Water pump failure leads to dead engine

[03WIExplorerLtd]

Yeah was wondering that too... what is normal in a closed system is the question.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Does 2 to 3 inches of missing coolant (expansion tank from cold line when cold), mean a leak somewhere? Oil looks ok ( looks like used oil) ie no chocolate milk, foaming etc.. inside oil cap, same thing coolant looks ok,(not brown) no drips on driveway.or garage. Resivor cap is tight. Didnt get in my hands and knees in this crazy weather to look under.


To be honest, I thought it was 150k coolant, so its getting a first change soon.

This alarms me as a new engine costs more than this thing is worth.

Having my shop look at it, just wanted to get thoughts here.

Have your shop pressure test it. If pressure holds, no leak.

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

Was planning on that. Its the closed system part and if "normal" evaporation is such a thing or not over 100k plus miles. I guess we will find out.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Ive never gone below the cold line on mine. You should not see a loss in a closed system as it cant evaporate if sealed closed.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

Interesting. I had to top up mine about a month or so ago and the level has gone down again. I assume I should probably have a dealer check it out ASAP?

 

[Keith N]

I have a 2011 with 100k. My coolant dropped an inch or so over a few years. This past fall I topped it off to cold mark, on a cold engine. Few weeks later it was down 1/2", but has stayed there for 4 months or so now. I did have my last oil change checked at blackstone oil and it had zero coolant in it. So its not going in oil. I don't see any on engine, or ground. And of late, it seems stable. I guess my point is it may be normal to drop a little over time. Its the sudden changes you have to be on alert for.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

What's the timeline for sudden though? Mine is a 17 Base that I bought with 40k miles back in October. I checked the coolant a month (maybe 6-8 weeks) ago and it had dropped below the cold line so I filled it up to the max. I checked it this morning (after driving a couple of miles) and it was decently below the max line.

Since I've bought it, I've driven it about 3.5-4k miles. Is that enough for the coolant to drop a noticeable amount?

I haven't seen any coolant drip on my driveway (and it's been covered with snow so it'd be easy to see), but I think I'm gonna call my local dealer and see what they can do.

Would anyone else have any other suggestions?

Edit: sorry I just fully comprehended your post, little bit sleep deprived atm. I know I'm probably coming off as paranoid, but this car is pretty essential to my family and without it, we are up the creek for quite a while (definitely longer than a class action would take anyway).

 

[peterk9]

If you are really worried about it, you could always look into getting an ESP. Ford ESP at dealer cost to forum members

Peter

 

[Keith N]

Rhino
I am no expert. But to me if I was looking at the tank every week or two, and one time it was half empty, that would sound some alarms to me. Keep in mind the coolant could be leaking externally also. Worse case it all went in the oil. Need to figure out where it’s going ASAP. You have a newer car with some design updates that help. Plus lower miles. I would just check it every few weeks. I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I was you. Just being aware of the possibility of failure puts you ahead of most owners. Knowledge is power I once heard.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

Peter
Thank you for the link, we're actually saving up to be able to buy edit: something similar, because we got ours used.

Keith
Thank you, I haven't been checking it too regularly, but I just finished reading through this whole thread last night, so I will definitely be more diligent.

I'm also gonna keep an eye on this class action lawsuit. If turns out to be like the CO one, Ford will backtrack with a "customer satisfaction program". Which I will, of course, take full advantage of.

 

[boominXplorer]

A small loss of coolant (less than 20oz) over a year or 20k miles is common. Much more common if you have the o-ring style radiator hoses, they always seem to leak super slow over time (11+ f150s are the worst for hose connections seeping)

 

[Centaurus5.0]

we are up the creek for quite a while (definitely longer than a class action would take anyway).

Indeed.

 

[jade97]

1 week prior to failure on our 2011, I checked the coolant and the level was good with no visible oil present in the overflow. The oil level was good with no evidence of coolant.

 

[peterk9]

Peter
Thank you for the link, we're actually saving up to be able to buy edit: something similar, because we got ours used.

You can get the ESP for used vehicles from Joel as well. Member blwnsmoke is very familiar with the process.

Peter

 

[Sixonemale]

Edit: sorry I just fully comprehended your post, little bit sleep deprived atm. I know I'm probably coming off as paranoid, but this car is pretty essential to my family and without it, we are up the creek for quite a while (definitely longer than a class action would take anyway).

There is no need to apologize, you should be somewhat paranoid or alert to this design flaw. This is the only vehicle that I've ever owned where the potential exists, sometimes without warning and due to no fault of your own, that coolant can leak into the engine block and destroy the engine resulting in ~$7,000 plus repair bill for a new engine. Those who do not know this potential problem exists are the owners I'm more concerned about, especially if their water pump fails on a long distance road trip and leaks into the engine block.

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

I have been a ford guy, but i have been overall disappointed with my explorer. Tomorrow or Tuesday is when I find out what (if anything) is wrong with my engine and a potential leak. I hope its nothing

 

[613GT500]

There is no need to apologize, you should be somewhat paranoid or alert to this design flaw. This is the only vehicle that I've ever owned where the potential exists, sometimes without warning, that coolant can leak into the engine block and destroy the engine resulting in ~$7,000 plus repair bill for a new engine. Those who do not know this potential problem exists are the owners I'm more concerned about, especially if their water pump fails on a long distance road trip and leaks into the engine block.

Whether owners are aware or not, the issue is still there and the cost is the same, unless they opted for ESP.

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

No leak according to my shop after an hour of testing. No contamination visibly in oil or coolant (no mixing).

Good news after getting hit in a parking lot this morning, nobody hurt.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

Checked my dipstick and no chocolate milkshake yet. Coolant level is definitely something to monitor, but if it's a leak, seems to be external (for now).

 

[WEI LEI]

Hi all, I am new here, not sure if this is right place to post! My 2016 Explorer has 67K miles on it right now. One day, there is massage showed saying coolant overtemperature, I took the car to the dealership to check, they told me the coolant leaked out and the water pump has to be replaced, it costs $2,400 to do it($1,900.00 for labor). The dealer service adviser suggested me to ask help from Ford because the car just 7,000 miles out the warranty. So I called Ford, the customer agent told me there is no coverage option on my car right now, the only thing they suggested is to keep receipt, I can claim reimbursement if the Ford initiates a new program which covers my issue. Any suggestions??? Thanks.