this is the 2nd time i have to put anti freez in my ranger. i checked for leaks and didn't see any thing nothing from the weep hole. the coolant over flow tank is dry. over the winter i filed it up to the cold fill line. i cant find ware its leaking/burning. i cant smell any thing burning(when coolant burns its smells like somthing nasty) so any ideas?

 

How about the hoses running to the heater core and/or the heater core itself?

How much coolant would you say you've added over the past 3 months?

 

Do a compression test, you might be losing coolant into your cylinders, also pull the radiator cap (when cool) and check to see air bubbles in the coolant mixture, a broken gasket could allow air into the system.

Is the oil clean? You might have a oil pan full of a chocolate syrup mix of oil and water.

Sound like a head gasket to me..

 

My coolant is dissapearing too, I can smell what I believe is a HOT radiator but my gauge says it's cool. I've out about 2qts of water in in the past 4 days, the coolant in the radiator is always just below the cap and the 'catch can' while it isn't dry is most definatly empty. I have search throught the hoses and connections for the coling system and my oil is fine. Anybody got other places to check?

 

Well, change your oil and put some in a jar. First fill the jar about 1/3 full of water, and fill with some oil your drained from your truck. If the oil turns green, park the truck until you get it fixed, you will blow it up in a heartbeat. Do a compression check on all of the cylenders, if one is lower, the head gasket is toast. If you have coolant in your oil, most likly the intake manifold gasket. Sometimes it is hard to see anti-freeze in your oil, so do that trick i said earlier. It is going on of those 2 places if not leaking out: down the pipe, which a compression test will verify, or in the oil which my little oil test will verify. Otherwise sit there and let it idle and watch for leaks, and turn the heater on and watch for leaks.

 

I had a small seep where the ends are crimped on my radiator, small enough that it evaporated without dripping on the ground.you might get it hot and CLOSELY inspect the radiator,front and back.I took mine off and clamped the leaking spot tight with vise-grips.No more coolant loss.

 

Another way you can test for internal leaks is to rent a pressure tester from AutoZone and perform a pressure test on your cooling system and radiator cap. Here is a good description of this rather simple procedure:

Finding Leaks

If a visual inspection of the cooling system reveals no external coolant leaks, a pressure tester should be used to check for internal leaks. A pressure tester is nothing more than a hand pump and adapter that fits on the radiator opening. A gauge shows how much pressure is being applied to the system, and whether or not the system is holding pressure.

The cooling system should hold maximum-rated pressure [15 psi] for at least two minutes with no drop in the gauge reading. A loss of pressure would indicate an internal coolant leak, such as a bad head gasket, a hairline crack in a cylinder head or engine block, or possibly a leaky heater core.

The pressure tester also can be used to check the radiator cap. The spring inside the cap determines how much pressure the system holds before it vents into the coolant reservoir. The cap must provide a tight seal and allow coolant to be siphoned back into the radiator when the system cools down. If the cap fails to hold the rated pressure, it needs to be replaced. Leaky radiator caps are an often-overlooked cause of coolant loss and overheating.

(Source)

 

Very good advice! Same thing happened with mine!

 

I have a '96 Ranger with the 4.0L engine. I had coolant leaking from the heater control valve. The leak left mineral-like deposits on the hardware below the valve: hose couplings, the exhaust manifold, etc. You may want to look at that.

 

Happens to a lot of Ford radiators ...very common problem on any Taurus over 6-7 years old, and I've heard similar stories from other Ford car & truck owners, as well...

 

I have those deposits!!! Maybe that's where my coolant is going...

What do you guys think about Stop-Leak or something along those lines?

 

Don't use it. your just asking for trouble.

 

The heater control valve isn't expensive or hard to replace. I think that would be better than stop-leak.

Mine only leaked when the coolant was hot.

 

Go to the local dealership(I tried finding a heater control valve at the 3 auto parts stores, nobody had it) and get a heater control valve and replace it IMMEDIATELY!! I lost 90% of my coolant because of the valve(I guess 85000 miles was a good time for a radiator flush). It's easy to replace yourself and only about 25.00(crestview, FL) Hope this helps

 

i did a compression and leakage test and nada all six clynders are tip top shape. as for coolant pressure test it came back fine no leaks and it holds pressure. ware is that heater control vlave thinger located at? and how long did it take to replace?