antifreeze mystery

[cavx5]

hi everyone..and the mystery continues..2005 4.4 with 19k miles...this is the third time...dealer added antifreeze because plunger in resovoir was about half way down.. antifreeze added plunger full up position...that was about a month ago...checked today and plunger is half way down...no visible leaks at this time... first time it went to dealer for this issue found leak at water pump replaced about 4-5 months ago..tech said it was leaking and drying on the block before it reached ground..soon after checked and low coolant again, brought it back dealer checked found no leak added coolant said that these cars burn antifreeze..now the coolant level is low again..where in the f*** is the coolant going..is this normal..no white smoke or any signs of leak...please help..rob

[chefwong]

Rob -

I forgot if you were the OP chasing antifreeze issues, but I would start with valley pan.
I had similar issues on my X and it was always hungry for AF. While under warranty I've had the system pressure checked with the X coming back with a clean bill of health. Around 4-5 months ago, my alternator went bad. I did a combination of other things while dirty like the oil seperator, hoses as well as both the valve cover gaskets and valley pan. There was quite a bit in the valley pan.

If you top it off at night, and you check it in the morning....is the system slightly low ? Have you eyeballed the ground underneath before leaving. I only ask as I had a bad O ring when I put the new alternator in, and ended up needing to remove and replace the alt again with another O ring.


What dealership are you using in NYC ....assuming under warranty.
I've had good experiences with Westchester B<W