Massive external coolant leak

LEARN TO DO THE TESTS.
use the tool, called radiator leak down test. (has hand pump)
find the like that way safely cold engine or
OR , the classical why
hood up
best when cold a new radiator cap, that does not leak.
run engine until fully hot , takes 15min in summer.
now at this moment, fully hot the RAD and the whole loop is at 15psi pressure
and the magic pressure lets you as the tech find the actual leak.
to the ground? or engine oil pan or to the front passenger toes (foot well flooding
with antifreeze leaking. anywhere
look every where, engine all sides, not just causal glancing,
hose leak, or even squirting and the landing point fools you,before.
all hoses, not just those 2 big ones
heater core leaking or again its 2 hoses only.
water pump leaks
see head bottom edge leak is bad head gasket (or warped head )
freeze (core) plugs leaking,
some intake manifold can leak coolant.
look every where there, make no assumptions find the leak.
yes a cracked head can push combustion gasses to the RAD
and land in the side coolant recovery bottle (jug)
we use the next tool, a combustion leak gas checking tool to top of RAd CAP
A GREEN/BLUE DYE TESTER.


RAD CAP OFF IN THE MORNING DEAD COLD
NO OIL DROPS THERE, NO BLACK CARBON DUST SEEN FLOATING THERE.

DO A COMPRESSION TEST YET? OR CYLINDER LEAK DOWN TEST?

LOTS OF CAUSE, FOR SURE.
not replacing lost coolant , makes this worse.
only on cool down (time waited) engine , RAd CAP OFF FILL IT TO THE TOP AFTER DOING THE RECOVERY SIDE BOTTLE 1/2 FULL.
the causes are huge. and well known for 10o years. endless examples to read online or in books.
an new rad caps is dirty cheap and fast, and is too old now.


1: running pure water not 50% AF antifreeze, it has 260f boil protection not just freeze .
2: thermostat bad, no 1997 stat is any good now, ever. or put in wrong for example backards or the bleed hole indexted wrong (up hill is bingo)
3: air in the system not burped out. see RAD cap off in my preamble.
4: leaks in hoses, (any coolant) to ground to heater core down.
5: leaks RAD or in heater coil, passenger has wet feet?)
6: leaks in the engine we pressure test it at RAD cap ( a tool)
7: water pump leaks or impeller rusted nothing or to lettel left.
8: head warped gasket now ba but is #6 said a different way.
9: rad PACKed full or bugs or same to front AC condenser core.
10 fan belts loose or even missing, or shreaded, to junk.
11:electric fans even 3 of them some dead. (any)
12;see steam cloud at rear tail pipe, see #8
13, intake manifold gasket leaking, coolant to ground or 2 the enigine oil pan.but is #6 again just told a new way.

it appears the hoses to the heater core are not clamped seal properly

1. drain coolant
2. remove engine cover
3. remove the 2 bolts from water hose connection (upper rad hose connecting to)
4. remove o-ring and thermostat
5. repeat in reverse order

This is how I like to do it. Make sure the car is parked with the front end at an upward angle. Drain the coolant from the petcock at the bottom of the radiator. Remove the upper and lower hoses at the radiator. Remove the thermostat housing, and the heater core hoses at the fire wall. Flush out the radiator by pouring fresh water into the overflow, and the hole where the thermostat was. Flush the heater core as best you can by pouring fresh water into the heater core hose connections.
Let all the water drain out, then button everything back up and replace the thermostat with a new one. Refill the rad and engine by filling the coolant reservoir with a mix of 50% water and 50% antifreeze, or buy the premixed stuff from the auto parts store. (Buy 4 jugs of premix or 2 of straight antifreeze)
Run the engine until it reaches operating temperature and the upper rad hose gets hot. Rev the engine a little to help get the air out of the cooling system. When the thermostat opens, the coolant level will drop in the reservoir, so top it up and replace the cap.
Check for leaks, and check the coolant level for the next few days, and check for leaks.
Dispose of the old coolant responsibly

Your auto is definitely loosing coolant and will overheat. Check your thermostat, hoses, belts, radiator cap and water pump. If you do not fix the leak or coolant circulation problem you can destroy your engine. The smell inside can be being picked up from the outside vent or it could be your heater core inside the ventillation area leaking (which could be your coolant leak).. If that is the case you will need to replace the heater core.

I believe the heater hoses are on the pass side on your truck, but have you checked where the heater hoses go into the truck? Otherwise on the driver side I would check 2 things after I checked the hoses 1. Intake manifold check it up and down they are bad for leaking at one of the corners. and it could be running down the back onto the ground. 2. check the freeze plugs. if you can go to autozone see if they will loan you a coolant press test kit other wise they are about 30$ for one .With the car off top the coolant off and press the system to what the rad cap is rated 15 or 16 ect. get your flash light and chase the drip. I would say the intake is your first shot at finding it. if you have a uv light you can also add dye to the system let it run and find it. First get some thing to stand on get on over the intake and find the coolant just remember it can leak from here and run and drop there. hoses , intake , freeze plugs

If the temp. gauge on the instrument panel is OK, test and eventually replace the temperature sender, and check the wiring to temperature sender.

Replacing the whole heater core is not a simple operation, test sender and wiring first.

Instead of removing the intake manifold and the the leaky manifold coolant hose, we simple place a 1" dia hose about 3" long with a **** down it so it can fit around the leaky coolant hose with two hose clamps and an agressive amount of "right stuff" silicone sealant and let stand for 24hrs which should fix the problem

Generaly 2 possabilities, low coolant level or cloged heater core/hoses. Check low coolant first as this is thew easiest and usually the simplest solution. With the engine cold, remove the rad cap and overflow cap. Fill the rad full and the overflow to the cold level and replace the rad cap and overflow cap. Start and warm up the engine. If you still do not have any heat, then let the engine cool and drain the rad. Remove the heater lines and try to bolw air through them (if cloged, then replace them). If the heater lines are clear, then blow air through the heater core intake and see if you get a good flow out from the heater core, if no, replace heater core.