Slow coolant loss on V8

[Explorer_PL]

In the pas 1 or 2000 miles I have noticed that I am loosing coolant somewhere.
Truck has 161k miles now. At 150k I replaced the radiator and the hoses.

There is NOTHING on the ground, I checked the oil thinking head gasket, but oil is clear, there is no smoke in the exhaust, and the motor runs very smoothly, so I am hoping it's not it.

I am thinking water pump, but I see no signs of leak there, and you can't see much either.

What are the symptoms of leaking heater core ?

When would it show better, in the winter when the heat is running, or it does not mater ?

Thanks

 

[Flag Gibby]

Check the thermostat housing and make sure there is not one in that area. Didn't know if you meant hoses or housing in your message.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I meant "hoses" (I always make that misspelling)

I'll look around the thermostat housing, although, on v8, it's tight there.

Thanks

 

[Ornery]

How about pressure testing the radiator, and if that's good, test the head gasket?

Oh! But, first you may want to check the heater lines in the rear end!

 

[Explorer_PL]

Great suggestions. I'll test the radiator first, and maybe do a compression test as well ?

I remember the thread from Fire488, and I checked the rear hoses behind the rear wheel, but did not see any leak.

More to follow.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Slow coolant loss on V8 - found the leak.

Finally I (it actually was my 9 year old daughter that looked under the car and told me - dad, something is wet here found the leak.

It's a small drip from one of the heater hoses: a hose comes out of the neck near the thermostat, runs along the head, and by firewall splits into a Y. It's leaking at the lower neck of the Y where it goes by the frame. It's the piece that is in a corrugated armor. I need to find out if it's only loose connection or I need the entire hose assembly.
From what I see the part number is 18C553 and it's $ 247.

I wonder if I can get it aftermarket replacement or it's dealer only item.

I am thinking also of just fabricating it from a heater hose that you can get from an auto store, and just use cooper Y or something and good clamps.

Even if it's $250 I am so happy that it's just the hose and not a head gasket.

 

[Ornery]

Yeah, that must be a relief. Congrats to your little troubleshooter. Extra ice cream rations today, eh?

There may be a way to salvage that assembly, by just repairing the bad section. I wonder how hard it is to get at both ends? Good Luck!

 

[Explorer_PL]

After checking the prices for the new hose assembly 6L24-18C553, the dealer price is about $250 plus tax, I found some online for $ 180.

That was still too much for me. I pulled it out of there to inspect if I can seal the joints with a clamp or something, it was really a slow leak that at the beginning did not even get to the pavement:

From under it looked like that:

The OEM part looks like this, and it was leaking at the Y split:

My "new" part looks like that:

5/8 T from Autozone, and few clamps and piece of heater hose, total cost $ 12.

I drove to work this morning, about 50 miles, and all is good. We will see over the next few days.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Ornery -

thanks for the diagram, but that part looks different. Maybe because I have rear AC/heat ?

 

[Flag Gibby]

From a standpoint of proper coolant flow, you really need to find a y transition like the original because the "T" is going to not flow as much to one side now. I know that I have seen generic "Y" transitions at automotive stores.
This is what you really want to use:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...ap?ck=Search_N0187_-1_2654&pt=N0187&ppt=C0108

 

[Explorer_PL]

Thanks Gibby -

It is on my list to do this summer. The T was the quickest way to address the issue to stop the leak.

Thanks for the link, that is what I need.

 

[Ornery]

Can't remember for sure, but I think I pulled that number from my service Manual and the image was from autopartmaster.com.

Glad to hear it was accessible and now functioning right.

 

[htsmeister]

Hi, thanks for sharing the info. Any issue getting the part in or out? How long did it take? thanks, htsmeister

 

[Explorer_PL]

Htsmeister -

do you mean getting that house assembly out ?

Not really. I think I did some from the top, and some from the bottom for sure.
I was too lazy to replace the T with Y that I got, but I am running rear heat everyday with the kids in the back, and no flow issues, I am sure Y would be better.

 

[admsbmr]

on my V6 its a T so I bet you should be ok, I just replaced mine tonight. $225.00 for that part is way way too much, I got out under $10.00 with a T and hose claps.

 

[vipersinu2]

I think I found a solution for 6.99, istead of buying the whole assembly from ford for 186.00, o'reily auto part # murry84757

 

[Explorer_PL]

I have the same thing in my garage waiting for me to replace the T with it. It may never happen knowing me

 

[geoffav]

Just had the same leak at the y on my 2007. I'm going to replace just the Y for that hose perhaps some hose too. In my case, that leak caused an inspection which found me 3 more. The weep hole on the WP is wet, replacing the WP. The big hit was the cracks in the radiator, two of them. One on the lower drivers side and the other in the top tank below the overflow tank. Seems like a $350 repair, so far.

 

[geoffav]

I used the same y fitting as shown above for the heater core hose. The water pump was very used up. I've never seen one with more wobble to it. I'll try to link the video below. Everything is going together today.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=964111766937892

 

[geoffav]

The y fitting purchased worked perfect. It allowed me to trim back the used section of hose after cutting off the factory plastic clamps. Everything went back together nice except for the one stubborn trans cooler line quick connect. I've tried two different tools on it and gave up when it got dark. I'll start again in the morning. Those connectors are super easy and quick going on but stink to remove.