5.0 coolant loss

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Jul 14, 2023 | 08:48 PM

Eng53ine

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5th Wheeling

Joined: Sep 2022

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5.0 coolant loss

I have a 2016 with the 5.0, I bought in August of 2022 with 46k miles on it. When I bought it hadn’t had a service inspection or been checked into inventory at the lot yet. I noticed the coolant was low but still quite a bit over the minimum mark. The other day I changed the oil and noticed it was quite a bit below the mark. I bought a gallon of coolant, and topped it off ( took about a quart I’d say to put it just above the minimum mark. I made about a 400- 500 mile trip, it is now below the mark with about 2” of coolant in the degas bottle. The only wet spot I’ve noticed, is on the thermostat housing. It doesn’t look like it would leak enough to be noticeable. When I changed the oil I noticed the had stuff flung across it. All the plastic fittings appear to be dry and oil and coolant are clean.
Truck now has a little over 66k on it, and couldn’t find any active leaks while running or not while the engine was at operating temperature, will look again when it’s cold.
I was just wondering if there was any known issues other then the plastic “T” fitting. I’ve also never noticed any spots under it either.

thanks in advance

Jul 14, 2023 | 08:49 PM

Eng53ine

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5th Wheeling

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Jul 14, 2023 | 09:31 PM

dlburch

Cargo Master

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 2,311

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From: Kansas

my vote is for water pump. I started smelling coolant after driving...I didn't get around to checking it out and withing a couple of weeks the water pump bearing completely failed and dumped all the coolant (2016 5.0 with 65,000 miles)...

Jul 14, 2023 | 09:59 PM

Eng53ine

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5th Wheeling

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Quote:

Originally Posted by dlburch

I will have to look at it closer, do they still have the weep hole that starts to seep on the bottom like the older stuff? That could explain the stuff on the the filter, assuming it’s dripping out the bottom onto the belt. Definitely quite the bummer at 60k, but what can you do.

Thanks for your reply bc

Last edited by Eng53ine; Jul 14, 2023 at 10:01 PM. Reason: Added more

Jul 22, 2023 | 10:31 PM

Eng53ine

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5th Wheeling

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Well it appears all signs are pointing to the water pump.

Jul 23, 2023 | 09:42 AM

ManFordman2

Mountain Pass

Joined: Sep 2021

Posts: 210

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From: Rincon GA

I have/had a similar issue with my 2017 5.0. I could hear the cooling fan running at a it's highest speed possible when I stopped and was at idle. I found that the coolant was below min in the overflow/filler tank. I put 3 quarts in to fill to max level. Afterwards, I saw coolant down at the bottom of the engine and thought it must have come from the water pump, however, I good not see a weep hole to verify. After, maybe 500 miles I added another quart. That was 61838 miles. I added another quart at 62732 miles. I'm at 64264 miles now and haven't added any more coolant. Still watching closely and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Jul 23, 2023 | 10:21 AM

Eng53ine

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5th Wheeling

Joined: Sep 2022

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Other than what’s being flung by the belt, the only signs of coolant is a damp spot on the pump right behind the pulley. The truck has coverage on it, so I’m going to call the company and a local dealer to see if they’ll cover it.