2016 Ford F150 3.5L loosing coolant

[Jim Oaks]

A few months ago I was having an issue where the heater in my 2016 Ford F-150 would blow warm, then cool, then warm.

When I got the oil changed they found that it was a little low on coolant. Weird.

Saturday the a/c stopped blowing cold and then I quickly noticed that the temp gauge was quickly rising so I pulled over to let it cool off. Once it did, I went to a parts store and added a whole bottle of coolant to it. It was fine after that.

I haven't seen any evidence of coolant in the oil.

I smell coolant around the front of the truck, but haven't found any leaks yet.

I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge of these engines/trucks leaking coolant from anywhere.

 

[ford4wd08]

A few months ago I was having an issue where the heater in my 2016 Ford F-150 would blow warm, then cool, then warm.

When I got the oil changed they found that it was a little low on coolant. Weird.

Saturday the a/c stopped blowing cold and then I quickly noticed that the temp gauge was quickly rising so I pulled over to let it cool off. Once it did, I went to a parts store and added a whole bottle of coolant to it. It was fine after that.

I haven't seen any evidence of coolant in the oil.

I smell coolant around the front of the truck, but haven't found any leaks yet.

I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge of these engines/trucks leaking coolant from anywhere.

Ecoboost don't leak coolant normally, it literally boils off in the turbos when the engine is stopped after running is what the Ford mechanic told me at my local dealership.

I tend to agree with him as the engines run very hot and the turbos are super hot as well.

Old turbo motor used to keep running after you cut the keep off to coil down if I understand it correctly.

Everyone I know that has owned an Ecoboost looses coolant over time.

My 2016 2.7 has lost a little over time, I normally just top it off. I'll end up flushing it soon.

My dad had the same issue with his 2014 3.5 and he just topped it off as well.

 

[RonD]

Best bet is to put pressure gauge on the cooling system, with cold engine, and pump it up to 20psi then wait a bit
See if pressure is dropping and if so look for signs of coolant, it will drip down on cold engine

Pinhole leaks in hoses are the hardest to find, they are invisible and end up on surfaces not related to the leak point, lol, but you can feel the stream with your hand

And as a test, with pressure on the system, disable spark(or fuel) and have someone crank the engine over a few times
If you see the gauge pulsing.............then you have a cylinder leak, i.e. head gasket or cracked head

 

[Eddo Rogue]

sounds like classic case of the heater core