Coolant Leak...
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: Hesperia, CA
Coolant Leak...
A while back ago I flushed out the coolant and put in some red elc, and put a billet housing on with the 203 stat. Started her up, no leaks good. Drove it, no leaks good and was like that for a couple days. Then it started leaking a little from the housing so I figure I did not put it on good enough. Later on I got a new stat o-ring and resealed the housing again with a light coat of grey silicone. No leaks on startup and test drive, and for a couple days good. Now... leaking again. I must be doing something wrong but dont know what, or its something else. The water pump. I think it might be my water pump leaking, but seems to be from the top and kinda weird. I have some pictures need some input. Much appreciated.
Hook it, I'll pull it.
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 15,037
Likes: 4
From: Grand Lake, La.
Took me 3 tries to get my billet housing to stop leaking. On the last time, I uses the red RTV and tightened the bolts down going back and forth to each bolt turning them very little at a time. No leaks now. I didn't have that much coolant coming out as you have there. You may have other problems. Clean it up and it would be easier to fine the leak.
Snowboard season cometh..
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,406
Likes: 1
From: Gulf Coast of Florida
I think the best way to find the leak would be to clean it all up so there's no leftover red anywhere, physically remove the fan, then fire it up. That fan throws the coolant everywhere making it very difficult to pinpoint the leak. Mine was leaking out the weep hole but I had coolant up top like you do. Ditch the fan for a 10min test drive and you should know exactly where to find your leak.
you can't fix stupid!
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,906
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i too am tackling this pesky little annoyance and i think i got it whipped. how tight are you tightening the housing bolts? they are supposed to be at 18 ft lbs. i know i wasnt tightening mine that tight until this last time. its actually tighter than you think it might be and in the process i broke one of my ss bolts that i had in there. thank God the break was above the housing so i just unscrewed it with my fingers and put a new one in but make sure you torque them right....
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2006
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i too am tackling this pesky little annoyance and i think i got it whipped. how tight are you tightening the housing bolts? they are supposed to be at 18 ft lbs. i know i wasnt tightening mine that tight until this last time. its actually tighter than you think it might be and in the process i broke one of my ss bolts that i had in there. thank God the break was above the housing so i just unscrewed it with my fingers and put a new one in but make sure you torque them right....
I used silicon sealer on the flange and a new oring gasket then tightened them evenly around until the flange snugged up square. Then tightened fully.
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Snowboard season cometh..
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,406
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From: Gulf Coast of Florida
I got lucky, my thermostat housing bolts came out with no problem. Want them to come out easy next time, especially if you put on the billet housing? Use Loc-tite or something similar. It will do what the name says, and lock them in. but it also helps to keep threads clean & not corroded. Yep, it helps to seal out moisture so when you go to remove them the next time, it's easier than expected.
And you can get the replacement bolts from your local IH dealer too. They're not too pricey and it's not a bad idea to have them handy, just in case.
And you can get the replacement bolts from your local IH dealer too. They're not too pricey and it's not a bad idea to have them handy, just in case.
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Joined: Jul 2006
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I got lucky, my thermostat housing bolts came out with no problem. Want them to come out easy next time, especially if you put on the billet housing? Use Loc-tite or something similar. It will do what the name says, and lock them in. but it also helps to keep threads clean & not corroded. Yep, it helps to seal out moisture so when you go to remove them the next time, it's easier than expected.
And you can get the replacement bolts from your local IH dealer too. They're not too pricey and it's not a bad idea to have them handy, just in case.
And you can get the replacement bolts from your local IH dealer too. They're not too pricey and it's not a bad idea to have them handy, just in case.
I used neverseize which also prevents corrosion and makes them easier to remove.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 175
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From: Hesperia, CA
So today drove it to work and parked it on a pretty level surface. My driveway is sloped so the truck was pointing downward. Anyways, when I got to work i popped the hood to check it out and everything was dry except in the back of the thermostat housing was a little wet. At lunch I went out and cleaned it up, came out after work and it was still dry. Came home and parked backwards so the front is up, and we will see what happens. It looks like its coming from the back side of the stat housing.
Hook it, I'll pull it.
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 15,037
Likes: 4
From: Grand Lake, La.
So today drove it to work and parked it on a pretty level surface. My driveway is sloped so the truck was pointing downward. Anyways, when I got to work i popped the hood to check it out and everything was dry except in the back of the thermostat housing was a little wet. At lunch I went out and cleaned it up, came out after work and it was still dry. Came home and parked backwards so the front is up, and we will see what happens. It looks like its coming from the back side of the stat housing.
. I also changed the factory clamp with a good SS worm gear clamp. Look at the hose too.
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 14,069
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From: Melbourne, Ky
I can't answer for the 203 thermostat, but a new one form motorcraft has the rubber gasket around the edge of the thermostat. I had a leaking housing on my 97 after replacing the water pump. I picked up a new thermostat housing and thermostat. I noticed the thermostat had the O-ring placed around the outside edge of the thermostat and they told me that it was an updated thing Ford did to help prevent leaks. The factory thermostat housings probably should be replaced when you replace the thermostat. Haven't had a problem for over a year.
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,191
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From: Blairsville,Ga
I can't answer for the 203 thermostat, but a new one form motorcraft has the rubber gasket around the edge of the thermostat. I had a leaking housing on my 97 after replacing the water pump. I picked up a new thermostat housing and thermostat. I noticed the thermostat had the O-ring placed around the outside edge of the thermostat and they told me that it was an updated thing Ford did to help prevent leaks. .
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