Spent $600 on a thermal camera for my phone and it caught a coolant leak I never would have seen

I was chasing a weird overheating issue on a 2018 F-150 for three days. Pressure test was fine, thermostat was new, fans worked. I was about to throw a water pump at it. Then I remembered this cheap thermal camera attachment I bought for my phone last year. I let the truck get up to temp and scanned the engine bay. There it was, a tiny hot spot on the lower radiator hose near the clamp, way up under the intake. Coolant was weeping out and vaporizing before it could drip, so I never saw a puddle. The camera showed the exact spot glowing bright. Fixed it with a new hose and clamp for $40. Without that camera, I would have wasted hours and a customer's money on parts they didn't need. Has anyone else found a weird use for a thermal camera in the shop?

4 comments

4 Comments

janah833mo ago

Check the hose clamp first before buying a whole new hose.

david_jones383mo agoMost Upvoted

It's wild how often the real problem is hidden in plain sight, isn't it?

stellaperry3mo ago

Sometimes it's just buried under other stuff, though.

quinna891mo ago

Hidden in plain sight" is right, except in this case it was hiding in "vaporized before I could see it" sight. Perfect timing for the wallet too, right as you were about to shotgun parts at it lol.