Taurus Coolant leak
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Taurus Coolant leak
Anyone have any amazing ways to help track down a coolant leak? My wife's car is leaking coolant like crazy; it's leaked nearly 1.5 gallons in 2 days. 97 Ford Taurus. The leak doesn't seem to be constant, so I'm not sure if it's only occurring under pressure or not, however it looks to be an external leak (judging by the rust stains on our driveway 
).
I plan to put it up on ramps or stands tomorrow and take a good look, but from a cursory examination it didn't look to be coming from the upper or lower radiator hose or the water pump (from what I could see with it still on the ground). There's so much hose-ery down there that I'm not sure what the best way is to try to trace it down. I am considering a pressure tester (one the the hand-pump models). I think they are in the sub $50 range, but I'm not sure if this is worth it. Also, I know that shops can use some sort of dye to look for things such as A/C leaks...can they do this for coolant leaks as well?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
-Adam
).I plan to put it up on ramps or stands tomorrow and take a good look, but from a cursory examination it didn't look to be coming from the upper or lower radiator hose or the water pump (from what I could see with it still on the ground). There's so much hose-ery down there that I'm not sure what the best way is to try to trace it down. I am considering a pressure tester (one the the hand-pump models). I think they are in the sub $50 range, but I'm not sure if this is worth it. Also, I know that shops can use some sort of dye to look for things such as A/C leaks...can they do this for coolant leaks as well?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
-Adam
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From: charlotte nc
I have a 97 tarus also. First place you check is the plastic resorvior. check for cracks.If you dont see where its leaking then do a pressure check or you can use a dye put into the coolant that will show where the leak starts
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Put it up on stands today. It is steadily pouring out of one of the freeze plugs. Fantastic! Anyone had any luck with getting these changed? Called around a bit and the current damage is about $600-$800, as the shops assure me the transmission must be dropped. Any info is appreciated!
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From: Connecticut
Freeze plugs rotting out on a '97 Taurus 3.0L vulcan engine is an ominous sign. It means there is a good possibility that the cooling system has been affected by a condition known as "brown coolant".
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...90&postcount=4
If your Taurus has the brown coolant condition, then IMO you ought to just unload it.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...90&postcount=4
If your Taurus has the brown coolant condition, then IMO you ought to just unload it.
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Oh well. The car won't hold coolant more than 6 hours (it will go from completely full to completely empty in this time). It's just not worth it at this point I suppose. I'm sure this is only leak one of many. One of the other freeze plugs already has one of the rubber plugs, so someone has already had some issues.
Went and got a new 07 Corolla. Time to put this Taurus out of it's misery.
On this note, I decided I'd better flush the coolant on my 02 Sport Trac (86k mi). Don't want it to have the same crap.
Went and got a new 07 Corolla. Time to put this Taurus out of it's misery.
On this note, I decided I'd better flush the coolant on my 02 Sport Trac (86k mi). Don't want it to have the same crap.
