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Coolant Leak - puddled on top of engine

spaulj

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2006 Ford Explorer 4.0 V6
My 2006 Explorer is leaking coolant with a significant puddle on top of engine. Radiator, hoses, thermostat housing, and water pump show no leaks. Smelled it when driving in stop and go traffic, stopped and noticed a pretty good bit dripping off cross-member below firewall. Level in reservoir and temp OK. When I made it home (mostly interstate) dripping was very minimal in garage. Level still OK but down slightly. That's when I noticed puddle on engine. I'm thinking intake manifold gasket? Oil on dipstick looks OK. Not smoking and running fine. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
 



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Probably not intake manifold gasket. Suggest checking the hoses/connections again, and just keep an eye on it.
 












Thanks for the input. Cleaned puddles on top of block and pressurized cooling system. Turned out to be leaking from junction of lower thermostat housing and engine. Changed gasket but still leaked for some reason. Went ahead and replaced housing and now I'm back in business!
 






What is the procedure for draining the coolant in an '06 w/ V6? Do you just pull a lower radiator hose or is there a drain valve? I need to replace the lower thermo housing.
 






There's a drain valve.
 






my '07 did the same damn thing
 






Just replaced the housing, 2 seals, and sensor. Less than an hour including draining the radiator.
 






sorry to revive this old thread but i've found myself in the same situation, is this a fairly difficult task to DIY?
 






No, not that difficult a couple of hose clamps plus the stuff mentioned in post #8 to remove and a few 10mm bolts I believe. Just be careful to not over tighten the bolts and crack the new plastic housing when putting everything back on.
 






Thermostat housing replacement info

As mentioned do not over-tighten the bolts. The water outlet bolts torque is 10Nm (89 inch pounds. The lower housing bolts (longer bolts) torque is 11Nm (97 inch pounds). There are 12 inch lbs in a foot lb, so be careful that's only 7.416 foot lbs and 8.08 respectively. Threads must be clean and dry and gaskets or O rings must be new. Dirty threads will cause under tightening and wet or oily threads cause over tightening. Torque wrenches are a must, and are probably the most ignored step by even the best mechanics!
 






Had the same problem on my 2006 V6 4.0L. To consolidate a variety of information to fix this problem, here's how I fixed it:

  • Replaced the lower housing with Motorcraft RH148.
  • Bought the Motorcraft RG614 Engine Coolant Thermostat Housing Gasket, too.
  • Replaced the thermostat with Motorcraft RT1167 190F and 88C Thermostat - it does NOT come with a new gasket, unfortunately

IMPORTANT: Your existing temperature sensor will NOT fit snugly in this housing. Even a new Motorcraft 9377 will not. Went to the dealer and proved this.

Instead, go to the hardware store and get a #8 o-ring for a faucet and replace it on your sensor. It will be very snug, where pushing it in may be too challenging. I used a small rubber mallet to gently tap it in.

The retaining clip is a complete PIA to reinstall. I chose to go with a heavy gauge paperclip and crafted a new clip, bending the ends on the other side. (If someone has a sure-fire way to replace that clip, I'd love to hear it!) A new clip is around $9 at the dealer.

My Explorer just crossed 100K and so I replaced the upper and lower radiator hoses, too. In total, the repair cost around $100 or so.
 






Super helpful thread - thanks guys! Just completed this repair on my 2009 Sport Trac.

Jeff
 






My 2006 Explorer is leaking coolant with a significant puddle on top of engine. Radiator, hoses, thermostat housing, and water pump show no leaks. Smelled it when driving in stop and go traffic, stopped and noticed a pretty good bit dripping off cross-member below firewall. Level in reservoir and temp OK. When I made it home (mostly interstate) dripping was very minimal in garage. Level still OK but down slightly. That's when I noticed puddle on engine. I'm thinking intake manifold gasket? Oil on dipstick looks OK. Not smoking and running fine. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
I have an 06 explorer and i'm experiencing the same issues as you did. what was the final verdict and how did you fix it? thanks
 






I bought a new thermostat housing. Easy fix. Bought it from am-autoparts. Vatozone wanted $75 for the same part.
 






Just did mine huge puddle on top of engine. Going to have to try the #8 o ring as darn sensor leaks under pressure. A old tip for anyone wanting to pressure test any newer systems with a reservoir attach a low pressure air to the reservoir hose be very careful to not use more than 13 psi! Works like a charm
 


















Few months back I had the same problem. It was my thermostat housing. It was cracked. And it was made out of plastic.
 



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Hey guys, add another to the list, same issue here, just over 100k. I think it's bee leaking for a few months now but I just recently noticed the corrosion around the housing. We had a very hard winter in Idaho this last year and I think many of my plastic parts suffered. I just bought a new motor craft housing but am wondering if I should shell out the extra cash for the aluminum housing. Also my real question here is should I also replace the water pump? I haven't really inspected it yet and maybe it's leaking too, I'm not sure but if it's not and it looks okay is it a good maintenance item to replace?
 






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