coolant leak

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coryjbrooks

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my coolant started to leak today after i was stuck in the driveway at work. in order to get out i had 2 people push me while i almost pushed to the max rpms. it was cold, 3 degrees, and my car was slightly warm. after i got out we noticed that coolant had leaked. after work i filled it up because it was empty, and we noticed that it was leaking right about the water pump around a hose clamp, which hopefully a gasket blew and nothing serious else happened. i drove it home while being followed by my father a couple miles down the road and made it home, however the temperature rose all the way up, started to beep and i shut the car down. now the car won't start so we pushed it into the garage, and reading the manual it appears the engine has a fail safe that won't allow you to start up to prevent damage. i am wondering what your thoughts are and def going to be digging in it tomorrow taking it apart (thankfully i have the day off) to see whats going on. i bought this car last september for 4k from an old dude, fully loaded, 5 speed manual, sunroof and all the bells and whistles, this is a v6 fyi
i quickly found this site and read a bunch of stuff today, you all seem very knowledgeable and eager to help
 
I see you found the new thread button.

Since it is a manual, I can conclude that it is 1st gen (would have been good to post the year.)

Please search this site. You'll have to dig into it as see where the main leak is. Besides that you need to replace the degas bottle and any remaining plastic cooling system parts (excepting the radiator).
 
you can see it leaking while pouring coolant into the resevior. the leak seems to be on the middle to left side of the engine, above the water pump. i don't know much about cars and i wish i did, thank god i know people and my dad has been hands on his whole life. the leak is coming from a hose clamp at the end of a rubber hose, and it was leaking while the car was shut off and hadn't been running for 30+ minutes. thank you tho for the tip.
 
coryjbrooks said:
you can see it leaking while pouring coolant into the resevior. the leak seems to be on the middle to left side of the engine, above the water pump. i don't know much about cars and i wish i did, thank god i know people and my dad has been hands on his whole life. the leak is coming from a hose clamp at the end of a rubber hose, and it was leaking while the car was shut off and hadn't been running for 30+ minutes. thank you tho for the tip.
Click to expand...

Assuming that this leak is "starting" at the hose clamp area, it's very possible that the plastic component that your hose is clamped to has got a fracture or serious crack. Like Joe previously stated, you will need to replace all of your plastic cooling components as well as your overflow resevoir. There is no way around it, once you get a leak somewhere more will follow. Replace it all or prepare for headaches. Migraines rather.
 
alrighty thanks guys, tomorrow i will be digging into it, and will be posting once i figure out/see what happened. the leak is def coming from where the hose is clamped. what are the recommended parts i should buy, and is this something i can do? i also have my old buddy coming over to help me with it, he's a 60 year old electrician who also has worked on all kinds of vehicles, so my question being is it something we can do, or is this a mechanic type of thing? or should i go to dealership? lincoln ls 2000 v6. let me kno what you think, and again i appreciate the help. i stumbled across this site and it looked like people wanting to help people, and you don't see that now a days in the world we live in. much appreciated
 
damn, I guess I should have read this thread first...

yeah what they said...
 
coryjbrooks said:
so my question being is it something we can do, or is this a mechanic type of thing?
Click to expand...
I've done it myself and I'm not super mechanical, but I do know my way around a tool box. anybody with decent wrenching skills should be able to handle this.

coryjbrooks said:
or should i go to dealership?
Click to expand...
that would hurt the pocket book for sure...
 
Alrighty sounds good and I'm in the service industry for chimneys fireplaces furnaces and hot water tanks so I got my tools down! It just looks like a tight fit.

Also after we got the lincoln home we shut it off bc the temp was high and basically outta coolant. We were gonna move it into the garage but it wouldn't turn over, and still won't. I read in the manual that there is a FAIL SAFE for the engine and could ultimately shut everything down to prevent any damage? How should I go about this? I feel like this is getting worse :(
 
Taking it to the dealer will be outrageous. It would go one of two routes. The first route being you listen to us, and tell the dealer to replace all of the cooling components. This would probably be in the range of $800 to $1000 for parts alone, and expect another $500 to $750 for labor. These together plus the other fees would put you around $1500 upwards to $2000.(quite possibly more)

The other route would involve you requesting that the dealer fix the current issue. This would result in a minimum of $90 for the "diagnosis", the marked up price of the faulty part, and the labor on top of that. This would result in a bill of anywhere from $350 on the super low side upwards to $600 or so. The downside to this is the fact that your issue may be solved but soon you'll be taking the car back to do this process all over again. Until all the cooling pieces have been replaced.

If you do this yourself, which would be my recommendation, you will not only save a TON of money but you'll have peace of mind that the work was done and done right. I have an '03 with the V8 and all of my cooling components combined with the hoses and caps ran me approximately $650. You could possibly save even more because I purchased all of my parts through www.fordpartsgiant.com and they are on the higher side when it comes to price. You also have a V6 and you may have less to purchase than the V8. I'd assume it'd be about the same though.

Best of luck, and aside from the cooling issue, coils, and suspension... the LS is a great and gorgeous car. God himself couldn't separate me from mine lol. God bless and we're here for you
 
coryjbrooks said:
...Also after we got the lincoln home we shut it off bc the temp was high and basically outta coolant. We were gonna move it into the garage but it wouldn't turn over, and still won't. I read in the manual that there is a FAIL SAFE for the engine and could ultimately shut everything down to prevent any damage? How should I go about this? I feel like this is getting worse :(
Click to expand...

Really, you should never let it get to that point. It shuts down to reduce damage, not absolutely prevent damage. You should always stop it before the needle hits "H." A tow is cheaper than an engine replacement.
Once the engine cooled down, it should restart. Are you saying that it won't start now? Does the starter engage and turn the crankshaft?

Once you do get everything done, it is very important to exactly follow the fill and bleed procedure.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/tech/Lincoln-LS/CoolingSystemDraining/
 
The last time we tried to start it turned over but it didn't start, idk if that makes sense, but it engaged and wanted to start but not getting enough juice. The battery was testing low as well so we are going to wait until tomorrow
 
I did not know about the bleeding either, which I didn't do after we refilled and drove home. :/
 
There are a few videos on youtube of some work being done to a gen I's coolant system. They might be useful -- I don't know...give 'em a shot, if anything it should get you somewhat more familiar and confident with your vehicle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAGy-bSyd9U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkFKyQaVTwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJEfqaJh9TY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6I5hBplOdQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6ySBwuzlUI

Moreover, there are several great write-ups right here on the forums. Some have had better luck using the "Google" search feature as opposed to the standard searching options, but give it time and you should be able to find any source you should require. Good luck, keep us updated.
 
About to start digging in, but in order to take the air intake off I have to drain the coolant at the drain cock, I read it's on the underside driver side? Do I have to take the skid plate off?
 
coryjbrooks said:
About to start digging in, but in order to take the air intake off I have to drain the coolant at the drain cock, I read it's on the underside driver side? Do I have to take the skid plate off?
Click to expand...

You shouldn't have to remove anything to drain it. One the V8s, it's on the right (passenger) side. I would have thought the V6s would be the same
 
Found the leak! A hose burst, and appears to have been replaced before or fixed by of the new hose clamps and the old ones on there, pain in the ass but looks like she's gonna be ok at this point thanks to all, I love my lincoln and can't wait to enjoy her my first full summer
 
All fixed. The hose from the block to the water pump split, refilled, bled line and now is up and running just like she was before. I'll post a picture of her soon, thanks y'all.
 
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