Loosing Collant!

[chris1962001]

I have a 1997 Explorer 4X4, V6, SOHC. I purchased it about three months ago and have been loosing coolant ever since. I have look all over the engine for leaks and there are none visible. I add about one gallon per month to the reservoir. I am told that it could be a head gasket and that it will cost about $1300 by my local ford dealer to fix. But there are no fluids mixing which is a sign of a bad head gasket. The coolant is clean and the oil as well. I replaced the radiator cap thinking it could be steaming off as there was a bad seal in the old one, but this has not fixed the problem. Any advice or anyone else that has this problem please respond. Thanks.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

two things

1 - just because your coolant and oil haven't mixed...doesn't mean your head gasket isn't blown. It more than likely blew out near a piston and is seeping into a piston and burning.

2 - Pressurize your cooling system with a tester and then listen for any leaks and look all over for leaks. This will pin point your search better

-Drew

 

[stubborn1]

I had the same issue on my 98 a few years ago - no obvious signs of a bad gasket or cracked head besides slowly loosing coolant.

I pulled a sample of the oil and had it sent in to a lab for analysis ($20). Found the oil had about 2% antifreeze it in. Heads were pulled shortly after were I noticed each side was cracked at the rear cylinders between the intake and exhaust valves.