Coolant Everywhere! (Pictures Inside) | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Coolant Everywhere! (Pictures Inside)

jay521

Member
Joined
February 11, 2010
Messages
19
Reaction score
0
City, State
San Diego
Year, Model & Trim Level
93 XLT
I'm very grateful to have found this forum and talk to many wonderful people on this site, and I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out again... I'm not too much of a car guy, but I try to live and learn, and learn from my own experiences.

I have a 1993 Ford Explorer XLT and I don't know what really happened.
I hope its not a blown head gasket, but can some1 inform me on what the deal is?

Some Info:
This car was given to me from my father, so im not too sure of the specs, new parts, or what not.
anyways the story was, i went to change my oil, like i normally do and i found all this orange junk all under the hood. i talked to my dad about it and he told me that i was driving with no coolant or water in the radiator, funny thing is, the temperature didn't show that the truck was overheating, so i thought everything was fine.

for about a week everything was running smooth and until last night, i started to smell something sweet and i heard some bubbling coming from the passenger side (kinda near the glove department)

i pulled over, checked under the hood, and again, i found orange coolant everywhere after i cleaned it the first time.

so what i would like to know, is what could be the problem?
blow head gasket? water pump? radiator? anything?



Heres some pics the first time it happened....
(Click to enlarge)
viimmb_th.jpg

30jkwur_th.jpg

28is4s6_th.jpg


Heres some pics the second time it happened....
(Click to enlarge)
4vkbnl_th.jpg

r8f6tx_th.jpg

2dhd9hw_th.jpg

rqyx51_th.jpg

300s3uw_th.jpg
 



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I'm very grateful to have found this forum and talk to many wonderful people on this site, and I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out again... I'm not too much of a car guy, but I try to live and learn, and learn from my own experiences.

I have a 1993 Ford Explorer XLT and I don't know what really happened.
I hope its not a blown head gasket, but can some1 inform me on what the deal is?

Some Info:
This car was given to me from my father, so im not too sure of the specs, new parts, or what not.
anyways the story was, i went to change my oil, like i normally do and i found all this orange junk all under the hood. i talked to my dad about it and he told me that i was driving with no coolant or water in the radiator, funny thing is, the temperature didn't show that the truck was overheating, so i thought everything was fine.

for about a week everything was running smooth and until last night, i started to smell something sweet and i heard some bubbling coming from the passenger side (kinda near the glove department)

i pulled over, checked under the hood, and again, i found orange coolant everywhere after i cleaned it the first time.

so what i would like to know, is what could be the problem?
blow head gasket? water pump? radiator? anything?



Heres some pics the first time it happened....
(Click to enlarge)
viimmb_th.jpg

30jkwur_th.jpg

28is4s6_th.jpg


Heres some pics the second time it happened....
(Click to enlarge)
14alzdz_th.jpg

do you have any coolant dripping into the passenger side floorboard? It sounds to me like you have a blown heater core, and that is where your coolant is going.
 






You might check your hoses for holes. Also, look around the radiator. Looks like the coolant hit the fan.
 






do you have any coolant dripping into the passenger side floorboard? It sounds to me like you have a blown heater core, and that is where your coolant is going.

nope not that i remember, and i just went outside and double checked, nothing....

You might check your hoses for holes. Also, look around the radiator. Looks like the coolant hit the fan.

it did hit the fan and when i check the hoses for holes what exactly am i looking for? obviously its a hole lol, but would it be obvious to some1 that doesnt know anything about cars?

thank you so much for the quick responses and and the helpful advice everyone! i really appreciate it!
 






It looks like you could have coolant boiling over in the reservoir. It could be something as simple as a bad radiator cap but it could be a lot of other things like a bad thermostat or a blown head gasket. Have the system and cap pressure tested to see if you can isolate the problem. If the system hasn't been maintained you may just want to drain the raidator, replace the thermostat and cap and refill with new antifreeze. A backflush of the system might also be a good idea. Good luck!
 






It looks like you could have coolant boiling over in the reservoir. It could be something as simple as a bad radiator cap but it could be a lot of other things like a bad thermostat or a blown head gasket. Have the system and cap pressure tested to see if you can isolate the problem. If the system hasn't been maintained you may just want to drain the raidator, replace the thermostat and cap and refill with new antifreeze. A backflush of the system might also be a good idea. Good luck!

whats the prices on a new thermostat or a head gasket? also how can i get the system and cap pressure tested? and thank you! i appreciate it
 






That looks like muddy water as in the coolant hasn't been flushed in years,I suspect that the hoses are ancient also.I would first try to flush all of that crap out of the system,it looks like it just overheated.

I hate to think what kind of condition the radiator is in but we will go on the premise that it's just full of gunk.Go get a cheap flush kit,splice the tee into a heater hose,hook up a water hose,start it with the heater on and let it run.It's going to be a hell of a mess so don't do it in your driveway in the suburbs.

I doubt there is much actual coolant involved,mostly crud and water.Remember coolant is highly poisonous to animals and they like the taste of it so run that water to dilute everything.Then fill it with water and look for leaks before you waste money on coolant.

If there are no leaks then you can have it flushed correctly to get the rest of the crud out.If in doubt replace hoses and thermostat.
 






That looks like muddy water as in the coolant hasn't been flushed in years,I suspect that the hoses are ancient also.I would first try to flush all of that crap out of the system,it looks like it just overheated.

I hate to think what kind of condition the radiator is in but we will go on the premise that it's just full of gunk.Go get a cheap flush kit,splice the tee into a heater hose,hook up a water hose,start it with the heater on and let it run.It's going to be a hell of a mess so don't do it in your driveway in the suburbs.

I doubt there is much actual coolant involved,mostly crud and water.Remember coolant is highly poisonous to animals and they like the taste of it so run that water to dilute everything.Then fill it with water and look for leaks before you waste money on coolant.

If there are no leaks then you can have it flushed correctly to get the rest of the crud out.If in doubt replace hoses and thermostat.

This makes sense, It comes to me that my dad probably wouldn't change the coolant in forever. He didn't change the clutch sense I was in elementary, and I graduated in 08... lol
I'll give it a shot and let everyone no what the problem was and if my poor badly treated truck really needed this flush and or thermostat and hoses. :thumbsup: ;)
 






Any shop can pressure test the system. Usually it costs about forty bucks. A thermostat costs about five to ten bucks and a new cap is also in the five to ten dollar range. The cost of replacing the head gaskets and checking the heads to see if they are warped or cracked could be in the range of a thousand dollars if you have a shop do it. If you do it yourself it will still cost a few hundred dollars in parts. I would get the system prssure tested first to see if you dtermine what you are dealing with.
 






Any shop can pressure test the system. Usually it costs about forty bucks. A thermostat costs about five to ten bucks and a new cap is also in the five to ten dollar range. The cost of replacing the head gaskets and checking the heads to see if they are warped or cracked could be in the range of a thousand dollars if you have a shop do it. If you do it yourself it will still cost a few hundred dollars in parts. I would get the system prssure tested first to see if you dtermine what you are dealing with.

I agree but lets see if it will hold water after getting all of that crap out of the system first.No need to spend big bucks at first.:D
 






I agree. Flush and refill and see what happens. I don't consider a cap and thermostat big bucks because these are routine maintenance items.
 






Any shop can pressure test the system. Usually it costs about forty bucks. A thermostat costs about five to ten bucks and a new cap is also in the five to ten dollar range. The cost of replacing the head gaskets and checking the heads to see if they are warped or cracked could be in the range of a thousand dollars if you have a shop do it. If you do it yourself it will still cost a few hundred dollars in parts. I would get the system prssure tested first to see if you dtermine what you are dealing with.

i would really like if the head gasket had nothing to do with me right now, or even in the future... or even any of you guys (and girls) out there. that sucks... i'll take option A and spending around 50-60 bucks rather then hundreds or even thousands.... thanks for the info!! :thumbsup:

I agree but lets see if it will hold water after getting all of that crap out of the system first.No need to spend big bucks at first.:D

exactly, lol spending major bucks is something that can definitely wait... lol

I agree. Flush and refill and see what happens. I don't consider a cap and thermostat big bucks because these are routine maintenance items.

yea i wouldnt mind spending any money on the cap and thermostat or even for the test. but the head gasket.... OUCH!
 






I definitely agree with safn1949. If in doubt, flush it and change the cap, thermostat and hoses. They are cheap. It does look like the leak is NOT from the head gaskets. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it is not. Remember, a little preventive maintenance goes a long way. Good luck.
 






I definitely agree with safn1949. If in doubt, flush it and change the cap, thermostat and hoses. They are cheap. It does look like the leak is NOT from the head gaskets. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it is not. Remember, a little preventive maintenance goes a long way. Good luck.

thanks! lets hope its something small :thumbsup:
 






i havent flushed it out yet, just spoke with my father and he said the radiator is brand new, along with a brand new cap, brand new thermostat and hoses. HMMMMM i'll probably flush it out later today,any special way to clean this crap up?
 






Since you have those new components I would suggest you replace the thermostat and just flush the system using water and a Prestone back flush kit. I don't know about using a chemical flush but someone else that has used it might have some insight.
 






i forgot to mention that i have a new thermostat aswell. hopefully it was all just clogged up needing a coolant flush, im hoping its nothing big
 






My thoughts- if the radiator is brand new, did they recycle that rad coolant when they replaced it, or did they just use water? That stuff is disgusting, and appears to be VERY old!!! What is his definition of "brand new" :)
 






There is a sticky at the top of this forum for the ultimate cooling system flush. You might want to take a look at that before you start.
 



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My thoughts- if the radiator is brand new, did they recycle that rad coolant when they replaced it, or did they just use water? That stuff is disgusting, and appears to be VERY old!!! What is his definition of "brand new" :)

hahaha sorry about that! i just looked at the friggen receipts! and there not as brand new as he said they were... he always over exaggerates! parts were bought and installed on October of 2009. although i did not see anything about a thermostat being bought..... BTW if i knew they just put water, i would be somewhat upset. i hope the recycled the coolant. btw it is very disgusting, and it has a disturbing smell to it,
(new pictures coming soon)
i actually checked the truck out and some how the mess went all the way to the back bumper! its scary

There is a sticky at the top of this forum for the ultimate cooling system flush. You might want to take a look at that before you start.

thanks ill check that out
 






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