tedallen
Active Member
My wife was waiting in line to pickup our daughter from school and said she saw a message to the effect reduced engine power show up in the dash message display. She shut it off when she saw that, but later started it back up to try to get into a parking spot and it died on its own and she was able to coast into it.
When I arrived, there was a huge wet spot on the main road where she had sat for probably 10-15 minutes and another large spot just prior to the parking spot she turned into. I don't see anything wet from the top of the engine or under the radiator area. I felt inside both footwells to check for possible wetness from the heater core and haven't found any. It looks like the coolant is primarily dripping from the passenger rear of the engine compartment or further back, actually back around where the bell housing and transmission body come together. I haven't been under it to look from below. I'm wondering if maybe a heater hose back at the firewall could be the culprit, but from above, without removing anything other than the big plastic cover over the intake, I don't see anything wet at all.
I'm hoping that the P1299 error code cut the engine off before damage was done to the cylinder head/gasket.
Does anyone have any thoughts on likely culprits? I figure I will probably have to remove the thermostat, refill the cooling system with distilled water and try to do a pressure test if I can find a tester to fit the overflow canister. Then maybe I can see where the leak is originating from.
There also is an unrelated issue, in that when it was being pulled up on the rollback to be towed home I smelled fuel and there was a stream of fuel coming down from the driver's front corner of the fuel tank and running downhill on the rollback surface until it was raised to a near horizontal position. She had just filled the gas tank this morning as luck would have it and I have been seeing the P0442 "Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected (small leak)". I had replaced the Vapor Canister Purge Valve (mounted on the driver's firewall) and thought that might have resolved it, but it has since come back. I saw a YouTube video where someone had actually found a crack in the top of the fuel tank where the purge control solenoid (I think) is located.
My Navi has rear heat/AC and has 2 sets heater hoses, both with plastic tees. I have read and seen videos about those tees being very problematic and prone to cracking/leaking.
Do you know if I would need to remove the thermostat in order to fill the system and perform a pressure test to try to find the leak without running the vehicle? The only way to fill is via the Degas canister.
It looks like reaching those "quick" connect fittings on the heater hoses going to the heater core connections at the firewall is a nightmare. I know they make a tool to release them and some folks have been successful releasing them by pinching the exposed flanges by hand, but as far back as those are I don't know if I could even get my hands in there.
If it turns out to be the heater core that will involve pulling the dashboard assembly and I don't know if I want to deal with that.
All ideas are greatly appreciated. I posted this in the Lincoln Forums, but they don't seem nearly as active as these.
Thanks,
Ted
When I arrived, there was a huge wet spot on the main road where she had sat for probably 10-15 minutes and another large spot just prior to the parking spot she turned into. I don't see anything wet from the top of the engine or under the radiator area. I felt inside both footwells to check for possible wetness from the heater core and haven't found any. It looks like the coolant is primarily dripping from the passenger rear of the engine compartment or further back, actually back around where the bell housing and transmission body come together. I haven't been under it to look from below. I'm wondering if maybe a heater hose back at the firewall could be the culprit, but from above, without removing anything other than the big plastic cover over the intake, I don't see anything wet at all.
I'm hoping that the P1299 error code cut the engine off before damage was done to the cylinder head/gasket.
Does anyone have any thoughts on likely culprits? I figure I will probably have to remove the thermostat, refill the cooling system with distilled water and try to do a pressure test if I can find a tester to fit the overflow canister. Then maybe I can see where the leak is originating from.
There also is an unrelated issue, in that when it was being pulled up on the rollback to be towed home I smelled fuel and there was a stream of fuel coming down from the driver's front corner of the fuel tank and running downhill on the rollback surface until it was raised to a near horizontal position. She had just filled the gas tank this morning as luck would have it and I have been seeing the P0442 "Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected (small leak)". I had replaced the Vapor Canister Purge Valve (mounted on the driver's firewall) and thought that might have resolved it, but it has since come back. I saw a YouTube video where someone had actually found a crack in the top of the fuel tank where the purge control solenoid (I think) is located.
My Navi has rear heat/AC and has 2 sets heater hoses, both with plastic tees. I have read and seen videos about those tees being very problematic and prone to cracking/leaking.
Do you know if I would need to remove the thermostat in order to fill the system and perform a pressure test to try to find the leak without running the vehicle? The only way to fill is via the Degas canister.
It looks like reaching those "quick" connect fittings on the heater hoses going to the heater core connections at the firewall is a nightmare. I know they make a tool to release them and some folks have been successful releasing them by pinching the exposed flanges by hand, but as far back as those are I don't know if I could even get my hands in there.
If it turns out to be the heater core that will involve pulling the dashboard assembly and I don't know if I want to deal with that.
All ideas are greatly appreciated. I posted this in the Lincoln Forums, but they don't seem nearly as active as these.
Thanks,
Ted
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