93 coolant loss

[mikey12450]

93 sport 4x4. i have only owned it a month and now there is coolant loss and my temp gauge is fluctuating (all the way up then back down to regular operating range). there is no leak from the rad. or hoses.the front diff. is wet now and the leaks seem to be from above it somewhere,

if this has happend to anyone. anything on where to look would help. but its not overheating. i cant htink of anyhting else that would help diagnose where its coming from at the moment. it runs fine. no loss in power. just cant find a leak. thinking about pressure washing the whole engine then letting it warm up to find it. i go back to work tomorrow. what crap timing to be having problems. What should i do?

 

[nitro71]

Look at the front of the water pump for a weep hole somewhere. I suspect your pump is shot and this hole is leaking fluid. When the pump goes bad the weep hole starts leaking radiator fluid to let you know.

 

[mikey12450]

i know this sounds dumd, but where is the water pump on these things? i am a chevy guy by choice, but grew up with fords. tryn to go to my roots. hopefully get longer life out of em! thanks.

 

[doonze]

errrr..... Ok, well... It's the mounting point for your fan, so follow that back past the clutch and you have the water pump.... You can also follow the upper and lower hoses and they lead to the pump as well.

 

[boggs1227]

i cant belive no one has mentioned the lower intake leaking .ford made a design flaw into the lower intake manifold . a water jacket overhang has no bolt on the other side and a leak WILL develop over time ...mine does this .

here's a pic ... if you can imagine following from top of the tps ( throttle postion sensor (( the black thing on you throttle body )) straight down to the ground this is the area around the lower intake that develops a leak ....

mine leaks but you never see it hit the ground ( maybe on a hot day you may see a tiny drop or 2 ) thats because when it leaks out it goes right down the block to the timeing chain cover then a little behind the a/c compressor then back down the block again ...by this time about 95% of it has evaporated all thats left is a tiny mineral trail .

i swapped to a lower temp summer stat ( 180f) and i think that helped out a bit ....now i'm not going through quite so much coolant ( i fill the over flow back up every month or two with about less than a pint each time if that much .so the lower pressure/ temps the engine is producing is keeping a little more coolant in the system .

but like the others have said don't rule out the pump / weep hole and other simple to check things like hose's /clamps/ etc ......

 

[mikey12450]

thanks yours seems to make th emost sense so far. as i am not overheating, but the gauge does go all the way up then back to normal. but remember, im going thru a quart a day. itd gotta last till saturday to get fixed.

 

[doonze]

thanks yours seems to make th emost sense so far. as i am not overheating, but the gauge does go all the way up then back to normal. but remember, im going thru a quart a day. itd gotta last till saturday to get fixed.

Mine does that too (the needle swinging thing), and I've heard reports from others about it too. I've also heard about 5 different things that has seemed to fix it. From as simple as just a new stat, to a new heater core, to a new radiator.

I'm kinda of the opinion it's just something these things do sometimes, I'm going to replace my temp sending unit and see how that works. At least I'll know if it seems to be really happening. Mine will go to M/A sometimes, mostly about R. I just worry the sudden temp spike could hurt something one of these times, if it's really spiking and not the temp sending unit just freaking out.

 

[coalkickin]

pull your spark plugs...check them out...any oil, etc on them?

 

[mikey12450]

so its been a few days now and im running just water and no more leaks. the coolant trail looks to be from the water pump, lower radiator hose from the block(not from around the hose but the thing that the hose is connected to, from that.on lower right as if looking at engine) and thermostat? (lower left under alt.) ive only been driving it about 7 minutes or 10 miles to work if that, let it sit all day then go home. but it doesnt seem to be leaking. why would this happen? and would this mean that just those gaskets are bad? thanks.

-stuck

 

[mikey12450]

new parts

new water pump thermostat and metal/rubber lower intake gasket and new valve cover gaskets. all done to spec. now it gushes out of the front somewhere from behind the thermostat housing.maybe. whats back there that will leak? thanks

 

[Przybysz]

Blown headgasket?

Mine did that a while ago and now its losing extreme coolant fluids

Basically check if it is unusally chugging

 

[mikey12450]

head gasket?

how could it be a head gasket if there is no oil in the coolant? the coolant comes out clean as it went in.stuck in a hard place on this one.thanks tho.

 

[Przybysz]

I'm not real sure, i am just saying because I noticed that mine was loosing coolant after the headgasket went.

 

[mikey12450]

even tho theres no oil in the coolant? im just trying to make a game plan or think some thaughts of where to go next before taking the intake off again! ive got that down pat now.how ****ty is that?! gonna try thermstat stuff in the morning.thanks

 

[red.EDDIE.4x4]

a friend of mine has an older Cadillac that seems to have the same problem. it seems to just make coolant disappear...we found out its somehow leaking into the cylinders and its actually burning coolant slowly. if there is no visible leak from any of the cooling components then this could be the case. just my 2 cents...

 

[mikey12450]

leak into cylinders

i know its not that. i can watch it blow out when revving it. just cant see the exact place of origin. just a 95% view of where its blowing out. somewhere behind the thermostat pipe area. i should know for sure in the morning. ill let you guys know.

 

[anthonyc6417]

i would first remove the air intake tube. install a coolant pressure tester to the radiator. apply 15 psi, you should now find your leak. use a good flash light and a mirror. look for white or green streaks around engine block etc

 

[Przybysz]

The other thing mine was doing was dumping the "leftover" coolant back into the coolant reserve. The coolant was steaming hot after 30 minutes of driving and the engine steams everywhere.

If its not doing that, i think you have a different problem.

 

[mikey12450]

screw it

ive had enough!! it must be a cracked block or something. sold it to my dad and bought an f250. cant waste anymore time trying to fix it. its easier to buy something else. at least now i can get to work. just a shame tho, i really liked that truck.