Sweating Antifreeze?

[fishfrank]

I notice when my tractor is in the garage there will sometimes be a very small amount of antifreeze on the ground under the engine. It seems to happen when there is a big swing in temperatures outside ie. hot to cold or cold to hot. Is this normal. Coolant level is never noticeably low. Kioti DK40se

 

[AWSubie]

Not normal.
A couple things to look for:
Loose hose clamp
Leaking freeze plug
Cracked block
Weeping water pump

 

[fishfrank]

Not normal.
A couple things to look for:
Loose hose clamp
Leaking freeze plug
Cracked block
Weeping water pump

What does a freeze plug look like and where would it be located?

 

[AWSubie]

Item number 6 is a freeze plug, although Kioti calls them “caps”. There are three on each side of the block. They are small metal disks pressed into the block at the water jackets.

 

[grsthegreat]

There’s also an overflow hose which goes to a reserve antifreeze bottle. Check that’s there is no leak there.

 

[AWSubie]

It’s also possible that u have a very minor leak at the head gasket.

 

[fishfrank]

It’s also possible that u have a very minor leak at the head gasket.

It appears to be from the very bottom of the water pump. Tiny leak. Can I just keep running it until it goes?

 

[Stan B]

It appears to be from the very bottom of the water pump. Tiny leak. Can I just keep running it until it goes?

There's a weep hole in the back of most (if not all) water pumps. When coolant makes it past the internal bearing seal, it comes out that hole. Usually the leak gets progressively worse over time until it fails completely. I ran an old pickup for a couple years before it went from the occassional drip to total failure.

 

[AWSubie]

There's a weep hole in the back of most (if not all) water pumps. When coolant makes it past the internal bearing seal, it comes out that hole. Usually the leak gets progressively worse over time until it fails completely. I ran an old pickup for a couple years before it went from the occasional drip to total failure.

fishfrank, I agree with Stan B. You should be able to run quite a few hours before you need to rebuild or replace the water pump.

 

[Bavarian]

Those leaks drove many mechanics nuts already. Some of them start around the frezzing point and disappear as soon as it gets warmer or colder. Most of them happen around hose clamps.
Since it's the water pump itself, it's a different animal but the temp range can be a factor.
If you're still under warranty, contact your dealer.