Is th ehead gasket blown ?

Swedishmoose · 21-10-2009, 04:28 PM

Ford Falcon Futura (year 2000, 6 cyl , 135000 km, automatic)

Hi there...

About four weeks ago I noticed that my coolant level sits on the minimum mark.

A shop flushed the whole system and filled new coolant in. They actually overfilled it a little bit ( over the maximum mark ) but it didn't bother me.

Now I noticed , that the coolant is lower again and sits in between max and min.

I can't find any external leaks arround the water pump or any hoses. There is no oily film in the coolant tank and it seems that there is no water in the oil as well because I couldn't see any milky residue on the oil measure stick and the oil filling cap.

There is also no sign of coolant which could have possibly run out of that overpressure hose.

How can I find out, if the head gasket is blown and how reliable are those pressure readers which you screw into the radiator to check if there is a pressure loss ?

Could it also be the radiator cap ?

Thank you for any information or ideas

The Moose

frd906 · 21-10-2009, 04:38 PM

wouldnt be head gasket as you would definitly notice the power loss

i had the same problem, my header tank and hoses were leaking, i actually had a internal leak in one of my hoses

The Monty · 21-10-2009, 04:40 PM

Not your head gasket, never heard of an AU doing one.
If the over filled it, it just would have overflowed like its supposed to and leaked a little bit to sit at that level.

Swedishmoose · 21-10-2009, 04:41 PM

Hi there...

I forgot to add that I can smell coolant when the car is hot, but I can"t see any leaks. The smell is not very strong but you can smell it.
The smell is more intense on the driver side, where the water tank sits.

I also forgot to mention that there is no white steam blowing out of the muffler when the car has reached operating temperature.

The whole story doesn't make sense to me because everything seems to be fine.....except the light smell and the loss of coolant.

Well..hopefully someone can help me out...

thanks anyways

The Moose

Swedishmoose · 21-10-2009, 04:46 PM

Hey Monty...

well...I am still worrying. I am not a "racer" that really pushes the car like mad. I am more likely a relaxed driver and would for example never idle over 2500 rpm until the car has reached operational temperature.

where can you usually see the milky build - up ?

i checked the oil stick ( ok ) , took the oil filling cap off and it looked ok and I had a look inside with a flash light ( through the hole where you fill the oil in )....
I couldn"t see the valve rocker but if there is any build up, it should be visible.

So do you recon a pressure test would make sense ?

Thanks anyways for your reply mate

The Moose

frd906 · 21-10-2009, 04:51 PM

you didnt blow the innner trans cooler did you???

my mates ea falcon has a pin hole size above number number 4 spark plug and its leaking rad fluid from there and he can smell collant when he turns it off

Swedishmoose · 21-10-2009, 04:58 PM

Hey frd906...

above spark plug 4 ?

there is nothing. The transmission cooler is an internal part of th eradiator, isn't it ?

Why would your mate have a leak above spark plug 4 ?

I guess i don't understand what exactely you mean.

Can ya explain that again please ?

The Moose

frd906 · 21-10-2009, 05:07 PM

becuase the head was old it has coroded its way through the water gallery and has blown out, he never noticed it with the heat shield on untill he fitted extractors on, took the heat shield off and bingo found it, he never noticed it before becuase he couldnt see it but he also had the collant smell as well

The Monty · 21-10-2009, 05:33 PM

There is nothing above plug number 4 except for a spark plug lead?

Sweedishmoose. I cant say what it looks like, but Im sure youd be able to tell on the dipstick and in the hole on top of the rocker cover.
Id say you just have a leak somewhere, either while driving, or when stopped. Either way, draw a black line on it, and check it in a week. If its lost some now after the first initial loss, Id be doing a pressure check on your radiator and hoses.

frd906 · 21-10-2009, 05:38 PM

lol i ment thats where his leak was from, he had a pin hole above the spark plug hole, its where it has busted out, isnt there water gallerys which run next to the head bolt hole

Beer Baron · 21-10-2009, 05:53 PM

Can you smell coolant inside the car or only the outside ?

Swedishmoose · 23-10-2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beer Baron

Can you smell coolant inside the car or only the outside ?

Hi there,

I can only smell it sometimes when the engine is pretty warm and I park it in the garage. It is more intense on the drivers side and ONLY outside which tells me the heating hoses inside are allright ( don't wanna pull the dashboard apart ).

The maintenance books mention the surge tank cap which isn't too expensive. Might buy one and just watch it.

Monty mentioned to do a pressure test when the coolant still leaks out somewhere.

cheers

The Moose

frd906 · 21-10-2009, 09:31 PM

just realised, dosent the coolant lines used for heating the car????, becuase if you can smell it from the inside my have a leaking heater hose???

FERG_51 · 21-10-2009, 09:47 PM

The most common coolant leak on an AU is the pipe that goes into the back of the water pump. It has a o/ring that leaks when the engine cools down and then reseals when warm. I have changed a lot of these o/rings over the years. Another place to look is the radiator behind the fans. You would need to remove the fans to see any evidence of a leak. Hope this helps. Cheers.

sd1800 · 22-10-2009, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FERG_51

The most common coolant leak on an AU is the pipe that goes into the back of the water pump. It has a o/ring that leaks when the engine cools down and then reseals when warm. I have changed a lot of these o/rings over the years. Another place to look is the radiator behind the fans. You would need to remove the fans to see any evidence of a leak. Hope this helps. Cheers.

Does this apply for the V8's aswell?

I have a similar problem.

Swedishmoose · 23-10-2009, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FERG_51

The most common coolant leak on an AU is the pipe that goes into the back of the water pump. It has a o/ring that leaks when the engine cools down and then reseals when warm. I have changed a lot of these o/rings over the years. Another place to look is the radiator behind the fans. You would need to remove the fans to see any evidence of a leak. Hope this helps. Cheers.

Hi there...

that metal heating pipe which goes into the back of the water pump ?

I had a look at it and it seems that the pipe has a much smaller diameter than the hole of the actual water pump connection. It looks that someone has smeared some style of concrete mixture in it to seal it which is all brittle now. It looks like sand from the beach

:

But it is not wet though.

I guess the only thing I can do is get a new surge tank cap and reseal that pipe/ water pump connection....what kind of sealer would you recommend ?
It should be something that can easily be removed when the water pump has to be replaced one day without ripping the whole heater pipe out or damaging it.

The Moose

jcto · 21-10-2009, 09:43 PM

I noticed my AUII's coolant level kept disappearing slowly and then it stabilised and was fine. Wasnt until I had the alternator replaced that the mechanic said the radiator had been leaking but had now sealed itself........I just went a got a new rad from adrad and had a local guy flush out and fit the new one just for peace of mind.....I had never had any coolant under the car when I pulled up anywhere and I could always smell coolant as well.....hope this helps.

autickfordfairmont · 23-10-2009, 12:21 PM

In the past couple of weeks I have been loosing a whole header tank of coolant with 50KM of driving. Mine was leaking from the water pump. It could have just been the heater hose o/ring (as it was hard & cracked when i pulled it off) but could have also been the water pump gasket. I replaceed it with a whole new water pump last weekend (the old one has lasted 215,000 km so time for a new one i guess) and all is fine now. I didnt have a drop of coolant on the concrete after sitting over night, but you could see it on and around the water pump. Check there aswell.

mik · 23-10-2009, 10:35 PM

it could also be a pin hole in the radiator, i found one tiny little hole in mine ( it looked like green bird poo) while fitting an auto trans cooler, if its an old radiator i would be giving it a real good inspect, problems can hide behind the fan shroud, these alloy radiators are pretty average, another vote for a pressure test if it has`nt had one.

bodes-sh · 24-10-2009, 11:50 AM

i can't believe this. nobody has suggested replacing the cap, except for the service book... just replace it. i had the same problem, new cap and it's all fixed