Locating elusive coolant leak

[cam76034]

How do you find a leak when there is no sign of a leak, except for the coolant disappearing from the radiator? I could start replacing all the hoses and still possibly have a leak from a waterpump or radiator...Is there a pressure test or something used for a problem like this?

[POS Racing]

Autozone loan a tool!!

http://www.autozone.com/in_our_store...ure_tester.htm

[cam76034]

So you pressure up the system, but how do you locate the leak? Do you listen for it or what?

[POS Racing]

So you pressure up the system, but how do you locate the leak?

You will actually need to look around for the leak.

[cam76034]

I had one like this years ago on a T-Bird. Finally found it at night when the temps were below freezing, a tiny pinhole leak in a hose that you couldn't see in the daytime, but at night you could see a little bit of steam in the cold air with a flashlight.

[Titus]

You will actually need to look around for the leak.

Yep... I think the benefit hear is that you can have the system pressurized cold. That way you are not poking around a hot engine trying to find the leak. Combined that with a bottle of this and a black light, and it should be pretty easy to find.

[POS Racing]

Yep... I think the benefit hear is that you can have the system pressurized cold. That way you are not poking around a hot engine trying to find the leak.

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner!

[Nails]

You may also want to look inside your oil fill cap. Milky or light colored oil means you're leaking water internally. Had an 88 chevy s10 do that.

[channelmaniac]

Check that nasty hose that everyone forgets about... between the driver's side inner fender and the side of the engine. It's under the exhaust manifold.

[cam76034]

Thanks, actually these are the nasty hoses on a Mustang, all of which look pretty easy except for one heater hose.

[jrj512]

Have a cat lick around for a while. When it dies, then you know it found the leak.

[Walsted]

Thanks, actually these are the nasty hoses on a Mustang, all of which look pretty easy except for one heater hose.

As in a V6 Mustang, which is known for having head gasket issues?

[cam76034]

As in a V6 Mustang, which is known for having head gasket issues?

Don't tell me that.

[black roadster]

I think I may have the same problem. I smell coolant every so often but no sign of a leak. Let me know when you do it. We can have a tech day!

[Walsted]

Don't tell me that.

What year is the mustang, and how many miles?

Back when I had the previous car, I kept up with a lot of Ford stuff. If I remember all of the internet chatter correctly, supposedly, Ford's first attempt at the 3.8L V6 was pretty bad, and even a little overheating resulted in the head warping enough for a head gasket to blow. This is a pretty common occurrance - for example, the stock 2 row core radiator on many of the Fox bodies had trouble keeping up with the 2.3L 4-banger on a hot Texas day. Throw in two more cylinders, and auto transmission, and max A/C, and that engine would get a lot hotter than normal just sitting at a light. Every so often Ford would make some changes that would allegedly correct the problem which they don't think really exists, tell everyone the problem was fixed, and that next batch of V6s would have the same problem.

Depending upon who you listen to, this problem never went away, or went away the year before they bought their car, (which coincidently exhibits similar symptoms,) or the head gasket and head work fix the problem. I'm aware of at least one 1996 Mustang that has the problem, (more, earlier,) even though that owner is in denial. There is supposed to be upgraded replacement head gaskets that allegedly fix the problem, but I'm not too sure about that, either.

I could be totally wrong, (and hope I am,) having never owned one of said V6s or ran a compression test, and only heard about the problem from Ford boards. I have met a disproportionate number of owners of Ford V6s that have signs of the head gasket problem, though.

Hope this helps

[cam76034]

From what I found on the net, the problem was supposedly rectified in 99. I'm dealing with 00, so hope that's not it.

[trickyrix]

I think I may have the same problem. I smell coolant every so often but no sign of a leak. Let me know when you do it. We can have a tech day!

Same thing here... I've smelled coolant on occasion (very faintly), and I think I found the source the other day. At the back of the head, on the passenger side, there's some sort of fitting that's oozing coolant ever-so-slightly. It's not enough to drip on the ground or drop noticeably in the radiator, but it's a little damp back there. One of these days I'll get a mirror and peek back there to see what it is.

[channelmaniac]

On the 1.6L there's a little tube that sticks out of the back there. It has a rubber cover over it. It'll crackle and fail leaving that tube open to spit out all your coolant.

Not sure if the 1.8 is the same, I'm too lazy to look it up in the parts diagram.

[Jeff_nc]

If you can smell coolant while driving, it may be the heater core.

[trickyrix]

Can't smell mine when driving or inside the car... only when the motor's hot and hood is open.