Engine Coolant Reservoir
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Joined: Jul 2003
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Engine Coolant Reservoir
Greetings,
I have a '93 Ranger, XLT model, w/a V6 3.0. Here is the problem. I bought it used a few months ago and everything was fine then. (as is usually the case) Actually, there were no problems until about two weeks ago. I noticed that the needle on the temperature gauge started running high, as high as 3/4ths and sometimes higher. It had never gone past halfway before, so when I reached my destination, I parked the truck and opened the hood. There was coolant spewing forth from the upper top corner of the radiator. It literally looked like Old Faithful. Since my truck has 168,000 miles on it, I figured that I would make an investment and get a brand new radiator.
After getting the new radiator, everything was fine, and still is, except for one little thing. I noticed after driving for about a half-hour, that the coolant level in the reservoir, had dropped down to about two-thirds. After another day or so of a regular amount of driving, the coolant level now only has about a level about a 1/4 of an inch deep.
I checked the radiator itself, (after it cooled down of course!) and the coolant level is fine. I've checked for leaks on all the hoses, around the top and bottom of the radiator, and also around the coolant reservoir. There is no sign of fluid anywhere and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Also, when I check under the truck after letting it sit for a while or overnight, there is no evidence at all of a leak. Does anyone have any idea what could be happeing? Thanks.
I have a '93 Ranger, XLT model, w/a V6 3.0. Here is the problem. I bought it used a few months ago and everything was fine then. (as is usually the case) Actually, there were no problems until about two weeks ago. I noticed that the needle on the temperature gauge started running high, as high as 3/4ths and sometimes higher. It had never gone past halfway before, so when I reached my destination, I parked the truck and opened the hood. There was coolant spewing forth from the upper top corner of the radiator. It literally looked like Old Faithful. Since my truck has 168,000 miles on it, I figured that I would make an investment and get a brand new radiator.
After getting the new radiator, everything was fine, and still is, except for one little thing. I noticed after driving for about a half-hour, that the coolant level in the reservoir, had dropped down to about two-thirds. After another day or so of a regular amount of driving, the coolant level now only has about a level about a 1/4 of an inch deep.
I checked the radiator itself, (after it cooled down of course!) and the coolant level is fine. I've checked for leaks on all the hoses, around the top and bottom of the radiator, and also around the coolant reservoir. There is no sign of fluid anywhere and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Also, when I check under the truck after letting it sit for a while or overnight, there is no evidence at all of a leak. Does anyone have any idea what could be happeing? Thanks.
Tuned
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 295
Likes: 1
From: poughkeepsie ny
As long as the level in your radiator is fine over the long haul, I dont think there is any need to worry about varying levels in the reserviour. The level in the reservior is dependent upon how hot the coolant temperature in general gets. The hotter the coolant gets, the more it expands, thus the more that will spill over into the reserviour.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,979
Likes: 2
From: central ohio
have you checked the oil level? if it is going up chances are your coolant is getting into the crankcase, if not a head gasket, you may want to check the intake gasket, ive never had a ford v-6 apart , but i had a astro (gm) with a leaking intake gasket on a v-6.
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