I just bought(2 hours ago!) a 01 f-350 4x4 v-10. I already have a 04 f-250 v10 and love it ,well after about 40 miles stoped for some dinner and noticed a sweet smell that tells of a coolant leak, couldnt see much in parking lot,so ate and went home. checked it out at home and found small drops of coolant on left leafspring and some on the plastic boot on the steering shaft and what looks to be some old stuff dried on the motor mount.Has anyone else had a leak in this area?any tips on finding it?I will take this truck back if they dont help at the dealership.I bought it to replace my 94 f-350 welding rig and dont want to have to fix this crap.

 

Hmm, maybe coming from the 'oil cooler' doohickey that the oil filter screws into, or maybe the block drain plugs on the driver side are a bit loose??

ON EDIT: I read "driveshaft" instead of what you said "steering shaft". Hmm, have you checked all the clamps and hoses? Just today I noticed that my upper radiator hose has a little leak right at the thermostat housing, it looks to be caused by the clamp rather than the hose.

 

Could be a lot of things, head, heater hose etc. As said if the dealer can not pin point it or worse if they can and it is something expensive then take it back, they may be trying to dump their problem off on you.

 

When winter rolls in, temps drop, which can make hose connections leak.Usually just tightening everything up will fix it.But, i'm not saying that's your problem,but it could be.

 

If you bought it from a dealership I would most certainly be on the phone bending someone's ear. It would be very unlikely for a dealership to not help you out after just 24 hours. I don't know how you paid for it but it normally takes a few days for all the financing to get through so you do have a little bit of wiggle room. If you financed it yourself you may be able to have your bank or credit union put some pressure on the dealership. Alot of people think there is an automatic three day right of rescension on cars from lots, sadly in most ststes this isn't true. But it may be in your state, so do a little homework so if push comes to shove you know what you are legally entitled to. Arm yourself with as much info as you can, then go back with both barrels blazing. You can always back-pedal a bit if you offend someone at a dealership who was going to help you anyway. But chances are if you don't squeak, the wheel won't get greased. Good luck, it's probably a loose clamp somewhere, but you don't want to live with the possibility that it's something major after just having bought your truck, Ken ($20 to Car-Fax may be a real eye-opener too, it will show if that rig has had that, or any other problem prior to you owning it)

 

Fraud is a big deal! All you would have to do is show the leak was there and they tried to hide it and you can walk away. Again that is why I said if the repair was going to be expensive then you can bet some one was wanting to dump it. Now that does not mean they were as V10 said it could be a simple loose conection.

 

I called this am and talked to the salesman and he was very helpful(for now).I dont think its a big deal,just dont want to have to fix it right after buying it,thats why I bought this 01 instead of dumping money into my 94.Thanks for the help.

 

I can understand not wanting to be without my shiny, new V-10 pick-up. But buddy roe if that problem is a serious one then please part with it for a time to make sure it's not something that you will regret later. I worked at big dealerships before I became a commodities trader. Every dime that it is spent on the rig before and after the sale normally comes out of the commissions, so make sure you push them hard enough to get them to say "yes we will fix it" so get it back ASAP. Even now in my business it's always easier to get new orders than have to fix an old problem by throwing money at it. And the car business has no customer loyalty anyway so the chances that you will ever be back to that dealer is slim. The car business is a "find em, grind em, send em out the door with something never to be seen again" business. Stay on them, have your leak checked out. It may be worth having someone else at least look at it, just to make sure the dealership is not passing the buck, and you also can use some documentation for down the road if anything wigs, take care and good luck, Ken