Driven Ford Ranger 4.0 about 2,000 miles after new heads and gaskets. Now losing coolant 1/2 gal. So far. No leaks, no overheating. Normal?
Driven Ford Ranger 4.0 about 2,000 miles after new heads and gaskets. Now losing coolant 1/2 gal. So far. No leaks, no overheating. Normal? - 1
Added (1). Recovery bottle was at half full after work was done, had been checking the level about every hundred miles and noticed the level was dropping. Where could it be leaking? Not leaking from recovery bottle, thermostat or radiator, etc.
Keep a eye on it and see how much it loses and how fast it loses it. Look EVERYWHERE for leaks.
If you overfilled it when you first got it running, it could be spitting it out from expansion.
No leaks? If no leaks then it wouldn't be losing coolant. Look again as its going someplace as this is not normal.
You can lose coolant from the engine. A new head and gaskets should take care of that but, check the exhaust, if there seems to be a lot of "steam" coming out or if it feels greasy, then you may have a head gasket leak into a cylinder. If you run the car for a while, stop it, then go to start it a few minutes later and it cranks hard, that may be a sign you are getting water into a cylinder and giving you a vapor lock on one or more cylinders as the water turns to steam. Assuming you do not have a gasket leak, you can lose fluid from any of the radiator hoses, from a bad radiator cap, even from the stopcock on the bottom of some radiators. Try parking your car over a new piece of cardboard and see if you get drips off the car when it is parked. Also check your radiator over flow tank, it may have a leak but only when it gets extra fluid into it. You would not see that with the parking test. Look around the engine for signs of water too.
Normal?! Get to a mechanic and have the cooling system pressure tested. Anyone asking if losing a half gallon of antifreeze is normal shouldn't be making car diagnostic decisions!
Check under the dashboard where the radio goes but from under the dash. You will see heater hoses 2 that go to the heater core. Make sure the hose clamp screws are tight as it could be weeping out there and dripping through the carpet so the underlay padding is drenching wet in coolant. Check all your hose clamp screws. It should not be losing coolant. There's nothing NORMAL ABOUT THAT. 1/2 gallon is gone somewhere. Check water pump seal around shaft. Is it wet on the underside of the shaft, then the leak is there.
Any leakage from a cooling system is not normal. If we have over filled system then expansion bottle ( some call it a recovery tank) can overfill and excess coolant will be expelled onto road. Are we trying to keep this overfilled?
its common too check for leaks immediately after using a vehicle and looking and listening ( steam?) under hood or on floor is best way for first check. If we're still unable to find a leak source point ( often a stain from anti-freeze or wet area will give an indication) then its possible to have it pressure tested and also a dye added to coolant for pinpointing. If we can't find leak point? Then since this has occurred after new cyl head fitted. The assumption would be a faulty gasket and or distorted head? Undertorqued head etc.
in these sort of cases its often best to have a garage assist.
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