2010 blowing water when cranking ?

[Deesko]

Recently picked up a 2010 Exp Eddie Bauer 5.4 L Triton 4x4 w/ Tow Package for towing our travel trailer.

Has 98k miles on it and seems to run fine but I started noticing a ping/rattle a week or so ago, especially when accelerating at low RPM's (but interestingly enough, don't really hear it at idle) and while trying to diagnose it, I've come across a couple of things:

1. Whenever I start the truck, it blows some water out under the bottom of the truck. Just one quick burst, and it's not a lot, but don't remember ever seeing this before. It's water, not coolant or oil (from what I can tell) and it's hot & humid here so perhaps leftover condensation from AC running full blast but just seems weird.

2. Coolant in the reserve tank has a brown-ish tint too it. TBH, I don't remember looking at it when I picked the truck up so could be whatever brand of coolant they used but I don't remember ever seeing brown coolant ? Dipstick seems fine, no smoke, no coolant leaks etc so trying to convince myself it's fine but has me worried.

Since this is a tow vehicle, I'm thinking about changing the plugs, draining and flushing coolant and tranny just in case they haven't been done in the past but any ideas on whether this sounds like something more serious (blown head gasket etc) ?

Thanks!

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Welcome to the Forum Deesko. It would be good to know exactly where under the truck you see the water dripping. If it is in the area underneath the firewall it could indeed be left over condensate from the evaporator that pools in the bottom of the drain pan and when you start the truck and the blower runs the increase pressure forced the water out.

If the water is clear, I wouldn't worry about it.

Congratulations on your new truck. Doing a fluid change at 100,000 miles is recommended, the tune up is a good idea too. I don't remember if the 2010 has the two piece spark plug but if it does you might consider letting a shop or the dealer change them. If they break they can be very tricky to remove. I'll let someone else give you the definitive answer on that.

 

[Deesko]

It's hard to tell for sure but it does appear to be coming from almost dead center of the vehicle and right around firewall or maybe slightly behind it.

To give an idea, it's probably the equivalent of 1-2 cups worth of water (and it only seems to happen on start up, it's not continuous).

Thanks for the info.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

If you crawl under the vehicle look for something like a rubber tube with flattened ends like a duck's bill. This picture is look straight up at it but if you looked at it from the side you would see the flattened ends. More than likely it is coming from something similar. This is not a Ford or Expedition picture.

 

[bobmbx]

If its clear water, don't give it another thought. There are no sources of water on cars, other than rain or condensate.

 

[1955moose]

As far as the color of the coolant, sounds like you've got the red coolant, like I have in my earlier expy. Mine was supposed to have the green ford coolant, but the previous owner had switched it out. You might want to swap out the coolant due to the darker color or age. Not sure of the interval at changing on yours, but 3years/36k would be a safe bet. As far as the trans, flushing is always a gamble, but doing a pan drop only replaces about 5-6 quarts. I believe it was 2008 that Ford stopped using the two piece plug. You can check with the dealer on that one. You might have a drain hose from the A/C that's blocked or bent so it's dropping onto some pan rather than dropping straight down. Of all the fluids that's the only one that comes to mind as clear.


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[sjwelds]

Yep, early 08 on the plugs. I have a 08 expedition with the one piece plugs.

 

[Deesko]

Thanks everybody. Makes me feel a little better.

 

[docraymund]

If you want to know if its a head gasket issue, open the radiator fill cap one early morning, top it off with coolant then start the truck. If coolant spurts out, then you found your problem.

It could also be a good idea to start the truck briefly then turn it off and crawl underneath to try and spot the leaky area.

 

[Deesko]

Since I'm thinking about replacing plugs, air filter etc anyway (it's at 100k miles, figure it's due)...

Any thoughts/input on aftermarket performance coils, MAF and K&N FIPK Air Intake ?

I'm not expecting to turn it into a race car or anything but figure if I'm replacing them, why not replace with performance gear.

Even if it only gives a modest improvement in torque (+5 ft/lb), I'm towing a 6k lb travel trailer with it, it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra oomph.

Thoughts? Not worth it?