[bmwe30]

Hey all,
First post to the forums... I've read almost all the coolant topics for the 1997 taurus' but want to get a firm opinion on my problems...
It's for my father's car and I feel somewhat bad as he recently spend a lot of cash rebuilding the tranny at my request because i didn't think it was a good idea to sell the car..
We've got a bit of a coolant leak when the car is stopped. This only happened after a while of driving and it looks as though it came from the top of the overflow container on the passenger side, but, it may have been spraying up from the hoses leading into the container. I'm not too sure but there was definately coolant on the top of the container...
There was no stream of coolant from the car and any short drives after this problem did not lead to any leaks, it seems to only occur once the car is turned off and after a while of driving.
There was an issue with the heat as it was not working for a while, a guy at the ford dealer topped up the coolant because it was low and now it seems to work fine.
Does this sound like it is just an issue with the coolant cap or resevoir or could it be a problem with the heater core? I'm not sure when it was last flushed but the coolant looks quite green with no sign of rust in it..
Any idea what to do first?
Thanks!
-Paul

 

[EDIII]

http://www.tauruscarclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10266

This might help, don't know if you looked at this one. Others might be able to give you more suggestions...

 

[trojan]

it is probable the over flow tank. since they have changed the design since most had problems. mine only leaks in the winter. i have no clue why but it does. they usually get very tiny cracks and when the presure gets high enough it starts to force some coolent out of the overflow tank...i would take a carful look at it and replace it if it looks questionable...they arent that much from ford..

 

[bmwe30]

thanks, how do i replace the tank? Just unplug everything and swap it or do i have to drain out all the coolant?

 

[trojan]

you could get by just un pluging all the lines but make sure you have some kind of bucket to catch come of the coolant..but why your at it i would drain it all out, flush it, replace the tank and fill with good stuff..just use the already mixed 50/50 stuff..i drained mine today infact...hope that fixes your problem

 

[bmwe30]

Thanks for the help,
My dad took the car to crappy tire to get it pressure tested and they've come back saying it's the water pump...
Would it be possible for the pump to only leak when the car was really hot? I'd think that if there was a leak it would happen all the time, not just after a long drive. This also seems wierd to me as when i looked at it after leaking the first time there was definately coolant on the overflow bottle and the surrounding areas, would a leak in the water pump spray coolant that far?
Thanks!

 

[shoz123]

The tanks are $25 on ebay

 

[bmwe30]

Originally posted by SHOZ123@Oct 29 2004, 11:49 PM
The tanks are $25 on ebay

thanks, anything else i can do to test the water pump to make sure that's not it?

 

[trojan]

i would just go head and replace the tank if your looks questionable...i would rather buy a overflow tank then a water pump, and the design of the overflow tanks were so bad they redesigned them because they kept cracking..

 

[shoz123]

If you know the tank is leaking you need to fix this. Then go to AutoZone and get the cooling system pressure checked. This will show you if you still have a leak.