Coolant Loss - How much is OK?

[garykk]

Wow!! So tell how you really feel....

[KSCRUDE]

I feel really good now. After 300 miles on the road Thursday, checked the coolant level Friday and it is still on the cold full mark where it should be. I have bought 2 gallons of ford gold coolant at $18 a pop. And had to r and r junk ford tension hose clamp. This after spending 118 k on a new rig is bull crap as it left the dealer 3 quarts low as I seen it myself in the walk through. Camper dealers could care less about the chassis components as they are warrantied by ford in my case. They just sell the junk. NO AMOUNT OF COOLANT IS LOSS OK! If you have ongoing coolant loss you have a leak or it is going out the tail pipe because of a internal leak of head or block. What we call burning it in the trucking business. If your rig is burning it throw in a couple cans of bars leak and then sell the rig or trade her off. Bars leak works very good for a long time on head gasket and other internal leaks. If it is under warranty it's time to be fixed by the chassis dealer. If they would not want to fix it, I would drain the coolant, pop a radiator hose part way off and hit the road and fry the engine. Tell them that their junk hose clamp failed and it fried before you could shut her down! Happens every day, and you get a new engine that hopefully has no coolant loss. New engines usually don't have internal coolant leaks but it can happen. It is usually a external leak like I had on the heater hose.

[georgetown350]

If they would not want to fix it, I would drain the coolant, pop a radiator hose part way off and hit the road and fry the engine. Tell them that their junk hose clamp failed and it fried before you could shut her down! Happens every day, and you get a new engine that hopefully has no coolant loss.

It would be better to drive the coach off a cliff and claim insurance.
If your antifreeze level is low and you simply top it off while the engine is turned off, yes most likely you will have to top it off again. Better to have the engine running while topping the antifreeze off..... did you take the dog house off and check for leaks at the top of the engine? could be a leak that is evaporating on the exhaust and not making it to the ground.

[Brockx]

Whenever you add a significant amount of coolant turn the heater on to full heat. When you get good heat from the heater you know it is purged. Shut down the engine leave it cool, refill the radiator, and to the proper line on the coolant recovery tank. You should now have very rare and minimal additions to the coolant tank.

[KSCRUDE]

After a 7 day trip to beautiful lake afton near Wichita Kansas, we made it home today. Put about 500 miles on the rig pulling a heavy trailer with a smart car on the way down, and coming home with a new ford escape on the same trailer. Had a lot of fun with the smart, but the ride and room for cargo made us both think it was time to say goodbye to it. love the new escape 4X4 with the little 1.6 ecoboost. Very snappy, and they also offer a 2 liter ecoboost with a 100 more FTP. None in our color choice in 4wd so we got the little powerhouse. Never drove anything with the 4 banger ecoboost, but I was very impressed. And rated at 30 mpg highway. The 3.5cecoboost in the F 150 line pulls like a diesel! And I have driven some. But getting to the topic. My V10 ford with 23 hundred mile did not use I drop of coolant. The new hose clamp i used to fix the CHEAP JUNK FORD clamp did the job. I have added over 2 gallons of fords high priced gold coolant, and this rig is just 6 weeks old. But no Newmar grease monkey has been in the cockpit of my rig. What's that worth, PRICELESS! NO AMOUNT OF COOLANT LOSS IS OK!!!

[Lincolnboy2]

I am experiencing a small coolant loss on my 2003 F-53 Ford too.

This thread is very applicable to my current condition.

I am losing about 1/4 to 1/2" down on the coolant/recovery tank each trip.

I think we have a leak in that lower radiator hose maybe. I need to somehow check it for sure but guess I'll have to take it in to Ford to do it since I can't get my fat butt crawled underneath to look.

I just replaced the recovery tank with a new one this past year, the old one had stress cracks and when the pressure was up it would spray a little pinhole spray of coolant through and would lose coolant, thank goodness the leak was almost to the 'normal' line or I would have been stranded out on the road somewhere, as I didn't know it for several miles...

Any new or updated information folks?

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by Lincolnboy2

I am experiencing a small coolant loss on my 2003 F-53 Ford too.

This thread is very applicable to my current condition.

I am losing about 1/4 to 1/2" down on the coolant/recovery tank each trip.

I think we have a leak in that lower radiator hose maybe. I need to somehow check it for sure but guess I'll have to take it in to Ford to do it since I can't get my fat butt crawled underneath to look.

I just replaced the recovery tank with a new one this past year, the old one had stress cracks and when the pressure was up it would spray a little pinhole spray of coolant through and would lose coolant, thank goodness the leak was almost to the 'normal' line or I would have been stranded out on the road somewhere, as I didn't know it for several miles...

Any new or updated information folks?

Finding that small a leak is going to be difficult. The leak is most likely occurring as the engine is cooling down, It's probably being caused by the difference between the contraction rates of the metal radiator connector and the rubber hose(s). Look closely at the junction point of the hose(s). A small leak may evaporate before there's enough volume to leave a drip or puddle. Look for a thin yellow/brown stripe at the bottom of the hose connections or on the intake manifold.

On our 2001 motorhome the leak was at the junction of the lower radiator hose and the radiator. I didn't totally remove the original clamp. When the engine was cool I used a pair of pliers of open the clamp, then just slid it back far enough to allow the installation of a new screw style clamp. I opened the new clamp, wrapped it around the hose back through the screw mechanism and tightened it. No more leak.

[Davidjeff]

On Fords,Most small leaks using gold coolant will leave a trail or area that appears white in color whereas the newer orange coolant will appear similar to a trans oil leak. On higher mileage units or over 2 years old the coolant degas bottle (where the radiator cap is) are prone to cracking and seeping but most of the time it is on the bottom out of sight of the bottle. The snap wire clamps are ok but should never be reused after a year as they lose their tension over time plus if they are not placed exactly back in the prior position on the hose back into the groove they created they will seep coolant. The radiator pressure caps should never be overlooked and should be pressure tested. Most larger or up to date Ford dealers now use vacuum fill to install coolant as the majority of current modular engines have to many air pockets allowing improper fill if not used. If you do have some coolant loss I would have it thoroughly looked over for all signs and pressure tested though pressure testing is not a guarantee in finding a leak. Dye was mentioned and is another excellent means helping to find leaks. Good luck and remember coolant can leak either hot or cold and never rule out a heater core or radiator assy.

[Lincolnboy2]

Excellent advice and information guys. THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

[whem2fish]

Kent my boy has a pressure pump

[Lincolnboy2]

I think a visual will probably reveal where the small leak is, and my guess is around one of the now 13 year old clamps....

[whem2fish]

Let me know let the ground dry

[Lincolnboy2]

I looked at it again yesterday, and I SWEAR it has dropped some since I saw it last a couple weeks ago, and I've not even started the engine!!!!!!!!!