MY engine coolant is disappearing, i have no ideal where it is going, i disconnected the hose from the thermostat housing and coolant appeared to be coming out. If i fill my coolant tank, it is depleted in about three weeks. I have inspected the hoses while the car is running and there is no leak anywhere. any ideals or suggestions to what might be happening is very helpful. thank you
Coolant problem
philspils
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
MY engine coolant is disappearing, i have no ideal where it is going, i disconnected the hose from the thermostat housing and coolant appeared to be coming out. If i fill my coolant tank, it is depleted in about three weeks. I have inspected the hoses while the car is running and there is no leak anywhere. any ideals or suggestions to what might be happening is very helpful. thank you
Joined
·
4,607 Posts
Three things come to mind right away
1) Leaking heater core. If this were the culprit you would notice a lot of moisture inside the cabin and coolant soaked into the passenger side carpet. Unlikely but worth checking
2) Blown head gasket. This would allow coolant to be drawn into a cylinder and evaporated during the combustion cycle. This would present itself as excessive steam coming from the tail pipe. May or may not be easy to determine. Three weeks to deplete the coolant resevoir is a pretty long time. You may not be able to see excessive steam from a leak that slow.
3) Thermostat housing gasket. Notorious problem on our cars. Coolant leaks and dribbles down the side of the head and block. Usually the leak is slow enough that when the engine is fully hot, the coolant evaporates its water content before it drips on the ground. Try placing a sheet of clean white cardboard or similar under the engine when you park the car overnight. When the engine is cool you might find a small puddle.
I would check number 1 first by feeling the carpet. If it's dry, I would check number 3 next.
1) Leaking heater core. If this were the culprit you would notice a lot of moisture inside the cabin and coolant soaked into the passenger side carpet. Unlikely but worth checking
2) Blown head gasket. This would allow coolant to be drawn into a cylinder and evaporated during the combustion cycle. This would present itself as excessive steam coming from the tail pipe. May or may not be easy to determine. Three weeks to deplete the coolant resevoir is a pretty long time. You may not be able to see excessive steam from a leak that slow.
3) Thermostat housing gasket. Notorious problem on our cars. Coolant leaks and dribbles down the side of the head and block. Usually the leak is slow enough that when the engine is fully hot, the coolant evaporates its water content before it drips on the ground. Try placing a sheet of clean white cardboard or similar under the engine when you park the car overnight. When the engine is cool you might find a small puddle.
I would check number 1 first by feeling the carpet. If it's dry, I would check number 3 next.
i never thought of that, that does make sense that its either a blown head gasket or its a very slow leak out of the thermostat housing. I will have to try the cardboard method to see if that might be the case before i change my head gasket.
Joined
·
1,131 Posts
Thermostat housing +1!
Joined
·
1,914 Posts
The o-ring in the t-stat housing is usually the number one cause on the SVTF. There should be a link to it in the sticky at the top of this section. Check the front of your transaxle below the right side of the head and below the coil pack general area to see if there's a powdery white residue left behind on the case where the coolant has leaked and dried out.
Also carefully check the hoses/tubing going to the recovery tank but I'd lean towards a slow leak in the housing due to the bad o-ring and/or a housing that has gone bad.
Also carefully check the hoses/tubing going to the recovery tank but I'd lean towards a slow leak in the housing due to the bad o-ring and/or a housing that has gone bad.
Joined
·
1,914 Posts
And here's the links:
http://forums.focaljet.com/svt-headquarters/503534-coolant-leak.html
http://forums.focaljet.com/svt-headquarters/466771-coolant-leaks-cheap-fix-info.html
Hopefully that's all your problem is. At worst the housing isn't too expensive and at best it's a cheap o-ring to fix it.
http://forums.focaljet.com/svt-headquarters/503534-coolant-leak.html
http://forums.focaljet.com/svt-headquarters/466771-coolant-leaks-cheap-fix-info.html
Hopefully that's all your problem is. At worst the housing isn't too expensive and at best it's a cheap o-ring to fix it.
Joined
·
1 Posts
I am having the same problem, I am really new to figuring out and fixing the problems of my focus. My ex took my heater core out and fixed a plastic pipe on top of the radiator. I was checking my fluid the other day and there was hardly in there I looked around the top and found nothing. I looked under the car and saw the fluid leaking down the transmission. If you are under the car from the front it looks like it is coming from the left side. Does anyone have an idea. Thank you for your time. Also would it be possible to explain so I know what your talking about. lol. I am new to the whole figuring it out myself. Thanks!
Joined
·
1,914 Posts
You just exactly described one of the common symptoms of the leaking o-ring gasket which was linked to a few posts up. Should be an easy and inexpensive fix.2000focusgirl said:
Just a reminded for those who have a leaking coolant system or need to refill after fixing a problem. If the car is just a little low and you need to add some water make sure to pick up a jug of distilled water (usually can be found at local super market/grocery stores). Most tap water has a bunch of minerals in it that will build up in the cooling system. The additives in the coolant neutralize these minerals as well as counteracting any change in pH balance (if the water is acidic) of the tap water and decreases the service life. Also do not mix incompatible coolant types as they can react with each other (such as mixing "OAT" (organic acid technology) DEX-COOL with conventional green propylene glycol or "HOAT" (hybrid OAT) G-05, etc.).
If you have mixed a couple different coolant types or added tap water I would worry in the short term, but I would recommend having the system flushed sooner and don't try to go extended drain interval lengths. With the age that many of the Focus models are getting to it's probably time for some to flushed and changed anyways to help ensure a long cooling system service life. :thumbup:
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
