Ford Fusion V6 Sport Forum banner

Significant Coolant Leak

4K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  Walleballr 
#1 ·
Alright, so around two weeks ago I was cleaning the car with my dad ahead of a local car show coming up the next day. So while under the hood, we notice the coolant tank shows that it's around half full. No worries right, we just fill it up and go on with our day. The next day after the meet and beating on it a little bit with some friends, I check the level again just to be safe. Empty. Just a few little collections of coolant at the bottom of the tank. At this point, something is obviously wrong, but the car has yet to overheat, and there is no real telling what's happening. (In retrospect, I could have been more observant considering what I thought was just condensation dripping from the bottom of the car was probably coolant) Fill it up once again, take it out for a short drive for school. Just from going to school, which is a 15 or so minute drive, it's already empty. No overheating though. Drive back home and decide to just leave it now. At this point, I've gone through almost a gallon of coolant thinking maybe some was still getting to the radiator. Eventually we find a small drip from what seems like a plastic piece hanging from under the car where it all seems to be collecting and dripping from slowly.
Automotive tire Tire Road surface Asphalt Automotive exterior

The plastic piece has been hanging a little bit like that for awhile now and had never had a problem with it before.
From how it looks, I'm thinking I might have broken a hose since the leak seems to be a bit away from both the coolant tank and radiator, so hopefully it won't be too expensive. Has this happened to anyone else in terms of a general coolant leak from a hose? Have an appointment the 15th and looking to prepare myself for both how much it might be and how much longer I'm gonna be without driving it. Thanks in advance.
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
Just needs pressured tested, easy to find a leak when your loosing that much.
 
#6 ·
Been crossing my fingers that it's just a minor leak. I had heard the coolant behind the dash as many have said before which is a sign of poor pressure in the system. Also tried to depressurize the tank on a hot engine to see if any coolant would come through from the radiator and it just screwed right off with no pressure being released.
 
#3 ·
Like @Skipe said, I'd recommend taking it in and having it checked. This is the kind of thing that can be either a huge problem or not really bad at all. But even if it's minor, it could turn major fast if your engine is coolant starved. So I'd bring it in.

You getting any codes? If coolant were intruding into a cylinder I'd expect codes, most likely misfire codes and probably others as well. This sounds like it might just be a simple leak in a hose from your coolant reservoir to the engine, and if so that should be very minor and easy to fix.
 
#7 ·
Believe it or not, there have been absolutely no problems, other than of course the coolant. By this I mean I checked codes, there are no unusual smells or signs that anything else has gone wrong. Not even a slight indication that it was overheating and I was driving it hard the day of the car meet too. Maybe something with the thermostat as well? But the performance didn't seem to be any different either. The only thing was the smell of coolant that literally had covered the entire front undercarriage of my car. From the front wheels, to suspension, to probably within those plastic shields under the engine as well. Gonna give it a good rinse when its all set and I get it back.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Alright, so around two weeks ago I was cleaning the car with my dad ahead of a local car show coming up the next day. So while under the hood, we notice the coolant tank shows that it's around half full. No worries right, we just fill it up and go on with our day. The next day after the meet and beating on it a little bit with some friends, I check the level again just to be safe. Empty. Just a few little collections of coolant at the bottom of the tank. At this point, something is obviously wrong, but the car has yet to overheat, and there is no real telling what's happening. (In retrospect, I could have been more observant considering what I thought was just condensation dripping from the bottom of the car was probably coolant) Fill it up once again, take it out for a short drive for school. Just from going to school, which is a 15 or so minute drive, it's already empty. No overheating though. Drive back home and decide to just leave it now. At this point, I've gone through almost a gallon of coolant thinking maybe some was still getting to the radiator. Eventually we find a small drip from what seems like a plastic piece hanging from under the car where it all seems to be collecting and dripping from slowly.
The plastic piece has been hanging a little bit like that for awhile now and had never had a problem with it before.
From how it looks, I'm thinking I might have broken a hose since the leak seems to be a bit away from both the coolant tank and radiator, so hopefully it won't be too expensive. Has this happened to anyone else in terms of a general coolant leak from a hose? Have an appointment the 15th and looking to prepare myself for both how much it might be and how much longer I'm gonna be without driving it. Thanks in advance.
HI Ricky. Sorry to hear about your problems. As others have stated, it could be something as simple as a leaking hose or broken fitting. However, you should have it checked immediately, and limit your driving until then.

An additional bit of advice, in addition to all the other good advice have received: Although it seems to be an external leak, immediately check your oil for coolant intrusion. If you see any signs of coolant intrusion, do not drive the car. Have it towed to the Dealer/shop.

Keep us updated and good luck.
 
#8 ·
HI Ricky. Sorry to hear about your problems. As others have stated, it could be something as simple as a leaking hose or broken fitting. However, you should have it checked immediately, and limit your driving until them.

An additional bit of advice, in addition to all the other good advice have received: Although it seems to be an external leak, immediately check your oil for coolant intrusion. If you see any signs of coolant intrusion, do not drive the car. Have it towed to the Dealer/shop.

Keep us updated and good luck.
That was the first thing I checked when I noticed the severity of the leak and it seems to be fine. Like I said in my other response, the car had not even overheated while running on what I can only assume was an empty tank of coolant. That's obviously not good though, and I really have no explanation for that and the fact that it still runs as if it's fine. Regardless, it's been sitting for around a week now in the garage with the front bumper off as well because I have the carbon splitter on and the Ford dealership gave me some trouble at my last appointment for not wanted to touch the front bumper because of it. Fortunately, I have another vehicle to use, but I sure have been missing the Fusion.
 
#12 ·
I wonder if you thermostat cover is loose? It sits on the bottom side of the engine.
 
#13 ·
Thermo is over on the passenger side between the heads under the motor mount, there's another plastic pipe over above the trans with the other radiator hose on it, plus a few other things. You have feeds and returns for both turbos at each head, then there are a few 1/4 inch nylon tubes running from the passenger side over to the other side above the intake.
 
#14 ·
Alright, so around two weeks ago I was cleaning the car with my dad ahead of a local car show coming up the next day. So while under the hood, we notice the coolant tank shows that it's around half full. No worries right, we just fill it up and go on with our day. The next day after the meet and beating on it a little bit with some friends, I check the level again just to be safe. Empty. Just a few little collections of coolant at the bottom of the tank. At this point, something is obviously wrong, but the car has yet to overheat, and there is no real telling what's happening. (In retrospect, I could have been more observant considering what I thought was just condensation dripping from the bottom of the car was probably coolant) Fill it up once again, take it out for a short drive for school. Just from going to school, which is a 15 or so minute drive, it's already empty. No overheating though. Drive back home and decide to just leave it now. At this point, I've gone through almost a gallon of coolant thinking maybe some was still getting to the radiator. Eventually we find a small drip from what seems like a plastic piece hanging from under the car where it all seems to be collecting and dripping from slowly. View attachment 30270
The plastic piece has been hanging a little bit like that for awhile now and had never had a problem with it before.
From how it looks, I'm thinking I might have broken a hose since the leak seems to be a bit away from both the coolant tank and radiator, so hopefully it won't be too expensive. Has this happened to anyone else in terms of a general coolant leak from a hose? Have an appointment the 15th and looking to prepare myself for both how much it might be and how much longer I'm gonna be without driving it. Thanks in advance.
Sounds exactly like what my ‘17 FFS did a few months back. Turned out to be a cracked hose fitting that was covered under extended warranty at 65K miles but the hose of course was considered a wear and tear item that I had to pay for. Mine never overheated either but the coolant kept disappearing. You may be getting the “waterfall” sound behind the dash while driving, caused by trapped air in the system - if you hear that you’ve probably got a leak somewhere.
 
#15 ·
Exactly that and I couldn’t have explained it better myself. Already told me they’re gonna have to perform a pressure test costing 145$, even though there’s no pressure. Also way past my warranty anyways. If you don’t mind me asking, do you recall how much it cost by the end and how long it took to get it back?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top