4.0L loosing coolant but cant find leak

[skoal777]

ok so i added around 2 gallons so that is about what i think it takes im not 100% sure but i did add a little more to top off and fill the overflow. no all the coolant stays in the rad and i dont get any more or less in the overflow like i did when the head gasket was blown. i think the owners manual says 8 quarts of coolant so i am a little over that. i dont seem to be loosing any just the gauge moves. i should add that i removed all the AC components and got rid of my EGR stuff i dont know if that matters or not but just throwing it out there. i did replace the heater valve, top rad hose, and rad cap. water pump it only 3 months old and seems to be working fine. the top rad hose seems to have helped alot.

 

[skoal777]

so i did the glove test and its fine. so i havent used any coolant and my heat is always the coming out of the vents. i have noticed that it happens when i come to a stop at a light or stop sign of a little bit and have to wait when i go to take off again the gauge drops and than come back up to 1/3 pos. so im lost why that is happening.

 

[skoal777]

Update

so I retried the glove test with the help of a friend at work and when he cranked it over the glove filled up with coolant so im going to guess head gasket but I don't understand how that happened so fast and what could be causing it to go. could it be a cracked block? im lost and kinda tired of sinking money into it with no end in sight. any help at this point would be really great

Thanks

 

[black_demon69]

so I retried the glove test with the help of a friend at work and when he cranked it over the glove filled up with coolant so im going to guess head gasket but I don't understand how that happened so fast and what could be causing it to go. could it be a cracked block? im lost and kinda tired of sinking money into it with no end in sight. any help at this point would be really great

Thanks

probably heads but they need to come off and be checked and fixed or replaced before reassembly unless you want to do it again. also now would be a good time to find any other leaks like the heater core, hoses and such. third if you do heads replace the radiator cap and t stat (even if you replaced it recently) its cheap insurance. this is also a good time to flush cooling system and make it clean...

use good quality parts and also consider replacing the water pump I always do as a precaution (lets me check the impeller and see if it is in tact or rusted out) and because the system is already open.

above all take your time and do it right like i said you could end up doing it again if you don't...

 

[skoal777]

Update and reply

OK. well i just did the head gaskets had the heads machined flat. used fel-pro gaskets for the whole reassembly replaced the T stat during this also replaced the heater valve cause it was leaking. replaced the top rad hose and rad cap. also i just put a new water pump on no more than 5 months ago so im sure it is still good. also i was driving to work today and it was around 40 degrees out so just out of curiosity i turned the heater completely off to see what would happen. well the temp gauge didn't move at all. it stayed at the 1/3 position the whole way to work and never moved. so now im really lost. what does that mean? a plugged up heater core? lines ran wrong? any advice would be great!

Thanks again

 

[Big Jim M]

40* outside, the heater running or NOT running should NOT cause a fluctuation in the engine temperature! What were you expecting the temp to do and WHY did you expect that?
Big Jim

 

[skoal777]

reply

i honestly didn't expect it to change it from going all over the place. usually i drive to work with the heater on but today i turned it off. im running out of ideas that is why i did it. i don't understand why it made a difference but when i turned it on to clear the fog off of the windshield the temp gauge went up past half way than back down almost to C. this is why im lost.

 

[Big Jim M]

Perhaps the temp didn't change but the volts to the gauge DID? When they taught me to fly the first thing they taught was to ALWAYS trust the gauges! But the longer I live the more inclined I am to SUSPECT them.
I'm betting on voltage spikes.
Big Jim

 

[skoal777]

reply

OK i will check that. if my voltage is steady what should i look for after that?? i know sometimes when i shut the truck off i hear some bubbling from the over flow is that normal?

 

[black_demon69]

OK i will check that. if my voltage is steady what should i look for after that?? i know sometimes when i shut the truck off i hear some bubbling from the over flow is that normal?

over flow is for expansion so if you hear bubbles you are getting it too hot or you have air in the system or both.. it sounds to me like you still have air in the cooling system....

 

[Big Jim M]

This just keeps going on and on! When the engine is cold pull the radiator cap and if the coolant isn't completely full up to the bottom of the cap pull the heads and have them fluxed to find any abnormalities. Then have someone other than you to install them again properly.
Big Jim

 

[Spott]

This just keeps going on and on! When the engine is cold pull the radiator cap and if the coolant isn't completely full up to the bottom of the cap pull the heads and have them fluxed to find any abnormalities. Then have someone other than you to install them again properly.
Big Jim

Before you do that, put some effort into making sure all the air is burped out of the cooling system. There's a good chance you have a pocket of air trapped in the block.

 

[aspevacek]

I am very partial to Victor Reinze gaskets but get what ever is in your budget. also have the tanks on your radiator checked to ensure they are sealed. If I under stood the initial post correctly it was about 4 or 5 years since you did any thing with the rad. Have you done bi-annual coolant flushes on the system? I am very big on doing preventative things to my vehicles just to avoid troubles down the road.I have a 97 ranger I would jump in and drive across the country with out even thinking about it. ( Other then Fuel consumption )It has been very well maintain since it was new

 

[Andy D]

Another diagnosis would be to rent a pressure tester. You may have an external leak.