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I have a Caterpillar GC45k diesel forklift that has a leak under the truck near the lower radiator area. I cant tell if it is coolant or transmission fluid because it has mixed with all the dirt on underneath. Both fluid levels are full because it just started. We saw a puddle under truck when we went out to start it this morning.

Is there any place we can get a good look at the leak area? We tried crawling under the truck and it seems to be coming from around the lower radiator shroud, but there are several hoses there too so we cant tell exactly what is leaking.

Hello and welcome to fixaforklift.com!!

That is a great question, I have seen these models with as little as 500 hours on the clock have leaks coming from the transmission coolant lines which are located underneath the fan shroud, from the radiator, to two rubber hoses that stop underneath the fan shroud and connect to a pair of metal lines that come from the transmission.

To replace these lines you must first access the retaining bolt located underneath the shroud, it is a 13mm bolt that is next to another 13mm bolt that is holding down a main coolant hose, remove both those bolts, you would have to turn the wheel all the way to the left to access the felt panel behind the wheel, then move those hoses to the side with a drip pan underneath and unscrew both hose clamps,

I have found loose hose clamps being the cause of the leak, sometimes i would just move the clamp to the side and install a new one as a replacement,

I have also found the same area leaking a few days later, it turns out CAT might be under some type of fault with the radiator that has been installed on these, I have ran into three of the same trucks that have this exact same issue, you would have to replace the radiator,

counterweight is recommended to be removed for this operation, it can possibly be reomved as it sits but might be a tight fit