coolant leak back of engine

[bdriven]

Hi guys, so I just got back from a 200 miles trip, no problems whatsoever with the X, but, a few minutes before getting home got the Check coolan level bell, then I noticed, coolant was drip drip drip, but looks like somewhere BEHIND the engine, radiators looks real dry, upper and lower hoses dry, reservoir dry...the only thing, you can hear the hissing towards the back of the engine....can't really see it.....any ideas??
thanks!!

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by bdriven

Hi guys, so I just got back from a 200 miles trip, no problems whatsoever with the X, but, a few minutes before getting home got the Check coolan level bell, then I noticed, coolant was drip drip drip, but looks like somewhere BEHIND the engine, radiators looks real dry, upper and lower hoses dry, reservoir dry...the only thing, you can hear the hissing towards the back of the engine....can't really see it.....any ideas??
thanks!!

V8, right? Rear coolant manifold. That's pretty much all that's back there. It can leak from the gaskets or the hoses. Check realoem.com for a diagram:

[Weasel]

Can be the rear manifold/crossover or the valley pan. I always do both at the same time because to do the valley pan you gotta remove either the waterpump or rear manifold to get the pipes out of the way and there is no easier time to do the rear manifold.

Big job, expect 8 hours of labor and reseal the whole intake manifold while it is off. (change all gaskets and rear cover plate)

[bdriven]

Thank You guys, will let you know how it unfolds!

[X5Matador]

I agree with Weasel, I had the same issue and it was the valley pan. I just finished the job this weekend, big job but I'm glad it's taken care if.
How many miles on your X

[bdriven]

thanks again, I gotta find out how to put my signature here...

it's a 2000, and I'm close to 150,000 miles

[meltdown325]

At around 87k miles, I had one of the heater hoses that runs around to the back side of the motor burst. The hose split right where it connects to the back of the engine. When it happened, I immediately thought "shit, it's the valley pan". Luckily, after sticking my hand back there I felt the tear in the hose. Much easier repair then the valley pan gasket.

There are two hoses, #11 and #12 in this Real OEM diagram. They run along the driver's side of engine from the heater valve area to the rear engine cooling manifold. Check those hoses, and you might get lucky and have that be the source of your leak.

[bdriven]

Thanks everyone for their input, turned out to be the #11 hose!!