2002 Expedition. Cooling system.
#1
12-26-2018, 09:50 PM
2002 Expedition. Cooling system.
I have a 2002 expedition Eddie Bauer edition. I have been having a few separate issues over the past 8 months I have owned it.
First problem, coolant leak. I originally saw a decent leak coming from the piece at the top right side (passenger) of the engine where three hoses meet just in front and to the side of injector number 1. I ran a little stop leak through it and the leak stopped presenting there but the coolant loss remained. A few months later I noticed a leak at the bottom of the radiator. Drove it 10 miles after filling up the reservoir, stopped to check it, no leak and water was holding. Drove 30 miles, no leak water held. Drove another 30 miles, stopped to check and the leak had begun again but very slow. Made it the remaining 25 miles home and water was holding steady from where I last checked it and no further leak. Plugged it with JB weld. I am still looking coolant/water consistently. Sometimes I can 3 or 4 weeks with out needing to add a drop, sometimes I have to fill it every couple days. I have no clear sign of where the water is going or leaking from
I have changed the oil 3 times in under 6000 miles and there is no evidence of water in the oil. I have no overheating problems whatsoever, truck takes a little longer to get to normal temps than it should but it does get there and holds normal. No evidence of water/rust on plugs either. No misfire, no lack of power. No hard/cold starts. Only possibly a little more white smoke from the tail pipe than normal for a little longer than normal but I am aware of a couple weak welds in the pipe where I get condensation build up.
Second problem, possibly (most likely) releated to the first,....no heat. A/c seems to work fine except for a temperamental compressor clutch that only halfway pushes half the time while the other half it's like a freaking ice box in the truck. I blew out the front heater core with air then water. Had a full stream from both inlet and outlet sides as I alternated the flow accordingly. Heat worked great for a week or so then back to the way it was.
Any suggestions?
First problem, coolant leak. I originally saw a decent leak coming from the piece at the top right side (passenger) of the engine where three hoses meet just in front and to the side of injector number 1. I ran a little stop leak through it and the leak stopped presenting there but the coolant loss remained. A few months later I noticed a leak at the bottom of the radiator. Drove it 10 miles after filling up the reservoir, stopped to check it, no leak and water was holding. Drove 30 miles, no leak water held. Drove another 30 miles, stopped to check and the leak had begun again but very slow. Made it the remaining 25 miles home and water was holding steady from where I last checked it and no further leak. Plugged it with JB weld. I am still looking coolant/water consistently. Sometimes I can 3 or 4 weeks with out needing to add a drop, sometimes I have to fill it every couple days. I have no clear sign of where the water is going or leaking from
I have changed the oil 3 times in under 6000 miles and there is no evidence of water in the oil. I have no overheating problems whatsoever, truck takes a little longer to get to normal temps than it should but it does get there and holds normal. No evidence of water/rust on plugs either. No misfire, no lack of power. No hard/cold starts. Only possibly a little more white smoke from the tail pipe than normal for a little longer than normal but I am aware of a couple weak welds in the pipe where I get condensation build up.
Second problem, possibly (most likely) releated to the first,....no heat. A/c seems to work fine except for a temperamental compressor clutch that only halfway pushes half the time while the other half it's like a freaking ice box in the truck. I blew out the front heater core with air then water. Had a full stream from both inlet and outlet sides as I alternated the flow accordingly. Heat worked great for a week or so then back to the way it was.
Any suggestions?
#2
12-27-2018, 02:15 AM
Hi Denver,
What is sometimes done to produce the source of a cooling system leak is to connect a cooling system pressure tester to the radiator or coolant recovery bottle , degas bottle, and pump up the pressure in the system to the amount the radiator cap is supposed to allow expanding coolant to return to the reservoir, usually 15 pounds, and then watch the gauge to see if it goes down.You need to do this both cold and warm,,, not hot! If there is an external leak you will usually see the coolant escaping and can trace the source. If the reading goes down and you can't see any visable leaks it could be internal.
Some auto stores will rent the cooling system pressure tester if you don't have one available. DO NOT PUMP THE PRESSURE OVER THE 15 LBS LIMIT. If there are weak spots in the cooling syst it can create new unwanted leaks. There should be a pressure number on the rad cap on some systems.
What is sometimes done to produce the source of a cooling system leak is to connect a cooling system pressure tester to the radiator or coolant recovery bottle , degas bottle, and pump up the pressure in the system to the amount the radiator cap is supposed to allow expanding coolant to return to the reservoir, usually 15 pounds, and then watch the gauge to see if it goes down.You need to do this both cold and warm,,, not hot! If there is an external leak you will usually see the coolant escaping and can trace the source. If the reading goes down and you can't see any visable leaks it could be internal.
Some auto stores will rent the cooling system pressure tester if you don't have one available. DO NOT PUMP THE PRESSURE OVER THE 15 LBS LIMIT. If there are weak spots in the cooling syst it can create new unwanted leaks. There should be a pressure number on the rad cap on some systems.
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