Coolant leak driving me crazy 98 EB
 

Hi I have a 98 Eddie Bauer AWD explorer with the 5.0 engine that is driving me nuts. It seems to leak antifreeze from time to time for no reason. The strange part is it seems to be leaking from around the dual cats in front of the muffler?? I found antifreeze on the cat skid plate but see nothing above it. I hope its not a leaking head gasket but dont know what else it could be. It wont leak for weeks then it will be all over the snow about 1-2 feet behind the front wheels. It has 145k miles but I have had to change the passanger side rear plug twice in 2 years because it has become "fouled out" almost bridged at the tip. Strange part is it runs OK just seems to loose coolant once in a while Thanks for the help Jason

i had a manifold leak on my F150 that would lkea coolant slowly and set in the VEE of the motor below the alternator. When you drove up the slope on the driveway, etc, it would flow out the rear of the VEE and puddle on the ground under the transmission area... maybe??

How about a little stop leak or gasket sealer ? I dont like the gooy oily pills or the slimy mud type stuff. I have used the old reliable aluminum flakes in the small tube for small leaks and done fine. Last year the F150 had a head gasket leak and i tried the gasket sealer with good success. You can not add it to antifreeze like the aluminum flakes. You need to drain and flush and fill with clean water to do the sealer.

Thanks Steve That looks like something I might try. the explorer has a rear heater for the back seat but I see no coolant lines around the cats so it seems like it has to be comming from the exhaust out the engine Thanks Jason

I would check the freeze plugs. Sounds to me to be the reason.

Did you ever resolve this problem? I am having an identical problem with my '98 Mountaineer 5.0.

Thanks,

Jim Calvert