[fintstone]

Originally Posted by montauk

So I took a few minutes at lunch and tried to tighten the horizontal nut closest to the fender. No joy. It wouldn't budge so I loosened it to see if anything looked odd. Everything looked fine so why the leak. Then I noticed that there a lot of sludge on the threads. I'm wondering if the mechanic that put the lines on simply stopped tightening when the nut stopped due to the threads being clogged thinking his work was done.

I'll have more time this weekend to dive into it.

I am worried that the real problem is that the tubing is cracked. I hope not!!!!

You can use oil plug sealant on the threads, but that will not help if the nuts are not tight enough due to the threads being boogered up (and it is coming out from the back of the nut)

Also, check for a crack in the thermostat. I circled a spot (in red) I would check in the photo. Also, the hoses must sit perfectly straight in the thermostat housing to seal. In this photo (see blue arrows), it looks canted a bit (might just be the photo angle).