tralston
New Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2019
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 Explorer LTS
1999 Ford Explorer LTS 4WD, 4.0 L V6 SOHC. Long story: engine overheated, white steam from the hood. Got it home, and saw a bunch of residue by the upper radiator hose (next to that metal bracket thing that connects both upper radiator hoses: radiator to pipe and pipe to engine). Took them off, couldn't find any cracks or leaks. Removed thermostat, and found a piece of plastic lodged in the valve. Tested it in boiling water, and it won't open or close. Check! One problem solved, so I replaced the thermostat.
Next, I reinstalled all the hoses, and flushed the radiator and reservoir a few times, so just water is in there now (for leak testing). I noticed, however, as I was topping off the radiator at the radiator cap, the water level kept going down with a spurting noise. Great, I thought, it's getting air bubbles out. Except that it hasn't slowed down taking water. No air bubbles, but water level steadily decreasing. I looked under the car, and there's water leaking (not gushing, but a steady small stream) from something under the engine. I don't know what it's called, but it's large, silver looking (aluminum?), and there are seemingly **multiple** places where leaks/drops are coming from. Some of them I can't see the source. I plan to jack it up if I need to later to get a better view.
I'm including a link to a video with the water leaking. Please tell me if you know what the part it's leaking from is. Also notice there are at least 3 or 4 places that are leaking. Is it possible that because the thermostat wasn't opening that the coolant overheated, vaporized, and blew something somewhere else in the engine/cooling system? Before all this happened, I never had a coolant leak under the car.
Next, I reinstalled all the hoses, and flushed the radiator and reservoir a few times, so just water is in there now (for leak testing). I noticed, however, as I was topping off the radiator at the radiator cap, the water level kept going down with a spurting noise. Great, I thought, it's getting air bubbles out. Except that it hasn't slowed down taking water. No air bubbles, but water level steadily decreasing. I looked under the car, and there's water leaking (not gushing, but a steady small stream) from something under the engine. I don't know what it's called, but it's large, silver looking (aluminum?), and there are seemingly **multiple** places where leaks/drops are coming from. Some of them I can't see the source. I plan to jack it up if I need to later to get a better view.
I'm including a link to a video with the water leaking. Please tell me if you know what the part it's leaking from is. Also notice there are at least 3 or 4 places that are leaking. Is it possible that because the thermostat wasn't opening that the coolant overheated, vaporized, and blew something somewhere else in the engine/cooling system? Before all this happened, I never had a coolant leak under the car.