Installed a new water pump yesterday, and today, I see the petcock is dripping. Great.

Is this something that is repairable on my 1997 Dakota 3.9, or do I now have to buy a radiator?

Where's it dripping from? The petcock where the water comes out, or where it attaches to the radiator?

On mine, it was just a matter of cleaning the petcock to get it to stop dripping. I guess when I drained the radiator, some funk got lodged in the threads on the way out. Hasn't dripped since.

Aside from that, I got nothing.

Yeah John, it's the petcock itself, not where it attaches to the rad. It's a plastic unit...

I believe they have a o ring on it.

As in unscrew it all the way to remove?

On my Dakota I had to give it a final snug twist to get it to seal.

On my Dakota I had to give it a final snug twist to get it to seal.

What is the final resting position for the petcock closed? Vertical or horizontal? Mine drips more if the handle is bottomed out and vertical than it does if I back it off a quarter turn or so. Can anyone have a look quickly?

Alright, I played with it some, and it appears to have stopped. Now that damn pipe with the o-ring is leaking...

If memory serves me right I`m pretty sure my 96 dakota wouldn`t seal and I bought a new pet cock from the dealer.
Pull while turning counter-clockwise and it will twist out. It will come completely out. You might even be able to just replace the O-ring on it if you can find one. It goes in by pushing in and turning clockwise until it bottoms out.

I usually put some silicone sealer on the oring where it goes in the pump. Make sure everything is really clean and dry first. I had one leak there before.

Last few wTer pumps I did on magnums, I used black RTV when I installed it. Smear it on the tube and fill the o-ring groove. As you insert it, the excess will push up and form a perfect bead around the circumference of the tube. Never had one leak.

All leaking seems to have magically stopped. Even with teh strain from the hot weather we've been having. So I won't touch a thing until I see it dripping again. I bought a box of O-rings to redo the petcock, and I already RTV'd teh steel pipe.

Thanks all!