The UV dye you put in my Van in February DEFINITELY helped the mechanic find and fix my coolant leak in April when it finally got bad enough. Many thanks!
Common coolant leak sources: Thermostat housing. Water pump and the tricky one, coolant crossover pipe. It sits behind the water pump and will make you think your water pump is leaking but it is really the coolant crossover pipe. Since you have to remove the water pump to get to it, change the water pump too. Also check the hose clamps on the various coolant hoses to make sure the factory clamps have not lost their tension. They are non adjustable. Good idea to upgrade from the factory plastic thermostat housing and coolant crossover pipe to aftermarket aluminum ones.
Spot on, with one exception - you do not have to remove the water pump to change the coolant crossover. I have a video on it. Fun fact: We have never, EVER, seen a water pump go bad on this engine. Not that it cant happen, but I’ve never seen it happen. Instead, we’ve seen dozens of crossover and hose leaks misdiagnosed as water pump leaks. The other common ones are the res bottle crack/leaks, and the radiator side seams leaking. There was a recall on radiators prior to 2016 for this problem. UV dye is especially helpful in finding radiator seam leaks, almost essential.
@@promastersonly1419 Thanks. I had one dealership tell me my thermostat and water pump were leaking. They wanted over $2000 to fix it. I went to another dealership, and they told me it was my reservoir bottle and hose, they said $1200 for that. For less than $300 I replaced my thermostat housing, water pump and the actual culprit that none of them said, the leaky coolant crossover.
Replaced my thermostat with an aluminum one. Took the van in for a shifter cable recall. Suddenly my coolant res is empty and they want $1,200+ to replace my radiator that’s leaking. Said no, refilled my red. Everything’s been fine since. Such a scam as always going to the dealership.
So if I'm chasing leaks (and I am) and I want to check for coolant (down near the pulleys and belts cause its looking kinda gross down there and its squealing) and also check for oil (cause even though its not making it to the ground I'm pretty sure I need a new oil cooler which will be here next week). But also check for trans fluid because I'm paranoid and have enough going on with the van. how would I best space that out? Since putting dye in all 3 places would defeat the purpose. If I put dye in coolant first how long before I get a result with the blacklight, before I can move on to putting dye in the oil to see how bad that is? Something is burning under there every time I drive cause I smell it. And its not the reservoir since i changed that a few months ago.
Wow. That's a good question, and something I never really thought about. Let's see....I'm thinking put the dye in the coolant only. My reasoning is that trans leaks are easy to find because they are only ever on the bottom near the trans, and the fluid is distinguishable by color. Oil leaks are similar in that they ONLY will be coming from the motor, and there's not that many places to check. Other than the cooler, you really only need to worry about the valve covers, and the front or rear seal. Also with oil, since you have a dipstick you can get a pretty accurate rate-of-loss. If the thing is losing a quart every 100 miles, it's going to be easy to find. If it's losing an ounce every 5000 miles, then you dont need to find it because you aren't going to fix it anyway. But coolant can leaking from lots of places, including inside the van. Radiator seams, bottle, heater core, front or rear metal pipes, the dick, the front cover, and all the hoses and clamps themselves. So I'd put my dye into the cooling system first.
Ok. So there's the slightest bit of coolant uv dye action happening in one of the little grooves just behind that white sticker you said was a sign of the oil cooler leaking. But no obvious sign of where it's coming from. What's my next move?
@@allergic2bull most likely, that’s just shit that got spilled when filling the reservoir bottle. Or possibly your bleed screw on the heater hose isnt tight.
who are you man? i subbed because you strike me as a hilarious writer similar to hunter thompson. no i do not own a pro master. you managed to come across my recommended videos and how could i not sub to more or less find out 'what will he say next'. aside from motor vehicles what is your background?
I was a professional musician for many years. Then I got into trucking with vans, which eventually led me to where I am. But I come from many generations of teachers, so that’s kind of in the mix subconsciously. Glad you are digging the channel. I’m digging making the videos.
@@promastersonly1419 i look forward to calling about the minivan and hearing you say 'pro masters only! click' lol or driving from tenessee to ohio for a cup of coffee more or less to study your habits. i ran across you on another channel as well. heard your voice and the ukrainian man confirmed it by mentioning your name. thought to myself 'what are the odds?' torque converter job was fairly easy. your fan explanation to elaborate the converter functionality hit the nail on the head.
@@pearlrival3124 Surely in a world of 8 billion I cant be the only one combining basic information/instruction with dick jokes. There must be an army of people like me out there. To them I say “Keep it up…like yer mom!”
@@wendyschneider9751 Sure. In 1986 I was a teenager working at a Wendy’s. They told us if the customer asks what a Frosty is, to describe it as “it’s like a milkshake, only thicker.” I took that to mean to tell the truth, “it IS a milkshake, only colder!” I was not a model employee.
The UV dye you put in my Van in February DEFINITELY helped the mechanic find and fix my coolant leak in April when it finally got bad enough. Many thanks!
Simple, cheap, effective. Nice.
Common coolant leak sources: Thermostat housing. Water pump and the tricky one, coolant crossover pipe. It sits behind the water pump and will make you think your water pump is leaking but it is really the coolant crossover pipe. Since you have to remove the water pump to get to it, change the water pump too. Also check the hose clamps on the various coolant hoses to make sure the factory clamps have not lost their tension. They are non adjustable. Good idea to upgrade from the factory plastic thermostat housing and coolant crossover pipe to aftermarket aluminum ones.
Spot on, with one exception - you do not have to remove the water pump to change the coolant crossover. I have a video on it. Fun fact: We have never, EVER, seen a water pump go bad on this engine. Not that it cant happen, but I’ve never seen it happen. Instead, we’ve seen dozens of crossover and hose leaks misdiagnosed as water pump leaks.
The other common ones are the res bottle crack/leaks, and the radiator side seams leaking. There was a recall on radiators prior to 2016 for this problem. UV dye is especially helpful in finding radiator seam leaks, almost essential.
@@promastersonly1419 Thanks. I had one dealership tell me my thermostat and water pump were leaking. They wanted over $2000 to fix it. I went to another dealership, and they told me it was my reservoir bottle and hose, they said $1200 for that. For less than $300 I replaced my thermostat housing, water pump and the actual culprit that none of them said, the leaky coolant crossover.
@@quick99busa Shocking. I have a whole video on why the dealers suck so much.
Great video.... I did not know this 😂 Thank you so much, I watch all your videos.
Thanks dude. Edjutainment!
Hi, I need to replace the coolant on my 2016 ram promaster 3500 eco diesel. How can I drain the old coolant? Thanks
@@cangunes849 i usually pop the lowest hose on the belt side of the engine, whichever is easiest to get to.
Replaced my thermostat with an aluminum one. Took the van in for a shifter cable recall. Suddenly my coolant res is empty and they want $1,200+ to replace my radiator that’s leaking. Said no, refilled my red. Everything’s been fine since. Such a scam as always going to the dealership.
Classic dealer shenanigans. I have a video on it, called why do the dealers suck so bad.
Timely for me.
My van has a very slow leak somewhere.
But it's a promaster, so I guess I'm being redundant.
Groovy, man! Far out! I dig it. I thought I was tripp'n. Gotta get some bread and get me some.
Oat coolant leaves a pretty good trail😂 dye is better tho
So if I'm chasing leaks (and I am) and I want to check for coolant (down near the pulleys and belts cause its looking kinda gross down there and its squealing) and also check for oil (cause even though its not making it to the ground I'm pretty sure I need a new oil cooler which will be here next week). But also check for trans fluid because I'm paranoid and have enough going on with the van. how would I best space that out? Since putting dye in all 3 places would defeat the purpose. If I put dye in coolant first how long before I get a result with the blacklight, before I can move on to putting dye in the oil to see how bad that is? Something is burning under there every time I drive cause I smell it. And its not the reservoir since i changed that a few months ago.
Wow. That's a good question, and something I never really thought about. Let's see....I'm thinking put the dye in the coolant only. My reasoning is that trans leaks are easy to find because they are only ever on the bottom near the trans, and the fluid is distinguishable by color. Oil leaks are similar in that they ONLY will be coming from the motor, and there's not that many places to check. Other than the cooler, you really only need to worry about the valve covers, and the front or rear seal. Also with oil, since you have a dipstick you can get a pretty accurate rate-of-loss. If the thing is losing a quart every 100 miles, it's going to be easy to find. If it's losing an ounce every 5000 miles, then you dont need to find it because you aren't going to fix it anyway. But coolant can leaking from lots of places, including inside the van. Radiator seams, bottle, heater core, front or rear metal pipes, the dick, the front cover, and all the hoses and clamps themselves. So I'd put my dye into the cooling system first.
Ok. So there's the slightest bit of coolant uv dye action happening in one of the little grooves just behind that white sticker you said was a sign of the oil cooler leaking. But no obvious sign of where it's coming from. What's my next move?
@@allergic2bull most likely, that’s just shit that got spilled when filling the reservoir bottle. Or possibly your bleed screw on the heater hose isnt tight.
who are you man? i subbed because you strike me as a hilarious writer similar to hunter thompson. no i do not own a pro master. you managed to come across my recommended videos and how could i not sub to more or less find out 'what will he say next'. aside from motor vehicles what is your background?
I was a professional musician for many years. Then I got into trucking with vans, which eventually led me to where I am. But I come from many generations of teachers, so that’s kind of in the mix subconsciously. Glad you are digging the channel. I’m digging making the videos.
@@promastersonly1419 i look forward to calling about the minivan and hearing you say 'pro masters only! click' lol or driving from tenessee to ohio for a cup of coffee more or less to study your habits. i ran across you on another channel as well. heard your voice and the ukrainian man confirmed it by mentioning your name. thought to myself 'what are the odds?' torque converter job was fairly easy. your fan explanation to elaborate the converter functionality hit the nail on the head.
@@promastersonly1419 Another good one! Thank you teacher! May I have another?
@@pearlrival3124 Surely in a world of 8 billion I cant be the only one combining basic information/instruction with dick jokes. There must be an army of people like me out there. To them I say “Keep it up…like yer mom!”
@@wendyschneider9751 Sure. In 1986 I was a teenager working at a Wendy’s. They told us if the customer asks what a Frosty is, to describe it as “it’s like a milkshake, only thicker.” I took that to mean to tell the truth, “it IS a milkshake, only colder!” I was not a model employee.