I have a 1995 f150 302 and about 2 years ago I slapped on a flex-a-lite electric fan and replaced the manual fan. It worked great until recently . I was letting the truck idle and talking to a neighbor when I noticed it was overheating and spilling anitfreeze all over the driveway. I opened the hood and saw that my electric fan was not working it was a corroded lead on the fan so i fixed that no problem . Now there is a small leak coming from the throttle body. There is a 3/8 " tube going into the top of it from the passenger side and a 3/8" tube coming from the bottom of it where the leak is its a small drip at idle. I am thinking j.b. weld. or can i bypass it all together? What is coolant doing near the intake anyway?

 

I personally wouldn't use any kind of chemical sealant to attempt a fix.. If the leak gets worse at a more 'inopportune' time like out on the open road, worse problems could occur.. Coolant problems always have a way of sneak'n up at times anyway.. The function of the coolant hoses/fittings is to diverted heated coolant through the throttle body mounting pad to improve cold weather operation.. If your not running in the more severe cold temps bypassing it (if only even a temporary fix) shouldn't be a problem.. Being that the throttle body is mounted high up on the plentum, it's far removed from engine heat, especially with large volumes of cold air (possibility of) passing through and around..

 

ok I see what you are saying but the leak is coming from the throttle body fitting not the hose . That would mean replacing it completly if I dont use a j.b weld of some kind. Unless you can think of a cheaper alternative. Cold weather is coming so should i bypass it? Also as a byproduct of the overheat i now have intermittant heat and constant temp gauge red lines. As soon as it gets to critical levels the temp drops to normal and then the heat kicks on. Any solutions? I replaced the coolant and flushed the system the problem still resides.

 

sounds like your thermostat has gone bad. If the heat is fluctuating from hot to normal and back and forth then you should prolly swap it out.As far as the leak goes...the only way to replace those fittings is to drill the old one out and try to replace it with a little bit larger one, if there is a crackon one of them now. I would look at it closer and make sure that is where the leak is coming from. But jb weld shouldnt hurt it if you let it settle dry before re-installing

 

Actually, the throttle body uses that coolant to keep from icing up on accelleration in colder weather. When air passes through a ventura, which is what the throttle body is, it is forced into a smaller chamber than the one it came from. This causes the air to drop in temperature and if cold enough, can cause icing on the throttle shaft. In most cases, this is not a problem, but when it does happen, guess what, the throttle plate is stuck in whatever position it froze in. The correct repair is to replace the throttle body, but in a lot of older trucks, it is no longer available from the manufactuer.