coolant loss

silver6four · Mar 16, 2015

I bought the truck at 22,000 deleted at 27,000... i am 55,000 now.. i am running hd 300 tune but run stock level about 98% of the time.. hardly even drive the truck. I can honestly say that ive only layed into her hard core 1 time on the hwy n hottest tune and very rarely get on The truck in fear of well costing me a bunch of money...i noticed about 3-4 months ago that my degas bottle was a little low and didn't think much of it..added a little and didnt really worry.. about 2 months later i noticed it was barely low again.. i did change my sinister coolant filter in between this time and figured well maybe that was it...well i noticed once again im about 3/4" below my line on the degas bottle again.. wtf.. i have to be losing coolant somwhere..yep little worried.. always let my oil sit in the pan overnight after oil changes to see if any separation happens..nothing...just changed it 700 miles ago..no odd smoke out of exhaust or smell.. no leaks.truck has never puked or anything...sounds fine...i do have a slight leak in driver side up pipe but other than that nothing....any ideas??? Thanks for any insight..

SlowSmoke · Mar 16, 2015

Are the coolant hoses updated? Sometimes you can get very slight leaks around the o-rings and it won't hit the ground but it will looks like a white buildup around the hose end. Doesn't have excessive pressure when you take the cap off hot? Should be a little bit in there, but not much.

madman1234509 · Mar 16, 2015

My question is are you seeing it get to being "barely low" and it basically stays at that level? If that's the case you're probably getting pressure in the coolant system and the coolant is being pushed out of the the one hose until it gets to a low enough level, then it stops. Normally that's a good sign that the head gaskets are going.

You could have a small leak that just needs to be tracked down as stated above.

wjamesm · Mar 16, 2015

When i bought my 08 i noticed the coolant was always slowly going low too low but never saw a leak anywhere , then i replaced my degas cap after reading about them not holding pressure and then i saw where it was leaking from , the radiator was cracked had a 12'' puddle of coolant under the truck after a run . Have you updated your degas cap ?

silver6four · Mar 16, 2015

No i did or have not replaced updated the hoses.. i was under the impression that job 3 had that problem fixed. I did however replace the degas cap not to lng after i got the truck. I have not checked the hoses closely so that is somthing i will def do in the coming days.. i did think about the radiator since they are notorious for leaking but again dont see any signs of anything leaking. I have not checked pressure when its warm so another thing i will check.. and finally to the head gaskets..that is what i am afraid of.. the coolant level is very very slow to drop as it takes month or so fornmw to even notice that the level has dropped.. i will check my hoses and rad more closely and hope for the best..i had planned on doing studs and what not sooner or later but had hoped that it was the later. Thanks guys i will post up once i get a chance to check out some things.. was going to be ordering my fuellab lp system and fuel bowl delete soon but thats going to be put on hold till this is figured out for sure.

6.4f350 · Mar 16, 2015

If you're having headgasket trouble it will generally blow the coolant out of the cap and you would notice the dried coolant residue on and around the bottle. The headgaskets themselves don't fail it's the head bolts that stretch and allow the heads to lift, which lets combustion pressure enter the coolant system.

Sounds like you have a slow leak somewhere. Keep an eye on the oil to make sure it isn't leaking internally.

madman1234509 · Mar 16, 2015

Mine you blow coolant from the cap until the level was below the level of the little black hose on the degas bottle. Then it would typically stop or do it no where near as bad. Check around your degas bottle for white crust, white crust on the accessory light on the hood. When mine did puke you would be able to notice coolant leaking down on the radius arm on the drivers side on around the shock in the drivers side wheel well

silver6four · Mar 19, 2015

Ok so finally had a chance to look at my hoses and check a few things..looks like i have a very slight leak at my sinister coolant block where nlet goes in at fitting...i dont really think thats where im losing all my coolant tho...second crawled under front of the truck and noticed that i did see a very small area that is white and crusty by pass side lower coolant hose..then i noticed some drips running down the 2 silver tubes that run down alongside the driver lower rad hose.. looks like the driver side hose is leaking at the bottom of the fitting to the water pump i believe it is.. and then dripping down..so i guess it sounds like i have all my radiator hoses to replace and fix the inlet on my coolant filter block...actually in perfect time because i have to change my filter and coolant within the next 5000 miles as its due..so will already have to drain all my coolant way so perfect time to change the hoses..i cant believe at 55,000 miles the hoses have to be replaced..o well..obviously alot easier and cheaper than head gaskets.. thanks guys fpr th heads up on the hoses.. i assume replace with factory or is there and aftermarket alternative? ?

CAT35niner · Mar 19, 2015

Just orings in the hose ends. Most likely cracked or something. Stupid design. It's should have the updated hoses on it if it's a job 3. But no aftermarket that I know of. Contact Sunrise ford on here. They will give you the best deal on new hoses and very quick shipping. Glad it was something simple and cheap. Not Headgaskets.

silver6four · Mar 19, 2015

O sweet.. so i should be able to just replace o rings as long as hoses otherwise are n good shape.. well thats not a bad deal.. i will look into that option for sure...thanks buddy.. yes at this point im leaning towards a few small leaky hoses and not head gaskets.. still habe not totally ruled them out but thinking as awell as hoping that these hoses are my problem. . Obviously a problem of they are leaking..so i will get them fixed and continue to keep a close eye on things...another question..i use the ford coolant additive and cant remember how much to add..my local ford dealer is not much help as they cant tell me...gave me a guess..lol... god love em... anybody no??? Also i have also thought maybe my front cover was part of my problem. .. ive read that you will see it dripping from down low by the mail pulley..is this correct?? Any other areas or symtoms??? I did look and see no sign as i typcally crawl under and look every few weeks/month or so..dont drive the truck much so dont check is much as my work truck.. again thanks guys.

CAT35niner · Mar 20, 2015

I don't think you can replace the orings but you might. I haven't ran into that problem yet. I got the upgraded hoses since mine is a job 1. So they aren't old. You might have to buy new hoses but don't know for sure. And just ask Sunrise about the additive. They always help me out with questions like that. If no one can answer on here. If I remember correctly you would see coolant in your oil if your front cover has cavitation. But I might have it backwards lol. If you don't see your oil level going up or oil in your coolant then your front cover is probably still okay.

silver6four · Mar 20, 2015

Ok ya im dumb.. the o rings most likely would not be replaceable. . It woupd be nice if tht an option tho.. i misunderstood that about the o rings and then been thinkimg about it...yep new hoses will be the case...... i will see what sunrise can do for me on a set of hoses.. ..i just did about a 25 mile roumd trip hwy and 2 lane in the truck ..more than up to operating temp...shut the truck off and checked for high pressure at degas cap... almost nothing...didnt even really hear a hiss or anything...sounds like i dont have high pressure in my cooling system but using a gauge on it and taking it for a drive would make me feel a little better...as far as front cover goes,how is one to know of your gwtting cavitation in it unless you take it off or your seeing coolant come out of the bottom??maybe check my coolant filter??? Cut it open and look for shavings maybe?? Good place to start i suppose..point being if im changing hoses and coolant i would prefer to drain it once and get it over with rather than in 2 months having to do it again??.

CAT35niner · Mar 20, 2015

You can cut open your coolant filter. Only other way is to pull the water pump out and look at the cover. That's where it gets cavitation. But if your oil level is fine and no oil in the coolant. Your cover is still good. I'm still not positive on which way it goes. Either coolant in oil or oil in oil. So if either is good then your cover is not hurt. But you can always check it. Just a pain to pull the pump out.

ramonpowerstroker · Mar 22, 2015

Start saving up, around 10k and start buying parts
Jk. As others say see if you see any small leaks, if you changed your coolant filter I could see it dropping the level, also if you think it's the headgaskets go and drive the **** out of it till it does. That's what I did