Ugh, why me.
10-26-2012, 04:20 AM
#1
4th Gear Member
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Arizona
Posts: 1,127
Ugh, why me.
So lately I've been losing coolant but can't find where. Well today things took a turn for the worse. The car used to eat a gallon every week or so, now it pisses it all out once I shut the motor off. Whenever I park the car at my destination, I'll hear the sound of gulping like I took a gallon bottle and turned it upside. When I go outside to investigate, it is pissing coolant on the passenger side towards where the seat mounting bolts are. Where the hell could this be coming from? Also, I've noticed a few drops of water inside the interior but nothing big.
Is there a coolant hose back there I've missed? Some other things is that it'll start to show it's overheating but when I floor the car, the temperature will rapidly drop. I'm out of ideas. WTF is going on. All hoses are new and so is the headgasket which was replaced with 9333's.
Is there a coolant hose back there I've missed? Some other things is that it'll start to show it's overheating but when I floor the car, the temperature will rapidly drop. I'm out of ideas. WTF is going on. All hoses are new and so is the headgasket which was replaced with 9333's.
10-27-2012, 05:26 AM
#5
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: ohio
Posts: 3,628
Yea even though it had a new heater core in it , any number of things could cause a new heater core to leak. A faulty solder joint from the manufacturer , or even damage from a poor install. Heater cores are notoriasly difficult to install for some pple and alot of times a corner or 2 is cut to save time and frustration , such as missing mounting screws causing vibration or rubbing . Even seen some pple try to force the heater core in to a tight space so as to not completly remove all dash an necessary plastics . If you installed the core yourself and you know it was done correctly then it is probly just a bad solder joint that with time became worse from heat expansion over the last year.
The coolant can run down the inside of the fire wall and across the floor through a channel in the body such as along the door under the carpet where the wiring would normally be.
Other places to check are the heater feed and return hoses at the firewall .. Check that the clamps are tight and the tubes they connect to are not loose and moving around. Only other place coolant gets close to the fire wall is the rear of the lower intake , but that would likley emerge from the trans bell housing or rear of the engine and not back where the seat bolts are.
I know a gallon of coolant a week would have had me on a hunt for the leak long ago. Also the over heating condition and rapid temp drom from a wot is because there is air in the system , and at normal driving and idle rpm the air is causing it to to not circulate enough to cool the engine. When you go wot or hit a high rpm it circulates the available coolant enough to finnally draw the cooler liquid from the radiator into the engine .
The coolant can run down the inside of the fire wall and across the floor through a channel in the body such as along the door under the carpet where the wiring would normally be.
Other places to check are the heater feed and return hoses at the firewall .. Check that the clamps are tight and the tubes they connect to are not loose and moving around. Only other place coolant gets close to the fire wall is the rear of the lower intake , but that would likley emerge from the trans bell housing or rear of the engine and not back where the seat bolts are.
I know a gallon of coolant a week would have had me on a hunt for the leak long ago. Also the over heating condition and rapid temp drom from a wot is because there is air in the system , and at normal driving and idle rpm the air is causing it to to not circulate enough to cool the engine. When you go wot or hit a high rpm it circulates the available coolant enough to finnally draw the cooler liquid from the radiator into the engine .
10-27-2012, 07:52 AM
#6
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 51
Yep what dawson says is true. Dont know the design of newer mustangs but it is possible if the leak is small enough it will drip out heater box in engine bay and not into interior. Now that you say it was replaced I would look to make sure hoses are tight and not leaking. I agree also that solder joints could have gone bad. This happens to car if the hose are supported poorly or incorrect. Park on a dry area and then run the car and see if there is an area that gets wet. A gallon of coolant is quite a bit. follow the leak. I bet someone screwed up on installation of heater core. Hopefully it was not you and is covered by a warranty. It might be under pad and dripping out from seat mounts. Some of the pads are kinda think and let it wick down. You might be able to lift rug up under the dash and see. Again I dont know specifics of newer mustangs, just putting it out there to try to help you out.
10-28-2012, 09:40 AM
#7
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Arizona
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Bled the cooling system and now the only leak I'm getting is near the bellhousing but it's extremely slow. A new question arises though. What would cause the mounting tabs on a starter to shear off? This has happened to me twice. Happened last night and wasn't too fun to fix.
10-28-2012, 09:59 AM
#9
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Location: ohio
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if its leaking from around the underside of the bell housing it is either the intake ( and after I tell you the next thing it could be you will hope it is.) OR one of the freeze plugs in the back of the moter located on either side of the cam and inside of the bell housing is corroded and leaking. Your gonna have to get some light behind the engine to look down at the lower intake and see if you can trace that coolant back up to the engine to find the leak. If it dry up around the intake and heads then then you may have a bad freeze plug on the rear of the engine requiring the trans to come out. SORRY......