell test also

[Will]

That's coolant all day long. Check the water pump, heater hoses, going to need to dry it and then watch to see where it's coming from.

[FirerescuePW]

Get your hands on a pressure tester, too.

[TwinStick]

Yup, coolant all day long. Thermostat gasket, or water pump.

Thermostat gasket on my truck (2008 5.7) goes around the edge of the thermostat. If it squishes & shrinks too much, it will leak. This is what happened to or 04' 5.7, the night before our vacation. No one had one in stock. I went to NAPA. Guy said don't panic, it not rocket science, it's just plumbing. He sold me a generic piece of rubber gasket material. I went home, traced the thermostat housing on it & cut it out. Installed it & it fixed the problem & was still holding strong when i traded it in on the PW. I think there should have been a real, regular gasket there anyways. It would have prevented this from happening in the first place.

[Alakablamo]

I've had the exact same gasket problem that TwinStick references on our '04 Durango. Easy fix. The thermostat housing only has two bolts that hold it to the block (metal-to-metal interface), with the thermostat gasket acting as the seal. Over time, I'm sure the heat cycles affect the sealing capability of the rubber.

[stubiePW]

Thanks for the input guys. I've been keeping an eye on it, and ever since the post, it started drying up. I was a little low on coolant, but now I think I have a bigger issue.
Yesterday I noticed the truck running a little warmer than normal, today the coolant temp was kind of all over. Dropped to 190, up to 222-224. That is a lot warmer than normal, but I don't see a leak. Does this mean the thermostat is bad or water pump?

I really appreciate all the help. I am by no means a mechanic, but like working on it myself so I can learn. Again, all help has been appreciated.

[RustyPW]

Check and see how much coolant you have in the radiator. Not the jug on the side. Do when it's cold.

[FirerescuePW]

Sounds like air in the system. Did it spike quickly, then drop just as fast?

[TwinStick]

One problem could have caused the other. If your gasket was leaking, then it also means air could have got in, causing the new problem.

Years ago, the thermostat gasket was just that---a gasket between 2 pieces of material. They figured out a way to fuck that simple thing up as well. Now, the rubber thermostat gasket goes around the thermostat itself & there is a recess in both sides of the t-stat housings----meaning there is only about 0.001" of compression of the t-stat gasket that keeps the fluid in. If that gasket shrinks---even a little, then you have a leak.

[stubiePW]

Thanks guys. I added coolant to the radiator and it has been ok, but def saw some seapage at the thermostat. Looks like I have something to do!