Coolant consumption

Left Coast Geek · Apr 7, 2024

My 2019 Expedition now has about 72,000 mi on it. I'm 7,000 mi into an 8000 mi road trip and it's used a gallon and a half of coolant. There's not a trace of coolant in the oil. There's not a trace of steam in the exhaust. There's absolutely no smell of coolant in the interior or under the hood, so I don't know where it went. I don't see any signs of Crusty coolant around Anything I can look at?

I've been driving in hot weather, towing a 5000 lb trailer up and down mountains, so this is not been an easy $7,000 mi. I'm currently in Durango, Mexico, and I've been all through the Yucatan and everywhere else in Mexico. I'll be home in a thousand miles, so I'm not really planning on doing anything about it until I get there other than keeping it topped off. At this point I'm just adding water because I don't have access to a car parts store where I can get the proper coolant grade. The first gallon I added was prestones proper coolant for a late Ford.

apex96 · Apr 7, 2024

I’m dealing with a similar issue, no visible signs of leaks and it’s been like this since the vehicle was new… at dealership now having torque converter replaced and they have added dye to try and identify where it might be leaking. My guess is it’s weeping from the water pump.

Mediamonkey11 · Apr 7, 2024

Any chance your system isn't pressurizing due to a failed Rad cap, and boiling off during the time the vehicle is in motion?

Have you modified at all such as lower temp tstat? generally these leaks are either burned in combustion or only happen at load and are small enough they don't leave a trace as they are hot enough to vaporize instantly once they exit the system.

apex96 · Apr 7, 2024

Mediamonkey11 said:
Any chance your system isn't pressurizing due to a failed Rad cap, and boiling off during the time the vehicle is in motion?

Have you modified at all such as lower temp tstat? generally these leaks are either burned in combustion or only happen at load and are small enough they don't leave a trace as they are hot enough to vaporize instantly once they exit the system.

If no dye is found anywhere on the exterior surfaces of the hoses and block then yes, I’ll be changing the cap out for a new one. The cap theory has crossed my mind but I’ve also seen signs (very small colorful plume on wet pavement when left idling) that the water pump may be weeping as well. Will hold pressure on static test which has intrigued me as well.

Not sure if OP has seen similar tells on their vehicle.

As far as running a colder t-stat, yes I’m running a 170 and the housing is torqued to specs. Dry as a bone around the housing.

JasonH · Apr 7, 2024

Left Coast Geek said:
My 2019 Expedition now has about 72,000 mi on it. I'm 7,000 mi into an 8000 mi road trip and it's used a gallon and a half of coolant. There's not a trace of coolant in the oil. There's not a trace of steam in the exhaust. There's absolutely no smell of coolant in the interior or under the hood, so I don't know where it went. I don't see any signs of Crusty coolant around Anything I can look at?

I've been driving in hot weather, towing a 5000 lb trailer up and down mountains, so this is not been an easy $7,000 mi. I'm currently in Durango, Mexico, and I've been all through the Yucatan and everywhere else in Mexico. I'll be home in a thousand miles, so I'm not really planning on doing anything about it until I get there other than keeping it topped off. At this point I'm just adding water because I don't have access to a car parts store where I can get the proper coolant grade. The first gallon I added was prestones proper coolant for a late Ford.

Since you're traveling, try circulating dye so you can check when you get home. Common areas for coolant leaks are the water pump housing, turbo fittings, and the fitting on the degas bottle. Safe travels!

slow3v · Apr 7, 2024

Betting its heater hoses. Check passenger side near the firewall where they connect to the heatercore, and down toward the front/left side of motor where the distribution block is. You can follow them pretty easily.

Jerald Cook · Apr 8, 2024

I had a similar issue with my 2020, disappearing coolant with no obvious signs. Turned out to be a leaky coolant tube to the driver's side turbo that was only found with pressurizing the system by the dealer.

BMW2FORD · Apr 8, 2024

Don’t forget about the coolant lines to the rear heater core if you have that option. A lot of shops don’t think to look at the rear of the vehicle and easily miss that.

Left Coast Geek · Apr 23, 2024

Looks like it's dripping from a Y shaped hose on the passenger side of the engine... I'm hoping I can nurse it for another week and got an appointment at a Ford dealer in Phoenix AZ next week.

Currently on Playa Huatabampito....

wakeboarder · Apr 23, 2024

Left Coast Geek said:
Looks like it's dripping from a Y shaped hose on the passenger side of the engine... I'm hoping I can nurse it for another week and got an appointment at a Ford dealer in Phoenix AZ next week.

Currently on Playa Huatabampito....View attachment 80871

You may see if you can find one of these down there.

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Coolant consumption

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