Truck in question= 2012 F-350 6.7 Powerstroke 47,000 miles

Hello Everyone, while changing the oil in my father's truck this weekend I noticed that the coolant in the main (large) reservoir is extremely low. The level is barely to the top of the lower black portion. Not visible at all in the clear upper half.

Any ideas what to look for? I checked everywhere I could & didn't find any visible leaks. Oil looked normal also.

He would take it to the dealership but I don't think this is covered under the remaining warranty & money is tight after just doing oil, fuel filters & new tires this past weekend. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

From what I have been reading. Engine is 5 yr 100K. Drivetrain is 5yr 60K

 

Try giving the degas bottle a little shake. You will probably see some coolant slosh in the clear section of the bottle. I've had my cooling system serviced exclusively by a Ford dealership (concentration/additive strength and flush/refill), and they always fill right to the bottom of clear section of the degas bottle. This would be the bottom of the fill range, or so I am told. Does make the primary cooling system appear to be empty at first sight.

 

I'd top it off and monitor for now, anything major would be under warranty still at this point.
Consuming coolant just hasn't been an issue here. External leaks, mostly radiators and an occasional water pump, have been the only causes of missing coolant in these parts.

 

Ok guys maybe I've been worried about something that's not an issue. All of the vehicles I've ever serviced (not many) have had the coolant to the cold fill line. While looking over the drivetrain warranty I didn't see a specific mention of cooling system so I assumed it was considered a maintenance/wear item. Thank You for the speedy replies!

 

Where is the best place to get coolant test strips & additive? I think the last time it was done on this truck was around the 20k mark and the dealership said it tested Ok at the time but it's probably time to do it again.

 

I get strips at the parts counter.

When there's a mysterious loss of coolant it's usually the water pump. It can leak and leave little to no evidence. The other place to look is at the bottom corners of the main radiator but it's unlikely you would miss that. Of course, it could be anything so use your eyes and especially nose. Any smell of hot coolant is easily detected when the engine is idling, any time I've ever had a leak I could smell it as soon as I started the truck.

 

Yes I looked really good around the corners and drains of the radiators and didn't see anything. I should probably give the water pump a closer look. I assumed there would be a noticeable drip. Didn't smell any hot coolant but I wasn't really trying to either. Thanks for the ideas I will look into more on my next day off.

 

sometimes extreme temp changes will change the level as well.


Mine does that.


It will rise and fall with big temp swings.