Loosing coolant

[bhennrich]

I have a 2005 4.4 and my wife told me the other day the obc said to check the coolant. I did and the expansion tank was bone dry. I see NO signs of leaks anywhere, no water in the oil, no white smoke when idle. Any ideas where to check??? Had this X for three years and it has lost a little coolant here and there but never anything like this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[andrewwynn]

System is under pressure while operating so likely it's a small leak that is evaporating away so you arent getting drips. Prime candidate is the seam on the expansion tank. When mine leaked there I could not see the leak until the car warmed up and generated internal pressure an a drop formed "out of nowhere".

[Purplefade]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

System is under pressure while operating so likely it's a small leak that is evaporating away so you arent getting drips. Prime candidate is the seam on the expansion tank. When mine leaked there I could not see the leak until the car warmed up and generated internal pressure an a drop formed "out of nowhere".

Amen in to that! Look for that or any white discoloration around the expansion tank cap. I had my cap fail and it did just that, nothing on the tank directly but running, at temp, I could stand there and watch it bubble and evaporate!

It was amazingly enlightening... and actually only a few bucks to fix.

Could also be one of the bottom hoses weeping very slowly where you can't see it. That said, definitely check the expansion tank it is a prime suspect.


Sent from my iPhone using Xoutpost.com

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

System is under pressure while operating so likely it's a small leak that is evaporating away so you arent getting drips. Prime candidate is the seam on the expansion tank. When mine leaked there I could not see the leak until the car warmed up and generated internal pressure an a drop formed "out of nowhere".

Same between the plastic sides of the radiator and the core.

[andrewwynn]

Oh that's a bigger ouch. Radiator fluid is fluorescent but I've never seen it Light up in a helpful way. Can you add a UV tracer like in oil to find a leak?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Oh that's a bigger ouch. Radiator fluid is fluorescent but I've never seen it Light up in a helpful way. Can you add a UV tracer like in oil to find a leak?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yes, you can. Good idea. Radiator leaks usually leave white residue so you can find it.

[RuskiE39]

I had the same problem, literally. Wife called me telling me the low coolant level warning message kept coming up. Couldn't find the leak for the life of me but had obvious traces of coolant drops under the car. Even though I could see coolant running down the back side of the engine I couldn't pinpoint what the source was so I went to Autozone, put some dye in the expansion tank, went for a quick drive, and used a UV light to pinpoint it to one of the heater core hoses at the back of the engine.