Dealer No Longer Fill Coolant/Poss Leak

[highway420]

I have a strange coolant 'disappearing act' going on too.. It's getting low now more often.. there was one incident where I drove the truck to the starbucks...wait, I mean the office, very nicely actually, not racing around or taxing it by any means.. was only 75-78 in so cal... and when I came back to the truck about 5 hours later.. there was a huge puddle underneath.. thought it was oil at first.. cause it looked like it came from the back of the skid/oil pan location..

after moving the truck and checking the oil.. it dawned on me that it was coolant.. that was month ago. don't think it's done it like that since, but that was a huge puddle to it to just **** out... and with out really going hard on the driving. I've been to baja twice with it and lucky didn't decide to do it there.

but on saying all this... I have been adding/topping off since then. every two weeks Im checking, and it's just low enough where it needs some.


any one already experience this? did you find the leak? I still need to go to my mechs shop and pressure test to find it..

 

[DAVfoto]

Not sure if this happens on our Raptors but sometimes if the coolant gets too hot it will spill out due to pressure being too much for the system, usually out of the cap that can release air/coolant when pressure is too much.

 

[Old-Raptor-guy]

I actually ran into very similar situation. Had my 2018 in to the dealer to perform a couple TSBs. I mentioned to the SA that the coolant was just slightly low and asked if they can top it off for me, to which he replied they don't top off coolant because if it is low there's a leak in the closed system somewhere and they want to do diagnostic and find the leak. I've been monitoring my low level several months and it hasn't changed, it's also very easy to see where my leak was...

On a side note, what coolant are you guys using to top off with? I remember reading a post where a newer coolant was recommended by Ford and could be added to the current, outdated coolant but haven't been able to relocate that thread.

Meh, I see their point, but only to a point. Please explain to me how you would ever find a leak that is a pint every 5000 miles (the loss of 32/1000's of an fluid ounce per mile). I am going to come out and say it, i tiny amount of coolant (probably more water really) is almost normal, or at least shouldn't be considered abnormal.

I learned this the hard way, let my experience help you if possible.

Back around 1989, I had the unfortunate opportunity to work on a mid 80's LTD II. It might seem ironic to say this NOW but at the time it was a very nice car extremely well maintained with about 40,000 miles. The car looked dang near new.

I was told that the customer was one of the best they had, and had purchased 10-12 Ford's over the years.

The LTD II came in with the complaint of coolant loss, a tiny amount between oil changes (this was well before degas bottles). The owner was METICULOUS beyond belief. he measured all fluid usage to the ounce.

After spending a lot of time over the course of a couple days I was unable to find any reason for any coolant loss.

The LTD II in question had a 3.8L V6. This to my knowledge was the first if not one of the first aluminum head iron block engines produced by FOMOCO (3.8 was based on the 302, v8 with 2 cylinders cut off, hence the 90 degree V instead of the standard 60 degree.)

Anyway, I was still pretty wet behind the ears and it was suggested to me that the head gaskets HAD to be the problem. The customer was in the loop the whole time and agreed to have head gaskets done. Six weeks after, he was back saying he was down 2 ounces of coolant again (same rate of loss as before) . I was then assumed by my boss that I must have done something wrong since I was young and new, so I did the head gaskets again. Same results. My "evaporation" idea was frowned upon, the customer said he never owned a vehicle the "used" coolant and that it was unacceptable. 3 months later I saw him driving a Toyota and to my knowledge he never returned to the dealership or bought another Ford.

Since then If I can't find a leak, no repair is made, coolant is filled and customer is advised to either keep an eye on it or stop by anytime for a fluid check.

For me the LTD II could have been handled better by just talking to the customer and explaining nothing obvious was found and to let it go and see if it manifested itself into something actually detectable.

 

[V6Raptor]

I dropped off mine at the dealership today so let’s see what happens… I was told if it’s an easy leak to find, they can have it done by this week and if it’s in the engine, could be a month.

 

[JefferyGT]

That's unfortunate for you.
It's not stop leak BTW. So definitely stop using it in your truck if you are having strange issues.

I've been using it for years. It's fantastic. Your motor will run cooler. It's that good.
Gotta love chemistry.

 

[V6Raptor]

Thought I’d provide an update after nearly 4 weeks since dropping it off. Dealership is replacing the water pump and while they were in the engine bay, the tech found a small oil leak from the passenger side valve cover so they’ll be replacing the gasket on that as well.

 

[Titan_Uranus]

Thought I’d provide an update after nearly 4 weeks since dropping it off. Dealership is replacing the water pump and while they were in the engine bay, the tech found a small oil leak from the passenger side valve cover so they’ll be replacing the gasket on that as well.

Sounds just like my truck but they replaced the valve cover as well because it had a hairline crack.