Intermittent Coolant Leak

Skengman

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Hello everyone, I tried looking throughout other threads but didnt really see anything so figured i would ask my own.

For the last couple months I have been leaking coolant on and off. At first I noticed it when my coolant was completely gone. Since filling it I have only had to add in a little bit of coolant around maybe a cup or so every week or 2. I have been checking it constantly around every time I use my vehicle. I have visibly seen it dripping underneath from pretty much what looks like the middle of the engine area and have only been able to catch it when running in park for a period of time. When I squeeze my hoses everything has pressure so I am not really sure where it could be leaking from. Any ideas?
 
Something along this line is probably the most asked question here. (Hey Joe, I'm doin' this one for yah!)
You haven't told us which engine you have and it does make somewhat of a difference. But in very general terms, Ford chose to use many plastic components in the cooling system. Due to the strain of heating and cooling, the plastic parts get brittle and develop many small cracks. Under pressure, these small cracks let coolant out in small quantities, and with the contraction caused by cooling off, let air into the system. And so it goes.

There is a plastic tank just in front of the driver in the engine compartment that is often the first to begin to fail. They are sorta 'spendy', costing somewhat north of $150 from Motorcraft, and aftermarket versions are prone to fit poorly and, often, only last a few months. You pays your money an' takes your choice. And the item in question is a somewhat PIA to change out because of lack of handroom in the area, down low, where one hose is attached. Good luck!

And please be aware that when one plastic part fails, the rest of them aren't far behind. By the time you have gone through everything, you'll only have lunch money left from a thousand bux.

KS
 
Oh I am sorry. I have a 2004 V8. I know last summer I ended up needing the upper radiator hose and thermostat housing plus whatever else connected to that was rusted out. Will having a bleed test figure out what is the potential leaking or because it only leaks after the engine is warm will it not show?
 
You are likely to have at least a bit of residue showing in the area of the leak---caused by what DOESN'T evaporate as the coolant bleeds off.

KS
 
plus whatever else connected to that was rusted out.

The majority of the cooling system parts on an LS are going to be plastic,,, so nothing will "rust out". Basically... the plastic gets worn and tired,,, and gets small cracks as CAM said.

How many miles are on your LS? Whether or not you want to hear it,,, it may be time to spend a few hundred dollars to get some peace of mind.
 
Joey, Rollin... and others.. Is there some way we could get some sort of "sticky" made for the LS cooling system??? It might change the questions from "what do I need to do"... to "how do I do".
 
There is a plastic tank ... item in question is a somewhat PIA to change out because of lack of handroom in the area, down low, where one hose is attached. Good luck!

To the OP on this Degas Bottle, I'm trying to get the image links repaired as we type this,
however as Cam says, it's the bottom line near the back at the fire wall that can be a challenge.

Re&Re - OEM Degas Bottle - GEN 1 V8





Joey, Rollin... and others.. Is there some way we could get some sort of "sticky" made for the LS cooling system??? It might change the questions from "what do I need to do"... to "how do I do".

In the works ... Tech Articles will return soon and reformatting everything to the same look and feel. A lot of work but I'm sure the important articles we need most will be completed first. Like bleed procedures and such. Any how to articles of importance will be added as we go. (little birdy told me) ... which reminds me of my to-do list.
 
Hello everyone, I tried looking throughout other threads but didnt really see anything so figured i would ask my own.

For the last couple months I have been leaking coolant on and off. At first I noticed it when my coolant was completely gone. Since filling it I have only had to add in a little bit of coolant around maybe a cup or so every week or 2. I have been checking it constantly around every time I use my vehicle. I have visibly seen it dripping underneath from pretty much what looks like the middle of the engine area and have only been able to catch it when running in park for a period of time. When I squeeze my hoses everything has pressure so I am not really sure where it could be leaking from. Any ideas?
To the OP on this Degas Bottle, I'm trying to get the image links repaired as we type this,
however as Cam says, it's the bottom line near the back at the fire wall that can be a challenge.

Re&Re - OEM Degas Bottle - GEN 1 V8 Stop bu auto zone and rent for free there radiator tester and adaptor necks to fit your anti-freeze jug neck. I did it to my 96 matk 8 and found the leak, Cost is free with a credit card Nice outfit they rent. Tell the guy what is make and year of car .







In the works ... Tech Articles will return soon and reformatting everything to the same look and feel. A lot of work but I'm sure the important articles we need most will be completed first. Like bleed procedures and such. Any how to articles of importance will be added as we go. (little birdy told me) ... which reminds me of my to-do list.
 
Try typing outside the QUOTE marks within the reply field. Basically at the very bottom of the peoples quotes you are replying to. Not sure why you again are including me in a quote when your point is directed to the OP. Did this in another thread also. A bit confusing really.
 
How about you replying to me as an example of where is the place to reply ?
 
post.jpg
 
Not trying to bust your balls here Rock but see what happens to your text when you reply inside others quotes. It gets buried and hard to follow along.

post2.jpg


right after: Re&Re - OEM Degas Bottle - GEN 1 V8 >> your text starts ...

Not sure if you were trying to tell me something related to my link I shared which was information about the Degas bottle ... or if you were attempting to tell the Original Poster (OP) that he should do a pressure test at the bottle instead ... or something else, like perhaps you thought my link needed editing to include your Autozone rent free pressure tester or the fact that you wanted to correct me by stating that we should pressure test before removing the bottle. I honestly don't understand when you quote like this. Happen last week in another thread as well and I'm sorry I didn't get it that time either. Don't mean anything with it, just perhaps try to reply to others outside their quoted marks.

The Degas bottle is common to be the most culprit in leakage on this LS. it will drip behind the front drivers wheel when it's totally failed. It develops micro-cracks and will allow air in and coolant out thereby upsetting the entire cooling system. Which will need a complete fresh plastic replacement.


I hope you can understand the link I provided was only to show the difficult line near the firewall (but then have image link breaks on that page, which is being fixed)


and yes color me confused because I am.
 
Your right,
because my Attention Deficit Dis.... hey!!! that's a nice LS you have there!!!

That was in my sig. some time ago :D
 

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