Some advice or a second opinion please!

[jstrick01]

Hello,
For the past couple of months, I have been putting almost a gallon of antifreeze into the radiator every 10 days or so. I took it to a shop today and they ran a coolant system check and pressure test. They discovered that it appears the antifreeze is "seeping" through the engine block? They said this is likely due to a hairline crack in the block or the actual block has become more porous, possibly due to metal degradation? I'm not a mechanic (obviously), but does this make sense? I don't have any white smoke when I start the truck in the AM and there is no pooling or leaking under the truck each day, so the coolant has to be going somewhere.

Their recommendation was that I likely will need a new or rebuilt engine!!! For reference, I have a 2003 Explorer (Eddie Bauer edition) with approximately 151,000 miles on it. Does anyone out there have a second opinion or some advice on how I might prolong the life of the truck in it's current state?

Thanks in advance for any advice or opinions...

 

[JayT]

Every time I have had a vehicle with that problem, all I needed was a new radiator. My guess is that coolant leaks only when hot and under pressure and then gets evaporated off the radiator fins so there is no drip.

 

[arco777]

Also possible you just have a leaking head gasket. Coolant dumping into the cylinders and getting sent out the exhaust. You may not have a bad enough leak to notice smoke at the tailpipe or have a misfire at this point but it may get there in time.

Whatever your vehicle's problem, I can't see it needing a new engine. Shops just want to get your money.

 

[Anime]

What's the vehicle history? Are you the only owner?

If the engine was ever overheated, or even just got very hot due to thermostat/water pump/coolant issues, it could have damaged the head gasket, and eventually got to the point it started the consuming coolant issue you're now noticing.

On the other hand, coolant loss can be a lot of other things, not just a head gasket or a cracked head, but a water pump gasket, leaky coolant hoses, heater core, radiator, etc.

My suggestion would be to get under the truck with a flashlight in a dark garage or at night, and get a good look at the block and cooling system. If you see absolutely no wet spots or signs of a coolant leak anywhere, you can at least assume the coolant is going into the engine and being burned, even if it's not showing up as white smoke. I would guess that you'll find a wet spot or at least something to trace the leak to, possibly showing you why it hasn't caused any pooling or leaking onto the ground, either from the coolant hitting a fenderwell, or being absbored by insulation or something else under there before it slowly drains and leaks on the ground, but more so when driving.

 

[jstrick01]

Thanks for all of the responses! I purchased the car in 2005 from a dealer and prior to me it was a fleet vehicle. Currently, it has 150k miles on it and the engine has not had any major work performed on it, since I purchased it from the dealer.

This is what the shop that I took it to over the weekend told me.... They ran a pressure test and checked the hoses, radiator, water pump, etc. and everything was ok. They discovered the problem when they pulled the front driver side tire off and pulled the wheel well cover off. They said the engine block appears to have a small hairline fracture or the block is "porous". They discovered a wet area on the block and cleaned the area, gave it two or three minutes and it they could see the area start to saturate with antifreeze. I was not at the garage when they found the problem, so I did not actually get a chance to see what they were talking about.

Does this sound legitimate? I've been using the same garage for a while now and I trust them, so I don't think they were trying make an extra buck.

 

[rickybobby]

when you get a quote that expensive, its always a good idea to get a second opinion.