Coolant leak 2008 Ford Escape 2.3L

[LoneRanger]

If hoses are not leaking where might I look to next? I can't even trace where it's dripping off from the underside, everything looks dry. It's not overflow coming out the reservoir blow off hose. Mileage is getting up there, about 130,000. Coolant has been fully flushed, once at 67,000 miles and again at 105,000 using the Ford OEM gold stuff both times by a shop with flushing pump machine or whatever they use. 105K flush was not supposed to be done but it was in for the 100K major service and forgot to tell them the coolant had been flushed already at 67.

 

[CT8]

Radiator ,head gasket, water pump bleed hole ,Radiator cap.

 

[LoneRanger]

Rule out head gasket, just changed oil and it looked okay, and no residue noted under the valve cover when putting light to it. Remarkably clean actually. Water pump bleed hole is sticking out in that list as what I need to check. Thanks for this.

 

[zzyzzx]

I find is difficult to inspect the back side of the radiator with the fan still installed. Try removing it and see if anything becomes obvious.

 

[4wheeldog]

See if you can get someone to use a cooling system pressure tester on the vehicle. Do it while the engine is cold. It is easier to find leaks and seeps cold, since they do not evaporate so quickly.

If nothing shows up, then check the overflow and/or under the radiator cap with an emissions tester or those exhaust test strips. No coolant in the oil does NOT eliminate coolant going into the cylinders as a cause for coolant loss.....

 

[HerrStig]

Heater core, leak into the transmission cooler, or radiator pinhole. Does the radiator use a plastic tank? Others have mentioned the water pump weep hole.

 

[cb_13]

Check the thermostat housing. I believe those are made of a composite plastic on the 2.3 Escape. 100k+ miles of hot and cold can cause them to crack.

 

[Hokiefyd]

You can't rule out a head gasket due to a lack of visible oil contamination. It could be leaking externally, similar to the bleed hole on the water pump. My college roommate had this with his '86 Monte Carlo SS: we replaced the head gaskets due to an external leak rather than an internal leak. Your post isn't clear to me how much coolant is lost and how fast. Are we talking about it emptying the overflow tank in a week? Or it's lost that much in a year?

 

[tig1]

I replaced the WP on my 2.3 Fusion at about 80K. Check that.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

How hard is it to get to the waterpump and thermostat on the Duratec engines? I want to replace my thermostat this fall.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
How hard is it to get to the waterpump and thermostat on the Duratec engines? I want to replace my thermostat this fall.


On the Fusion the WP isn't so bad, I replaced it myself three years ago, but the thermostst is buried. I had to have mine replaced by the Ford garage.

 

[bdcardinal]

On the 4cyl the water pump isn't that bad. On the 6cyl, pay someone to do it. Depending on the year of V6, they are either on the back of the head over the transaxle, or driven off the timing chain. The one on the back of the head is pretty straightforward, the one driven by the timing chains requires the engine to be lowered out of the car to replace.

 

[Nukeman7]

Check the heater temperature control valve for hairline cracks where the inlet and outlet hoses connect. The valve is plastic and breaks down in a few years due to the engine compartment heat. When I replaced mine at 85,000 miles, the AA parts clerk said they sell a lot of them for the 2.3 motor.