1997 2.5 TL, 218k

Started up the car this morning to go to work, few minutes later I saw antifreeze on drive way. The car was idling and it was leaking antifreeze in drops constantly.
The car was on for 5+ minutes and I had set the heater to 80 degree. The heater was not working but the fan was blowing cold air.
Turned the car off and drove my wife’s car to work.

Last year the radiator was replaced.


My question to the experts, is the thermostat bad? Or the radiator?

 

i had a 94 cougar and it was leaked antifreeze twice....the first time i fixed it which cost about 800 bucks i forgot what its called but they have to replace the heads and its a lot of work......i dont know if you its the same problem but its pretty expensive.....i didnt fix it the second time b/c i already had my TL......good luck

 

i think we need a little more information... there are tons of place that could be leaking coolant... it could be as simple as a hole in a radiator hose, to as complicated as a bad gasket... try to determine where the leak is coming from... if you u replaced your radiator, i doubt it will be bad already, unless you got a defect...

 

It's only leaking if teh car is on, so I think it'sa not a hole.
I hope it's something simple.
I will have to look at it this weekend.

 

A little obvious but maybe the coolant cap's o-ring is worn. Coolant wouldn't be able to get out unless the system was pressurized hence why it was leaking when on.

 

could be water pump. your heat wasn't working because the water level was so low that none was circulating through the heater core. If it is the water pump, replace the timing belt at the same time as the pump.

 

10k ago, the timing belt was replaced for the 2nd time (218k) as well as the water pump.

My wife drove the car for about 10 minutes to pick up daughter from school and she did not see any coolant leaking.
I just checked the coolant when I got home and it seems that nothing was lost. The radiator is filled up to the cap.
I will keep an eye.
Is it because of condensation this morning? It was parked out side and this morning was around 36 degrees.

 

Headgaskets!!! From your description it looks like a blown head gasket

 

BHG FTMFW!

~Cheers~

 

What is the reason for a blown head gasket?
Does it have to do with the cooling system?
The thing is. the temp gauge never went past the middle part ever?
Any suggestion, what type of mechanic I should look for?

 

head gasket is what i had on my cougar.......my neighbor fixed his reasoning was that ford engines suck and that they do this......when he finished it he told it could happen again within 20,000 miles or so...he was right i think around 18000 miles after he did it blew again.....both times leaked through the muffler when the car was on and when it was off leaked under the hood from somewhere.......good luck

 

Well, I drove the car this morning to work, 28+ miles hwy and city.
No leak and plenty of heat. The temp gauge acted normal.

I will change the thermostat this weekend just for the sake of it.

 

If the temperature gage always goes to the normal range, and has never shown hot, the thermostat is good.
Usually with a blown head gasket the car will overheat from combustion gases entering the cooling system.
Check the level at the coolant overflow bottle, it should be between add and full.
If it was filled too far (maybe newbie tech at Jiffy lube?) then the extra will come out the overfill tube and end up on the ground. It will be way above full now if this was the case. No need to worry about taking the extra out.
Otherwise, try to find the source of the leak.
Mike

 

Thanks for all the advice.

I will try to find the source of the leak first before spending the extra.
The temp gauge never exceded past middle.
I will keep an eye.

 

Ok, I got that fixed.
The lower radiator tank was leaking, I had to replace the radiator.

Thank god it was not a Head Gasket related issue.

 

Glad it's all good now.

 

Just goes to show, when something strange happens, always suspect a recently replaced part
Just because its a year old means nothing, as you have learned
Did they give you a warranty fix on the part?

I have had parts crap out 3 miles after leaving the shop oooops!

 

They did not want to replace the radiator under warranty because it was over a year.
After back and forth, they replaced it for free, I just paid for labor.

I am glad, it was not a head gasket.
If the car leaks coolant, why it's obvious that a head is bad?? Specially, if the car temp has never exceded the middle mark?

Thanks everyone for their advise.

 

I'm happy it wasn't the Head Gasket!!!! Those repairs are not fun at all!!!

 

I found out last night that the source of air pockets in my cooling system was from a small gasket where a coolant line runs to behind the block. There was fresh coolant on the back of my motor and some spray on the tranny. That and I found a leaky cam seal, too! Thank god I don't have a BHG, at least from what I just saw, but who knows, maybe it's seeping like I thought it was...

~Cheers~

 

as long as it's not a head gasket, it's a good news.
i hope the fix is not going to be that much.
good luck.