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Where'd it go?


adsm08

Senior Master Grease Monkey
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
Ford Technician
TRS 20th Anniversary
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
34,623
City
Dillsburg PA
Vehicle Year
1987
Engine
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
Tire Size
31X10.50X15
My coolant has gone missing.

On my way to work yesterday I noticed (hard not to at 20*) that I had no heat. Nothing surprising since that has been its one consistent problem in 23 years of service. Every other year the heater goes out. So of course I go check the coolant level when I got there (only a 10 min drive) since its a quick easy check. Its gone. Rad was empty. I topped it off today, took about 3/4 of a gallon, and watched it run for a good 20 minutes or so.

Nothing came spraying out the hoses. No sweet smell in the cab. No signs of leakage on the rad. No coolant in the oil. No cloud of white smoke out the tail pipe, and no coolanty smell in the exhaust.

It has been a bit hard to turn over lately, but I've been attributing that to the cold weather and a low rated battery. Doesn't seem to fit with almost hydro-locking and then pumping it out (an unlikely happening at best for the amount of time its been going on).

Soooooo......

Where'd all my coolant go? :icon_confused:
 
Check your radaitor drain peacock. Mine use to leak when it gets cold outside (20*F and lower). And only noticed it because of the resdue it left on some frame parts. Replaced it and it leaks no more.
 
I had that sort of thing happen before... I couldn't figure it out for the longest time. Then I discovered that the heater core had apparently gone bad, but instead of leaking into the cab, it was dribbling out through the firewall....
 
The Escort I traded in on my '09 Ranger had a coolant leak I couldn't track for a while. No puddles, no wet spots I could find, nothing in the oil. Slight smell of coolant under the hood, though, and it went through coolant fast- about half a gallon a month.

Just about when I'd given up and decided it was a head gasket and I should just bite the bullet and trade it in, I found a pinhole leak in the upper radiator hose (which I'd installed new only a few months prior) that was dripping in such a way I really couldn't see it in good light. The way I found it was looking after dark with a flashlight and saw a "shiny" spot where there shouldn't have been.

Then the heater fan went out, and I traded it off anyway...
 
Check your radaitor drain peacock. Mine use to leak when it gets cold outside (20*F and lower). And only noticed it because of the resdue it left on some frame parts. Replaced it and it leaks no more.

I wish it was that!! I have the opposite problem there. The mix that i put in to look for the leak was a bit heavy on the water b/c I didn't want to wast good anti-freeze on a leak search. When I couldn't find it I opened the drain cock to get the ratio back towards the anti-freeze side and nothing came out.
 
hell if you got no heat i would say just do the heater core anyway only a ten min job at around 20 bucks if you never changed it it whould not hurt anyway.
 
hell if you got no heat i would say just do the heater core anyway only a ten min job at around 20 bucks if you never changed it it whould not hurt anyway.

'cept I know I got no heat because the heater core is empty, not plugged, and I just replaced it 2 years ago. its brand frickin new.
 
A bad rad cap can let the rad fluid slowly evaporate. Also I had a similar problem on my 85 mustang. Took me 2 years to track down the problem.

In the end it was the lower rad hose which looked perfect. Turns out that the rad fluid was sweating ever so slightly through the hose and then evaporating without leaving any sign of what was happening.
 
It could be a sticking thermostat causing the coolant to boil out at times.
A possible leaking head gasket. Pull the plugs and look for a clean one.(the coolant removes the carbon in the leaking cyl.)
Look for white crusty build up at pump weep hole. hoses, freeze plugs and radiator core.
Add coolant dye and drive for a week then inspect with black light.
 
mine looses coolant when it is warm out. in nevada in the summer heat i gotta replace coolant every 3-5 days in the resevoir but in the cool weather the coolant seems to not get hot enough it might be the thermostat for me but not sure in the summer
 
It could be a sticking thermostat causing the coolant to boil out at times.
A possible leaking head gasket. Pull the plugs and look for a clean one.(the coolant removes the carbon in the leaking cyl.)
Look for white crusty build up at pump weep hole. hoses, freeze plugs and radiator core.
Add coolant dye and drive for a week then inspect with black light.

No evidence of external leaks, including the white crusty stuff. Its far too cold right now to go pulling plugs. Maybe if it warms up this week.

I'm gonna replace the rad cap this week because I have smelled coolant a few times in the last few weeks, but didn't think much of it.

That cap is about 6 years old though.
 
huh...funny...you have unknown leaks causing known fluid loss.....I have several known leaks causing NO fluid loss. Try and figure that one out??? I have the perpetually filled radiator. Maybe I should figure out a way to patent it.
 
Maybe you are sucking the coolant out of my radiator.

Maybe if we put out two trucks together we would have one that doesn't leak or lose fluid.
 
LOL. cool! Thanks for the coolant. Thinking I got the better end of the deal.
 

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