Mysterious Coolant Leak....HELP!

[02Edge]

My 2002 Edge 3.0L is loosing coolant, here are the facts:

1. I've replaced the upper and lower big hoses, no leak visible
2. Looks to be original 85,000 mile water pump
3. New serp belt
4. Flushed with Prestone Flush and refilled with 50/50 Pre-mix
5. Looks to be original radiator cap
6. Pressure tested to 16 pounds and did not lose pressure.
7. Coolant loss is gradual - maybe 12 ounces a week.
8. No sign of heater core leaks or wet floor in cab
9. Evidence of coolant loss is sprayed everywhere - sway bar, crank sensor, driveway - but I cant see anything leaking while under the truck while it's running.
10. Slight chirping sound occassionally under the hood - Belt looks dry - is this water pump bearing trouble?
11. No leaks visible at "T" fitting in new lower Motorcraft hose.
12. A canister of Aluminseal was tried and seemed to help temporarily.
13. No white exhaust or white stuff in oil (these are signs that 90's Mustangs blew a head gasket, don't know if it applies to a 3.0L V6)

Any help is appreciated, I'm about to lower myself and go to a shop

[Gearhead299]

not sure i can be of much help here, but if you suspect the water pump bearing, what i would do is pull the serp. belt and see if that water pump pulley wiggled around by hand, i had an old toyota truck that the water pump bearing was shot, it would leak a little coolant which would get flung all over the place by the pulley

[cwc ranger]

The chirping could be either your alternator, ac, power steering or water pump. The fords are notorious for the power steering and alternator problems. As for the leak i have only one thing that you haven't listed and thats the head gasket is leaking, i had a similar problem in my 1999 ranger but i didn't catch the problem until i blew the engine luckly i had a back up until i got my new engine. Another thing is that your seals could be leaking in the water pump, easy fix, or your water pump could be cracked, or your radiator could be leaking.

Hope this helps man

[rockwerks]

Originally Posted by cwc ranger

The chirping could be either your alternator, ac, power steering or water pump. The fords are notorious for the power steering and alternator problems. As for the leak i have only one thing that you haven't listed and thats the head gasket is leaking, i had a similar problem in my 1999 ranger but i didn't catch the problem until i blew the engine luckly i had a back up until i got my new engine. Another thing is that your seals could be leaking in the water pump, easy fix, or your water pump could be cracked, or your radiator could be leaking.

Hope this helps man

HIs is leaking externally he sees the evidence but it wont happen with he is watching, just at highway speeds Im betting I would put money on the waterpimp

[cwc ranger]

I would agree water pump is the most logical but could also be the radiator

[02Edge]

Thanks guys

I attached a Harbor Freight pressure tester and the system held pressure - if it was a radiator problem, wouldn't that have been evident during the pressure test?

[rockwerks]

Originally Posted by 02Edge

Thanks guys

I attached a Harbor Freight pressure tester and the system held pressure - if it was a radiator problem, wouldn't that have been evident during the pressure test?

maybe. pressure testers are only so reliable for finding a problem. You need to get the thing up to max save temp to see what is happening. could be a pin hole in a hose a clamp not tight enough etc. Some of these can be a real bear to track down

[Gearhead299]

whenever i tracked a coolant leak to the radiator it usually came shooting out of there like old faithful, just my experience

[rockwerks]

Originally Posted by Gearhead299

whenever i tracked a coolant leak to the radiator it usually came shooting out of there like old faithful, just my experience

I ahve seen seeps that only would show up during a certain temp range like 190-210, it would not open under 190 and would close over 210 weird but true

[IGGY RED]

I have the same problem, and I just wonder if the warranty will cover some ting like this, water pump,timing cover etc, wish will be more than 500$$$, vs deductible $100.

Thank's.

[02Edge]

This ended up being a leaky waterpump, all is well now.