Leaking coolant, head gasket concern?

[gregk24]

My wife and I are looking to purchase my sisters 2000 Ford Taurus for a family “beater”. My dad told me he has to top off the coolant once a month or so. I added some tonight since it was low and did a few drive cycles plus topping off to make sure the system was burped.

A head gasket job would be a deal breaker, and since I read some reports of the Vulcan being hard on coolant + turning acidic and eating gaskets I wanted to make sure this wasn’t the case with this particular car.

I haven’t noticed any white smoke out the exhaust, and the coolant in the reservoir looks to be clean, so would this mean the head gaskets are good? Or could the coolant leak still point to a slow head gasket leak?

Attached are some pictures of the coolant reservoir.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Use a tool like this to see if you have combustion gases in the coolant.

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It worked well for me.

 

[DuckRyder]

Vulcans are not known for head gasket problems to the best of my knowledge. Timing cover gaskets on the other hand, at least on RWD versions and I see no reason the FWD version would differ.

Having changed a WP on that era Taurus, a timing cover gasket would be a deal breaker for me...

Guess you could try going to the caddy dealer and getting some of those coolant pellets they used in the 4.1, 4.5 and Northstar. They are good stuff, anything that will keep water in a HT4100 is a miracle drug.

 

[GSCJR]

Topping it once a month is certainly keeping the coolant fresh with respect to the acidity level and it's appearance. If your sister has been driving it regularly, you would expect that head gasket symptoms should have presented themselves by now. I would perform a cooling system pressure test and remove the spark plugs to inspect for traces of coolant.

 

[GSCJR]

HT4100

My parents had a car with that engine, it was the worst car they ever owned.

 

[dishdude]

A set of Weathertech floor mats and one of their dog covers for the back seat for one of your current cars would be a lot less than dealing with this old turd.

 

[gregk24]

A set of Weathertech floor mats and one of their dog covers for the back seat for one of your current cars would be a lot less than dealing with this old turd.

Thanks for your input

 

[GSCJR]

A set of Weathertech floor mats and one of their dog covers for the back seat for one of your current cars would be a lot less than dealing with this old turd.

This was my thought as well, or even a rental for the day just for fun.

 

[gregk24]

Vulcans are not known for head gasket problems to the best of my knowledge. Timing cover gaskets on the other hand, at least on RWD versions and I see no reason the FWD version would differ.

Having changed a WP on that era Taurus, a timing cover gasket would be a deal breaker for me...

Guess you could try going to the caddy dealer and getting some of those coolant pellets they used in the 4.1, 4.5 and Northstar. They are good stuff, anything that will keep water in a HT4100 is a miracle drug.

I read of a few cases of blown timing cover gaskets on these. Is that just an external leak or does it leak into the oil?

 

[gregk24]

This was my thought as well, or even a rental for the day just for fun.

Rentals here are $130 a day easy. We would likely pay $500 for the Taurus, cheaper in the long run if compared to rentals. That is as long as we get 5 uses out of it

 

[DuckRyder]

I read of a few cases of blown timing cover gaskets on these. Is that just an external leak or does it leak into the oil?

It is typically external, but it could also go into the oil.

Search my recent post i posted a picture of one, on a thread about a Mazda B300o IIRC.

 

[GSCJR]

Rentals here are $130 a day easy. We would likely pay $500 for the Taurus, cheaper in the long run if compared to rentals. That is as long as we get 5 uses out of it

Wow, prices have become ridiculous! I used to get them cheap down there, thankfully we now have an old Honda and no longer need to rent. I can relate when it comes to maintaining your current vehicles, it is a pain to keep the sand out and we're careful. For $500 go for it!

 

[Malo83]

Was losing coolant and rough idle on my small block 305 Silverado, gave this copper stuff a try and so far so good, been over a month now and no coolant lose and the idle smoothed out. Best to flush the system and use fresh anti freeze.

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[atikovi]

My dad told me he has to top off the coolant once a month or so. I added some tonight since it was low and did a few drive cycles plus topping off to make sure the system was burped.

So just keep a gallon of coolant in the trunk. It's a $500 beater. If it lasts 3 months you got your monies worth out of it.

 

[dishdude]

Thanks for your input

Anytime. Think of me while you're on the side of the road with your family in this car waiting for a tow truck.

 

[gregk24]

Anytime. Think of me while you're on the side of the road with your family in this car waiting for a tow truck.

Have a good evening dishdude.

 

[gregk24]

So just keep a gallon of coolant in the trunk. It's a $500 beater. If it lasts 3 months you got your monies worth out of it.

Yep, that’s where I am at as long as this isn’t an internal leak. If that’s the case I’d pass on the car.

 

[Lubener]

Was losing coolant and rough idle on my small block 305 Silverado, gave this copper stuff a try and so far so good, been over a month now and no coolant lose and the idle smoothed out. Best to flush the system and use fresh anti freeze.

Liquid Copper Intake Gasket Seal | Intake Gasket Leak

Bar's Leaks Liquid Copper Intake Gasket Sealant Products are Designed to Stop Leaks for your Radiator. Our products are affordable and safe for all vehicles.

barsleaks.com

Tried it on a minor HG leak on my Ford 3.8. Lasted one month for me till the gasket totally blew. That would be just a temporary fix at best. I wouldn't waste the time on a patch up repair. Once the HG starts leaking, it's only a matter of time.

If the head gasket is leaking, I would pass on the car. It could totally fail miles from home.

 

[gregk24]

I put the car back up on ramps tonight, the coolant is definitely on the right side (timing side) of the engine and does not appear to be coming from the expansion tank.

I checked the oil and it looks and smells normal, and coolant is still green with no visible signs of contamination. So I suppose that’s a good sign.

However, overnight it leaked about a foot by foot circle of fluid on the ground, If that’s any indication of how bad the leak is let me know, I’ve never had a car that has leaked that level of fluid.

I took some more pictures and have attached a few.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

I don't know this engine, so I don't have a clear sense of perspective. But I will second the suggestion to rent the cooling system test kit from someplace like Advance Auto. The one time I did that, it verified what I thought was leaking (the water pump) and uncovered some other leaks I didn't know about.