Radiator fluid?

[Zach]

Hi Everyone,
Took a nice jaunt down to Newport, RI this weekend, that is a beautiful area and well worth a visit. On my way home I stopped for gas after driving for about 40 minutes on the highway, I noticed that I had some antifreeze dripping out of the radiator of my Ford 460. I was greatly concerned and checked the fluid levels and they were fine so I carefully resumed my journey, watching the temp gauge the whole time. The temp stayed fine and when I got home no more leaked out and the fluid was had not gone down at all...can anyone think of potential causes for the drainage?
thanks,
Zach

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Where was this fluid dripping from and are you sure it was radiator coolant?  Was it colored? Have a taste or smell? It is normal for moisture in the air to condense around the air conditioner and this drips off under the rig. It will be plain water, though, not radiator coolant.

It is normal for coolant to expand when hot and bubble out through an overflow tube near the radiator cap and into an overflow (expansion) tank. Later as it cools, it will actually suck the overflow back in.  If the tube or tank is loose or cracked, some coolant may be lost instead of being captured in the overflow/expansion tank.

 

[Weewun]

Your Coolant expansion tank may have been to full.

 

[Zach]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies. It was definitely green antifreeze. Would the overflow tank be full from the highway driving maybe and that was just the excess dripping out?
Thanks,
Zach

 

[JIGGS]

I am quessing your like me and filled your radiator full before you left on your trip. Then when you stopped you seen it dripping on the ground and thought all no know what. That is normal to leak some after filling it up.

 

[Woody]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies. It was definitely green antifreeze. Would the overflow tank be full from the highway driving maybe and that was just the excess dripping out?
Thanks,
Zach

As others have said, if you fill your radiator overflow bottle past the COLD line it can overflow when the fluid heats up and expands into the bottle.

Woody