2002 silhoutte lower cooling hose leak

LEARN TO DO THE TESTS.
use the tool, called radiator leak down test. (has hand pump)
find the like that way safely cold engine or
OR , the classical why
hood up
best when cold a new radiator cap, that does not leak.
run engine until fully hot , takes 15min in summer.
now at this moment, fully hot the RAD and the whole loop is at 15psi pressure
and the magic pressure lets you as the tech find the actual leak.
to the ground? or engine oil pan or to the front passenger toes (foot well flooding
with antifreeze leaking. anywhere
look every where, engine all sides, not just causal glancing,
hose leak, or even squirting and the landing point fools you,before.
all hoses, not just those 2 big ones
heater core leaking or again its 2 hoses only.
water pump leaks
see head bottom edge leak is bad head gasket (or warped head )
freeze (core) plugs leaking,
some intake manifold can leak coolant.
look every where there, make no assumptions find the leak.
yes a cracked head can push combustion gasses to the RAD
and land in the side coolant recovery bottle (jug)
we use the next tool, a combustion leak gas checking tool to top of RAd CAP
A GREEN/BLUE DYE TESTER.


RAD CAP OFF IN THE MORNING DEAD COLD
NO OIL DROPS THERE, NO BLACK CARBON DUST SEEN FLOATING THERE.

DO A COMPRESSION TEST YET? OR CYLINDER LEAK DOWN TEST?

Yes your radiator could be calcified....if there is internal build up no flushing will fix it.....you may need something strong like CLR in the system for a while. Sounds like the rad is plugged. perhaps just get a new one.....then you will know it is good.

Check your oil if it's not the color it normally us and looks slushy than you have a blown head gasket that's when your oil mixes in with your antifreeze and to fix that you either need a new engine or change the head gasket

what are the.......?
overheated engine. (pinging to destruction)
leaking (same, end of engine, in many cases)

I saw a corvette going fast one day, and saw his lower rad hose fail
at 70mph. (catastrophic, looked like Niagara falls)
i honked and waved, he flipped me off, and boom
he burned is motor up. (you made me remember that, at my age amazing.)

lets do the leak test.
get engine fully hot. no 1./2 way , fully, fully is 180 to 200F .
gauge in dash be damned. I pyro gun it. The honda manual shows better ways, drive it 20 miles, park.
then let it idle , doing the RAD fan test in the FSM.
the rad fan comes on , this fact tells you its REALLY HOT AND NORMAL.
so now just look with eyes, keep hands in pockets.
look at every hose and cooling parts on engine
see leaks.
at this time there is 14PSI coolant pressure, and any leaks
are all very obvious, and childs play to find, just look, and bingo
all hoses, waterpump (and its weep hole) and the RAD.
all big and small coolant lines. (many)

Hose ? The drain valve on the lower radiator ? The water pump has what's called a weep hole built into it. When the water pump fails water weeps out of that little hole to let you know it's bad. I think the ion probably has the water pump onth the front of the engine under the plastic cover ? ( not sure on that ) if it is the water will leak from behind that plastic cover making it look like its coming from the area where the oil pan and that plastic meet. It could get blown around by the cooling fan making it look a lot worse that it is. Check the lower hose and all the other coolant hoses for cracks or leaks as well as the entire radiator area ( sides, top, bottom ) check your rad cap when its cool and be sure the rubber seal on the inside of the cap is good and not cracked or dry rotted. If it is then when the water gets hot and pressure builds in the rad it will leak. When its cold it may not.

it could be a bad lower rad hose however it can also be the water pump leaking,these pumps are located behind the timing cover and when they leak the fluid will run down and drip off in this area,the timing cover will have to be removed to inspect the water pump for leaking,a pressure test of the cooling system is the best to find the leak.if the pump is leaking then this is the time to replace the timing belts as the pump sits behind the belts.

see my tips about heat troublshooting

Can you identify WHERE it is leaking from? Is it just a slight dribble and a bit of steam, of a major leak where it is running out?
If it is from the rubber hoses or near the clamps? Your vehicle is quite old and the upper/lower radiator hoses may have to be replaced. A fairly simple loosening of hose clamps with a screwdriver or with a pair of pliers and then just levering them off their housings.
But first get a large sheet of cardboard or plastic and a shallow pan to catch the coolant as you let it drain. Let the engine cool first... test if the internal pressure has gone down by squeezing on the upper radiator hose... if it is easy to squeeze then it is safe to drain and empty the radiator with the little winged tap that is just on the lower, inside of the radiator. Loosen the radiator cap to allow air to enter the system and let the coolant flow out. (Careful with pets... they seem to love drinking the coolant... but it is poison!)
You can now change the upper/lower rad hoses and heater hoses and maybe a short by-pass hose.
IF the leak is just a minor seepage from the radiator or inside the heat core (you likely can smell the vapours of the steam of the leaking coolant inside, the likely cure is to my some "radiator stop leak" from an auto supply store. Follow the directions on the bottle, but most have a syrupy liquid and little metal pellets. You open the radiator cap (when it is cool or depressurized) then add the small bottle of radiator repair solution. Put the rad cap back on and then you have to go for a reasonably long drive (usually 30 minutes or so) to heat up the pellets and have them "melt" as little flecks of soft metal in the solution. The idea is that as the coolant attempts to leak out... these little metal flecks block the leak.
IF you have the coolant totally dumping out and it is not a leaking hose, it may be the water pump and seal. I think I'd suggest that you get a mechanic to deal with that.... it is not an easy task for a DIYer !
I sincerely hope this helps. Please let me know...
/denis

LEAK COULD BE COMING FROM RADIATOR.WHEN YOU FIRST START VECHICLE UP IN MORNING LET ENGINE IDLE TO GET UNTIL THERMOSTAT OPEN AND COOLANT PRESSURE BUILD UP. TURN ENGINE.OFF. RAISE HOOD YOU WILL SEE LEAK. THE COOLANT PRESSURE WILL PUSH OUT ANTIFREEZE.LOOK FOR LEAKS AROUND TOP RADIATOR HOSE AND LOWER RADIATOR HOSE.LOOK ON SIDES RADIATOR AND LOOK BELOW RADIATOR AREA WHERE COOLANTS FANS LOCATED RADIATOR CORES WILL LEAK AND LOOK AROUND WATER PUMP + BYPASS HOSE + CHECK HEATER HOSES TO HEATER CORE THAT GOES THROUGH BACK LOWER FIRE WALL.

wow, they are seriously over charging you. i would shop around for a better quote.