Please Help. My 2011 Ford Territory Is Losing Coolant

Lfzslg on 14/08/2018 - 23:13
Last edited 15/08/2018 - 08:51 by 1 other user

Hi everyone, I am a first time user, I bought a 2011 Territory in February.

Then I found my car is losing coolant in March. In recent months I need to add water constantly. It loses about 300-400ml coolant every 200KMS or 3-4 hours driving. But it seems not lose any if just idling or driving a short distance like 3 or 5 KMS.

There are some white spots under the thermostat housing and sometimes I also saw a few water drips under it. Then I had the thermostat housing gasket and O-ring replaced. But there is still a same leak, even not got better at all. The mechanic said it may be a internal leak.

I noticed sometimes a little bit slight white smoke and water drips coming from tailpipe for just a few minutes when I start the engine in the morning or a wet day. And they usually stop coming out after the engine warms up.

Also I can see some white and red spots like mess or dirt on the inside wall of overflow tank, but there is no bubbles in the overflow tank when the engine is running.

And inside the oil filler cap, there is something dark in a paste like the unguent, but the engine oil is not milky but nice clear and clean from the dipstick.

Besides, there is no any other visible leak source can be found, also no visible water on the gound of my garage. The mechanic said the engine may need to be partially disassembled to find the problem.

I am so worried about a cracked engine or a blown head gasket which is really costly to repiar. But the engine is never overheating, the temperature gauge never goes to upper of the middle line, and the car seems still powerful. I am confused.

Base on the detail I provide above, what problem do you think it is? How likely is it that my car has a cracked engine or a blown head gasket?

Thank you so much for viewing. Looking forward to your reply.

Automotive Car Coolant Ford SUV

Comments

  • JimmyF on 14/08/2018 - 23:23

    what problem do you think it is?

    No idea, you do know they have these places you can take your car and people who are trained and know what these things are will be able to advise you.

    hint take it to a mechanic and they'll give you an answer.

    • Nugs on 15/08/2018 - 06:31
      +4

      OP has taken to a mechanic…..

      maybe try another mechanic given this one appears to be guessing.

      .

      • Euphemistic on 15/08/2018 - 08:17
        -1

        All mechanics guess. Some are better at it than others.

      • JimmyF on 15/08/2018 - 09:18
        -3

        yeah missed that bit, wall of text, needed a tldr section

      • HighAndDry on 15/08/2018 - 09:37
        +5

        Honestly, if a mechanic who's physically taken a look at the car can't figure it out, I'm not rating the chances of random strangers going off of a written description.

      • picklewizard on 15/08/2018 - 10:16
        +2

        Leak down test and coolant pressure test.

        This will tell you where it's leaking. If your mechanic hasn't done this then he's useless.

  • Some Human on 14/08/2018 - 23:30
    +3

    Only needed to read the first line of your post to diagnose the problem.
    You bought a Territory.

    • buckster on 15/08/2018 - 07:26
      +5

      Better than a craptiva

    • picklewizard on 15/08/2018 - 10:19

      Are you basing this on anything factual?

      I had one for years. It chewed fuel and they were known to have some suspension issues in the earlier models, but the engines are ROCK SOLID (they're the inline 6's that REGULARLY hit 1m+ kms in taxis with only a new head or two!)

      They're well built, just not very modern in terms of technology. I wouldn't buy one again - only because I couldn't justify the fuel cost!

    • JIMB0 on 15/08/2018 - 10:22
      +2

      If op looks at the front/rear they will find the cause of the problem has been circled.

  • Belv on 14/08/2018 - 23:31
    +2

    It could be your radiator that has been rusted out or been dinted losing coolent through there or could be the piping from tank to radiator

    • mskeggs on 15/08/2018 - 08:39

      A reliable mechanic will pressure test the radiator.
      A replacement with after market parts is $500ish if that is the issue.

  • pegaxs on 15/08/2018 - 06:48
    +1

    Look for coolant stains around the engine. That is the best tell tale sign. Check the water pump area, there is a little hole on the underside of it that leaks if the pump is worn out.

    The other thing is, do not over fill the coolant. We had a customer coming into work and complaining about weird coolant loss. They would fill it up to the top and after a week it wodrop to a certain level and not drop any more. Found out they were over filling it and as it expanded, it was just blowing off the excess. Not saying that is happening here, but it is possible.

  • redfox1200 on 15/08/2018 - 06:49
    +1

    squeeze all your pipes and see if they feel soft or crack

  • donbot on 15/08/2018 - 08:08
    +1

    Sounds like its a problem when the system becomes heated and pressurised. Could be a split hose/small crack anywhere in the cooling system.

  • Mrbean007 on 15/08/2018 - 08:18

    Maybe a blown head gasket check your cars oil to see if it's milky.

  • Baysew on 15/08/2018 - 08:52

    Could be an internal leak and engine may need to be partially disassembled to find the problem.

  • KingJuf on 15/08/2018 - 08:58
    +2

    Could be something simple like your water pump, this will usually only lose water when you are driving if its a small leak as the pump is operating. If its your water pump I cant see it being a huge cost. I dont know why ur mechanic is saying they need to dissemble it first but I wouldnt over think it. Drips on the thermostat housing also could indicate its coming from your water pump. A mechanic should be able to run a pressure test to try and spot a leak as well.

    • KingJuf on 15/08/2018 - 09:10

      Take it to a second mechanic for another opinion, as mentioned check your oil from dip stick or beneath oil cap to see if it looks milky. Water drips from tail pipe and small amounts of white smoke in the morning or a wet day is really normal. My money is on it being a water pump leak though as your cars about 7yrs old and a pump is a common thing to fail/leak.

  • woodwa on 15/08/2018 - 09:38
    +1

    Head Gasket.. we had the same issue with our old prado.. I spent a lot of time and money getting diofferent mechanics to look at ours as the coolant loss was so minimal.

    three options
    -wreckers put a repuorposed engine from another vehicle in.. (depending on the rarity of the engine… the price varies.. being a ford donk it may only cost $1500)(my old prado they were quoting $6-8,000)(BTW don't believe wreckers saying its refurbished.. only engine re builders do this)
    -rebuild engine(typicaly in the $5-8,000 range)
    -You may be able to clog it with Chemi Weld or Bars leaks.. This is quiet dodgy.. Clogs the engine a little and the problem may raise it's head only weeks later again($15)

    in the end with the Prado we cloged it with chemiweld.. worked a treat until i changed cars at the stealership..

    • FiDad on 15/08/2018 - 12:21

      Please elaborate about this changing car at stealership. Sounds like a great hack

  • pantsparty on 15/08/2018 - 11:18
    +3

    I think you need to take it to a better mechanic

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 15/08/2018 - 11:57
    +3

    I have conducted extensive online examination of your car and conclude the problem is a broken gearbox.

    • JIMB0 on 15/08/2018 - 16:27
      +1

      I agree. The coolant is escaping into the gearbox via the transmission cooler in the radiator. Common problem on these cars. Hard to check as they don't have a dipstick for the transmission.

  • hashtagbargain on 15/08/2018 - 12:07

    Hi OP, I've had a similar issue of losing coolant before, but my case was due to a hole in the radiator. I think it happened when a stone was lifted off an unsealed road by the truck ahead of me. It hit my radiator and I in the end I had to get it replaced.

    • woodwa on 15/08/2018 - 13:07

      I'm still sticking to head gasket: The key that it was mentioned was there is white smoke and moisture coming out the exhaust.

  • ShannonN on 15/08/2018 - 13:20
    +1

    Look up Ford i6 milkshake problem

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 21/08/2018 - 15:16
      +1

      Ford milkshakes brings all the cars back to the yard. I can fix you but I'd have to charge.

  • carlJack on 15/08/2018 - 13:27

    My car was leaking coolant. Turned out to be water pump.

  • yoonibear on 15/08/2018 - 13:43

    Get a second opinion from another mechanic or ask the guys over at www.fordforums.com.au - they have a few Territory owners that might be able to help confirm what the mechanics have said

  • trex on 15/08/2018 - 15:35
    +1

    If the leak is not major, it could be fixed by products like this

    • fzslg on 17/08/2018 - 22:10

      I am worried it will clog some other parts of coolant system.

  • fzslg on 17/08/2018 - 18:21
    +1

    Thank you everyone. The mechanic did a pressure test and he said the coolant system can hold pressure. Just a very little coolant coming out around thermostat housing, but so much less than the volume of coolant loss. There must be another leak source, but we could't find, so the mechanic guesses the engine block might be cracked and coolant goes straight to exhaust. And the coolant does not leak to the gearbox because a transmission service was done last week, the transmission oil was not milky. I think I will go to the FORD SERVICE, thanks for your reply.

    • pegaxs on 17/08/2018 - 19:30

      Huh? You need a new mechanic…

      A cracked engine block would not leak coolant into the exhaust. The exhaust manifold is connected to the heads, not the block. If a block was cracked, you would see coolant in the oil or coolant stains on the side of the block,

      As for the transmission, unless your transmission cooler is part of the radiator, there is no reason to even look at the transmission…

      Please, for the love of god, take it to a real mechanic and not the morons you have been taking it to.

      • fzslg on 17/08/2018 - 21:39

        He said the block or the cylinder may be cracked, so engine need to be disassembled to do final test. But I think at least some more test like checking all spark plugs or putting UV dye should be done before disassembling. Also I did the engine oil change last month, the previous oil did not look milky but just a little dark.

        • woodwa on 20/08/2018 - 09:18

          If leak is minor the milkyness may never come as the moisture boils/evaoprates out of the oil through the exhast. the darkness if exsssive could be from the moisture at the top of the cylinder near plug.. if your sparkplugs are realy clean it may also be a sign of being steam cleaned.. that being said i'm no mechanic..

      • brendanm on 22/08/2018 - 16:18
        +1

        Correct about the block. The trans on these cars is cooled by engine coolant, and is very common for them to fail and pump coolant into the trans.

        Op, does your model still have the octopus looking heater hoses under the inlet manifold? These were problematic and later changed to remove the plastic octopus.

        Edit - also get the radiator cap tested, if this isn't holding pressure it will pump coolant out as you drive, won't show up in a pressure test as it will have been removed.

  • fzslg on 28/09/2018 - 11:49
    +1

    Finally, it is an internal leak. No.1 spark plug is little bit rusty, and after head was removed, I saw No.1 cylinder chamber is cleaner. It should be the head gasket, but the mechanic said head still needs to be tested to see if it is cracked or warped. Also I ask mechanic to change timing chain and water pump by the way, almost no additional labour cost. Thank all of you for suggestions and support.

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