I'm about to drive this truck off a cliff!!! (Cooling system)

[Tejas TJ]

I have an '02 2.3l with 124k that I've consistently had cooling system leaks with since early last year. The thermostat went out pretty early on and then it was ok for a while. I then had a leaky heater control valve that caused the truck to overheat on me. I was told I should go ahead and replace the fan cluth and water pump since the truck had over 100k on it, so I replaced the heater valve, fan clutch, both radiator hoses and water pump. The truck ran ok for a bit, until the thermostat gasket leaked, replaced The whole thermostat with a lifetime warranty. Then the heater core, replaced that (what a beating), then the radiator leaked. Then the truck didn't leak all the way until last week when I noticed coolant under the truck and the upper hose was leaking at the motor, so I tightened the hose clamp and it was ok until later that week when the thermostat gasket started leaking again. Took it right up to Oreillys under warranty and replaced that last weekend along with a new radiator cap. I also rented the headgasket tester with the purple dye and did that on a cold and warm motor and got negative results on a blown headgasket. Today the radiator is leaking again. Any advice would greatly appreciated.

 

[Doofy]

Don't give up on her! You are bound to get the kinks worked out sooner or later. Does the glycol mixture get flushed and replaced every 3-5 years? Sounds corrosive, to me.

 

[Tejas TJ]

I've had the truck since 42k 3 years ago and now it's got 124k on her. Every time I drain the coolant to work on it I replace with straight distilled water until a couple weeks of normal driving and if it doesn't leak during that time, then I put a 50/50 mix of green antifreeze in it. I don't want to waste my money on $$$ coolant if this thing is going to just leak it out all the time.

 

[adsm08]

1) Distilled water is corrosive. Since it has nothing dissolved in it it is more corrosive than not distilled water.

2) 50/50 coolant is a waste of money. Concentrate is the same price, or close per gallon, so it basically costs half.

3) Sometimes you just end up playing weakest link with pressurized systems. It is usually best to replace it all at once because when you replace one failed part the next weakest one pops.

 

[Tejas TJ]

On another ranger forum it was suggested I may be experiencing Electrolysis. This is my response...

Wow, you might be on to something here. I was suggested to test this by a mechanic and totally forgot to test my coolant voltage. I went outside just now and tested it and sure enough it has .1 volts dc from the negative battery terminal to the water in the reservoir without the truck running. With it running it fluctuates between 0-.1 volts. I wonder if it's higher at full operating temperature?

 

[Tejas TJ]

When I say 50/50 I mean I mix it myself in a seperate container 50% concentrate 50% distilled water.

 

[Tejas TJ]

After doing further research .1 volt isn't enough to rule that electrolysis is the culprit. After speaking with a family member who is a mechanic he said he's had a lot of trouble with Oreillys radiators and heater cores leaking within 1 year, sometimes even within months of installing in customers vehicles. He only buys oem parts now because of how poor the quality control is in China.

 

[adsm08]

When I say 50/50 I mean I mix it myself in a seperate container 50% concentrate 50% distilled water.

That is the best way to do it.

Yeah, parts store stuff is not to the quality it used to be. Advance radiators usually make it about 2 years. I haven't seen any issues with their heater cores though. I only deal with Fel-Pro gaskets.



Try grounding the crap out of your radiator. It can help with electrolysis.


Melcot radiators are good. They are a company that is fairly local to me, an they make stuff in house. I don't know if they ship. My last shop we stopped ordering Ford radiators for the 06-11 Explorers and using Melcot because they held up better and cost 1/2 of the OEM part.

 

[Tejas TJ]

I was quoted $429 for a ford oem radiator today. The Oreillys will be free because of the warranty. After reading an article about ford having issues with heater core electrolysis, I'm don't think I'll be adding any grounding to the radiator or heater core. This will provide a better path to ground, which would make the problem worse. What was suggested was verify all grounds are bonded properly to the frame/body and all should be good.

 

[Tejas TJ]

The Oreillys radiator I bought 6 months ago started leaking. I replaced that and the truck didn't leak for a week or so. I replaced it with an autozone brand a week ago and noticed a small pool of coolant under the truck this morning. I am so beaten down by this truck. This was my first ford to own and I will never buy a ford again. Everyone says these tricks are so reliable and run forever, but I have never in my life spent more time and money on a vehicle. Has anyone had any issues like this? I am so lost and frustrated.

 

[RonD]

What a nightmare read, geeze.

I would rent a cooling system pressure tester, or in your case maybe buy one

After repair, pump system up to 25psi, cap rating should be 16psi so you want to be above that.

See if its holding pressure and if not a cold engine is much easier to find leaks on.

The 2.3l Duratec was designed for FWD transverse mounting, so there is a coolant line on the back of the head, which would be the side of the head with transverse mounting so easy to get to.
In a Ranger not so much, oops, really really hard to get at to change when it leaks, no if

Give it a good look/feel while engine is cold and cooling system has pressure.

2.3l Duratec should use Degas/expansion tank system, not a overflow tank system

So there does need to be air in the Degas bottle so coolant has room to expand when it heats up

Just as a heads up, I have chased my share of coolant leaks, and have had pinhole leaks in hoses that had me chasing my tail for a while, replacing perfectly good parts and still having the leak.
These pinhole leaks don't leak until engine is warmed up and has pressure in the system, then they SPRAY out a tiny stream of coolant onto ANOTHER part/place that then leaks down.
F*ing invisible stream too, lol, you can feel it on your hand, but can't see it unless you already know where it is