Where is the water going????

[Cat Holmes]

Every week we loose a gallon of coolant. None on the ground or seems to be leaking on the engine. Confused... hoses are good, thermostate has been replaced, its a relatively new radiator and new cap. There is no water in oil and spark plugs are dry and clean. Anyone have this problem?

 

[Bill O'Rights]

If you're losing coolant, it's going in either one of two places. Internal...or external.

If it's external, you should see some evidence of it. Either on the ground, or on the engine. If you're losing a gallon a week, you should see some on the ground.

If it's internal, you're either burning it or it's going into your crankcase. Take a Dixie cup of water and drop a drop of oil from your dipstick into it. If it spreads out into a film, you're fine. It's all oil. If it forms into a little ball, then you have coolant mixing with your oil.

In either case, the first step in repairing a coolant leak, is finding it. Sometimes easier said than done, but necessary.

 

[zukman]

check your passenger side carpet could be the heater core

 

[Cat Holmes]

Changed the oil recently no water in it. The only water on ground is from the a/c. Just dont get it ill check heater core but last time it went out it smelled really bad in the cab but ill give it a look .... really just dont get it.

 

[boggs1227]

i agree with zukman...the heater core.if you say your smelling coolant inside then it's got to be that .see if you can pull back the carpet on the passenger side floor board and see if it wet at all ...like the padding .it will absorb alot of it ...you may not see a wet spot on the floor but the padding could be holding it in...strange tho if your looseing that much then surelly their would be a big puddle of coolant on the floor that could be seen with the eye ?!

also their should be a hose to drain any lost coolant inside the heater core box and drain it out side the truck ...maybe that has got clogged up some how and since it can't drain properlly then it's dumpping inside the cab.


hope this helps .

 

[Cat Holmes]

As far as I am aware the heater core is not leaking. I had to in the past fix it and a smell was associated with it leaking, I would only hope it would be that simple.

 

[Bill O'Rights]

check your passenger side carpet could be the heater core

While that's certainly possible, I'd say that it's highly unlikely. She said she was going through a gallon a week. If that much coolant is going into the passenger compartment, you're gonna know it.

It could be evaporating off of the hot engine before it ever hits the ground. But, again, a gallon a week is a lot of coolant to evaporate like that.
If the oil is clean, I'd look more into the possibility that you're burning it. Is there an excess of white smoke after the vehicle reaches operating temperature? Have you pulled the plugs yet, to inspect them? Spark plugs usually have a story to tell, and aren't shy about telling it.

Just with what we have so far, I'd take a wild guess at a faulty lower intake manifold gasket.

 

[Cat Holmes]

Just changed the spark pluggs too my Husband is trying to get this lil project of ours right before he is shipped and the water is our last problem and we are just at a loss so far we have replaced the spark plugs and wires, upper intake gaskets on drivers side, fuel filter, changed oil, front and back brakes, one of the rad hoses and the cap all in the past 2 months and still cant see where the water is going. Oh btw thankyou for all the help so far everyone is just great in here!!!!!!!

 

[bellifritz]

It could be the same problem that I have. My lower intake gasket is leaking at the front passenger side. It's hard to see to see it, but shine a light in behind the belt tensioner and see if it's wet. I hear they also leak on the driver side back corner of lower intake.

 

[Willard]

If it was lower intake gasket, it should either be in the oil, or on the ground. Honestly it sounds like a head gasket to me, but definitely check out all other avenues beforehand.

And just for reference, when the heater core leaks in these trucks, the heater box is designed to make it leak to the outside. There is a hole the leads just past the firewall in the lower part of the heater box, and if it leaks it is supposed to go out there. Obviously, it can get clogged and not work, but theoretically that is supposed to happen.

 

[MustangP51]

x2 for the Head gasket.

 

[zukman]

One way to know if it is burning off as you drive. You smell like IHOP! he he
So if that pancake syrup smell you may be smelling makes you think someone is cooking they are its you! lol Sorry couldn't resist. But it is true, I know cause its happened more than once here.

 

[boggs1227]

yeah the heater core box drain i think i mentioned that before .....

also dont forget that she smelled coolant real bad from inside the cab ,she could have multiple leaks ...heater core ,intake,etc...hard to disspell the coolant scent in the cab tho...she could have had the fresh air going into the cab and getting coolant smell from the engine compartment go inside the truck......just a thought .

 

[Cat Holmes]

wow im still reading and learning so much i cant wait for this weekend gonna be fun i think makes me want to start out at IHop first lol

 

[djsk8r33]

what would entail replacing that lower intake gasket?

 

[boggs1227]

this may give you some idea of what all is involved

http://www.explorer4x4.com/lifters/lifters.htm

 

[djsk8r33]

didnt really say anything about lower intake..?

 

[boggs1227]

that thread / writeup was to show you what all you would need to be doing ...like what all comes off the engine .upper intake system comes off ....fuel rail / injectors...coil pack have to be removed and well as the valve covers to be able to remove the lower intake manifold.

 

[boggs1227]

i'll be doing mine here REAL soon ....i've been driveing on mine leaking and tho it's not got anyworse from what i can see ( like streams of coolant) the overflow is looseing more water every time i put some in there to bring it back to the full level.so i'm sure it's leaking either more or still at a steady rate.

i think i'll do a write-up on it (mostlikelly there is already another write-up here in the forum about this) but with the others i have talked to about their lower intake gaskets going out at the same time it may be benificial to all and have it fresh in their minds with out searching the site for data.

 

[Cat Holmes]

Well everyone again has been just awesome!!! We tore my baby down all the way to the head gasket then even took off the water pump just because we noticed her bolts werent tight. Ive never seen so much go wrong in a few months. We just did the intake in january... oh well A write up on the lower intake would be very benificial since there isnt much that I could find and without this forum would have really been lost especially with the fuel injectors that were stuck. Scarey!!! Well after i figure out how to get off a petrafied water gasket lol Ill let everyone know if she still runs with so many new and clean parts!!!