Reoccurring coolant leak?

ShadyLS

ShadyLS

LVC Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
39
Reaction score
0
Location
Lapeer
I keep getting leaks in my cooling system over periods of time. A pinhole in a hose, cracks in plastic near the thermostat housing, and a seal chipped and allowed a leak in the past. All those problems were taken care of but now there is a very little amount of smoke coming from near the degas tank. I cant see a leak at all from this area and it doesn't appear to be a crack in the degas tank because the coolant level stays the same. Is there a reason why problems keep occurring in the cooling system? Or could it just be unfortunate flukes?
Any information will help, thanks.
 
Unfortunate in a general sense, yes. Unfortunate for your personal sake, no. These cars have a cooling system that is good for approx. 5 years or 100k miles. Once something cracks or malfunctions then it's time to overhaul the whole system. Should cost between $450-$650 depending on how you price your parts and assuming you do the work yourself. Be sure to buy Motorcraft OEM parts unless otherwise advised here.
 
SoulSoak said:
Unfortunate in a general sense, yes. Unfortunate for your personal sake, no. These cars have a cooling system that is good for approx. 5 years or 100k miles. Once something cracks or malfunctions then it's time to overhaul the whole system. Should cost between $450-$650 depending on how you price your parts and assuming you do the work yourself. Be sure to buy Motorcraft OEM parts unless otherwise advised here.
Click to expand...
That seems reasonable. What all should be replaced then? The whole system?
 
joegr said:
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?91092-GenII-LS8-Cooling-System-Overhaul
Click to expand...
This write up was very helpful! Thanks. But I'm familiar with this as I just did it to replace the damaged thermostat housing. The only thing i haven't replaced is the degas tank and the hose connected to it. Could the degas tank be the problem? That's were the slight smoke is coming from.. Not the tank itself, but the general area. The tank itself looks in good condition and I check the coolant level just about every time I get out of the car and it stays at the same level, if there is a leak, it must be like a drop or two at a time.. Its not noticeable from my perspective. I'm puzzled to say the least.. This has been an ongoing problem.
 
I promise you that your degas bottle is cracked. (Be sure to get the Motorcraft one, and not the Dorman or rebranded Dorman.)
 
joegr said:
I promise you that your degas bottle is cracked.
Click to expand...
It might be. I havent taken a real good look at it because I assumed its not because the coolant level stayed the same. Ill take a look at it soon. Is it relatively easy to remove and install a new one? Just looks like a few bolts and some hoses holding it on.
 
ShadyLS said:
It might be. I havent taken a real good look at it because I assumed its not because the coolant level stayed the same. Ill take a look at it soon. Is it relatively easy to remove and install a new one? Just looks like a few bolts and some hoses holding it on.
Click to expand...

Mine were easy. Others have had problems with the bolts being rusted in. Mine were cracked and didn't leak enough coolant to detect it.
 
joegr said:
Mine were easy. Others have had problems with the bolts being rusted in. Mine were cracked and didn't leak enough coolant to detect it.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I will look into it and see what I find.
 
If you replaced all of your cooling system components aside from your Degas Tank, I see no reason as to why you wouldn't replace it. I agree with Joegr and can promise you that your reservoir is cracked. The thing is, in several and/or most cases including my own, the cracks don't tend to be marginal enough to allow coolant loss... but they allow air in. This air creates pockets and boiling which prevents proper coolant circulation as well as coolant boiling.

Replace your reservoir with a Motorcraft OEM part and you should be home free. Be sure to bleed the system according to the procedure. I currently don't have time to link it but I'm sure someone will. Best of luck and God bless
 
I was thinking about doing the cooling system and secondary tensioners preemptively this spring, but it looks like a whole bunch of suck :/ Thanks
 
Can someone link me to the proper bleeding process? I keep getting varied results while searching. Thanks
 
LSFrank said:
I was thinking about doing the cooling system and secondary tensioners preemptively this spring, but it looks like a whole bunch of suck :/ Thanks
Click to expand...

Can't comment on the tensioners but the cooling system isn't that bad from a labor standpoint. The hard parts are the intake (at least on a Gen 2 V8) has to come up to get the rear two bolts out of the thermostat housing and the degas hose is a tension clamp that is behind the engine. You can't see it so it's a little difficult to get at.

What's bad about it is the prospect of doing it about every 100K miles.
 
Gen I V8 intake doesn't have to come off to replace the cooling system parts (if you have the right tools).
 
Labor, cost, time, and mess. I do remember seeing a post about using a swivel ratchet wrench or a brake bleeder wrench, followed by needle nose pliers. That guy then cut the back bolts a little shorter
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 273 (members: 0, guests: 273)
Back
Top