After fragging 2nd transmission under 70K in my Super Duty, Ford and the local dealers basically abandoned me even though I was 4 days out of a Ford extended warranty AND Ford customer service acknowledged my over 20 NEW car purchases since '85.

A high powered dealer in California got involved and magically I get a couple offers from Ford.


The one I took was $2,000 toward any FMC product PLUS the uber-warranty.


Bought the wife an '07 MKZ. (Form Galpin Ford, the dealer that got me the "settlement")

Honestly like the gussied up Fusion a lot.....EXCEPT:


On Thanksgiving day, motor shuts off due to total coolant loss!!! Left me stranded for 2 hours on the side of the road. (understand this was within 1,000 miles of a FULL DEALER SERVICE as per the warranty we put on the car)

The failsafe mode did save the motor and the dealer claims it's a faulty overflow cap(????) that let the coolant escape.

Fast Forward to yesterday, wife calls saying car is bucking and temp needle is pegged; told her to pull off the freeway.

I drive the 45 minutes and find her, fill up the overflow, (there is no conventional radiator cap) and drive the car to the dealer.....in less than 10 minutes, the temp. gauge was pegged again.

So far it has left us stranded locally.......but we do go to SoCal on occasion where there is miles of desert between civilization.

I'm guessing coolant is escaping very slowly somewhere since there is no evidence of leaks.....pin hole in block/head gasket/head????

Also, at no time do we get a low coolant message before the shut down.


Hard to use a car that you can't trust....especially when it's your wife in it.



Will pass on info as I get it....

 

How much coolant did you have to add to get the car up and running again?

 

Interesting question..........I think once it cools down enough, it will run with no coolant. I learned that after the Thansgiving fiasco, we flat bedded the truck to my house, and then drove it on the flat bed Saturday morning.

I did bring a gallon of water with me when I met the wife, car started (actually never stopped running this time, just lost power while in fail safe mode) used a good part of the gallon.....but like stated, it pegged the temp gauge very quickly.

 

I was surprised by how little coolant modern engines utilize. I changed The intake gaskets on my wifes GM 3.8L after draining the rad and block. I got less than 7 quarts out of it.

So if you used most of the gallon, you prolly lost 50% of the coolant?

 

Talked to the service writer late in the afternoon, said the overflow was bone dry!!!

Understand that I drove it just a few miles to the dealership after putting that water in.....no visible sign of leakage, no steam from the exhaust.

They are awaiting a call back from Ford engineering.

 

Is the overflow tank plastic? (Prolly)

It may be cracked somewhere due to vibration, that was a common occurence way back when.

If cracked, the coolant can leak out and there will be no sign on the engine of a leak.

Also check those el cheapo factory heater and radiator hose clamps...one could be loose, and causing seepage.

Can you smell coolant inside the car?

Look at the one cap, how's its gasket, crinkled up?

 

I thought heater core ('95 Mustang ate 'em like candy) but no coolant smell inside car.

If the plastic overflow tank is cracked, coolant is exiting somewhere sneaky. Nothing obvious under/around car as far as puddles.


Could be hoses/clamps.....we'll see what the tech turns up.

In the meantime, Wife has choice to drive Crewcab Super Duty or Crewcab Tundra to work this morning......her parking either one makes me as nervous as a working girl in church. She drives well enough; just the parking situation at her job is not the greatest......I knew I should have popped for a back up camera for those trucks!!


Will see about a rental today.

 

Sounds like you are one more coolant problem away from an official lemon.

 

Claiming it's an intermittent stuck thermostat......they found coolant at the bottom of the overflow tank.

Crossing our fingers.

 

Does your car have a liquid cooled egr? That could be where your coolant is going, and you'll never find a trace of it either. Seen lots of trucks with that problem, but I don't know if cars have that system yet.

 

Not sure........it's the new 3.5L V6.


Just picked it up....runs fine. Modern electronics are amazing for not letting the motor implode while running so hot.


Main difference from last time this happened is that there was a check engine light. Service writer says it threw a stuck thermostat code. (thought that was interesting since yesterday he said they were waiting for Ford to call back)

The car's about 3,000 miles away from scheduled service; I axed (yes, I spell it that way on purpose) if they should go ahead and do it now since that oil has been through a couple of major heat cycles. Service writer said don't worry about it...


It's a lease, so if they're not worried, neither am I.


I did say one more time and I'm going to go for a lemon law buy back....he said he didn't blame me.

 

Get a UV light and some of the dye, Don't leave it to chance (your dealership is chances
isn't or at least seems like it) You will be ahead of the game if you can find out yourself
and inform them or fix yourself. What is the frequency that it shuts off and requires
more water/coolant mix I hope is getting put in? IF it is say 5 hours of running and it is
taking a gallon that is bad(head) if it is 30-100 hours not too bad and could be a small hole that is imitating or combining with the condensate from ac. The uv dye will show
up right away (most coolant leaks glow without dye but use it for better effect) I am
not sure if the dye will make the exhaust glow green but would be nice if it did, But a
pull of the plugs and seeing if they are glowing may show some flourescense if it is bad
enough. Run the water to coolant ratio at 60/40 or 70/30 even, more water since
it is better at transfering heat. Summit makes a replacement drain plug for the radiator
and if you run the 70/30 it would be wise to help protect the metals, It is made of zinc
and does have to be checked and scraped after so long (50,000-75,000 miles)

 

Intermittant stuck t/stat?

Hmm...I haven't heard that one in quite a spell.

If they'll let you (because warranty parts have to be returned) get the old one, stick in a pot of boiling water and see what happens.

Don't you just hate these festering problems?

btw: They found coolant in the overflow tank? What a revelation!

What else would one expect to find there besides coolant, Jimmy Hoffa?

 

I apologize, the coolant at the bottom of the overfill tank was residue on the outside of the tank.....I wasn't very clear.

In other words, they think it boils over and out of the tank.


I still have my doubts.

 

Did it shortly after the first service.....so around 6,000 miles.

It has around 11,000 now.


Now, the first episode was only around 1,000 miles or so after the service....they swear coolant was checked during the service.



So when it happens, is it a steady slow loss???

Or is it a sudden loss??


Being that there is 0 drama.......no smoke, no puking of coolant etc...I'm inlined to believe it's a slow and steady loss. BUT, no low coolant light ever comes on????


I'm not going out of my way to find the problem...shouldn't have to on a new car, if it does it again, I'm asking for a new ride.