My truck sprung a leak somewhere near the back of the motor. I was driving for 45 mins or so and when I got home, I put the truck in the garage and when I turned it off, rad fluid spewed out from somewhere near the back of the motor by the firewall.

I looked in my Haynes book and the only thing that I could think of being the culprit would be one of the lines going into the cab for the heater core. I couldnt really see it from all of the steam.

So, now I have replace one of these blown lines, but I guess flushing the core to see where the block it. The temperature guage never went above 1/2 level.

Is it possible to have a plugged core to make one of these lines burst, or was it just one of these line giving away to age that could have caused this?

The heater hose from the intake to the firewall is a common failure part, the original factory hose was good for about 3 years. I find Gates brand to last much longer, but not forever.

If wasnt -10 out.. I would be ripping into my engine looking for that hose... but thanks for the info of where to look!

My ford did the same thing. It was a super cold day in Colorado and my thermostat was frozen. I started my truck let it run for a while to warm up then when I went to drive away the hose burst and antifreeze went everywhere.

Dont know if this is helpful but it might have something to do with the outside temp.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Bad thermostat too? Hmm.. I just replaced it a month ago.

Not exactly "bad" , just frozen. The antifreeze was not quite rich enough. It really only takes a little bit of ice to prevent even a new thermostat from opening.

Sounds more like an old hose and it burst at the weak point. More then likely a few minutes after shutdown when the water temp and pressure tends to rise due to heat soak. I've had my share of burst hoses on numerous cars and trucks...usually right after I purchase replacement hoses but before i get a chance to put them on! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Same thing happened to me in my grampa's Raider. I noticed the temp creeping up and when I came to a stop the steam showed up. His hose apparently had a bulge it in, but nobody noticed since its easily overlooked.

Mine had pinhole leak in one of the freeze plugs.