"Normal" Coolant Evaporation

[Bigred00]

Hello All!
I hope y'all are having a great day.

2015 Non-PP, Houston, Texas area with about 70k on the clock. Following severe maint. schedule and the only thing extra I've done so far is throw a GearHead tune on it. So as y'all are abundantly aware it's freakin' hot in SE Texas in the summer and it's been especially hot this summer. But I just had to add about 4-6oz of coolant to the overflow reservoir to get it to the cold fill line (yes the engine is cold) and I added about the same amount 4k miles ago. But I have a 2013 FoST as well and it's been driven in the same conditions and it's good to go. I cannot find any leaks (quick sweep above and below the car), there seems to be no water in the oil, the exhaust doesn't smell sweet, so I'm wondering if y'all are losing the same amount, none at all? I'm trying to gauge how concerned I should be at this point and how much searching I need to be conducting to find an issue.

 

[zoomlater]

Hello All!
I hope y'all are having a great day.

2015 Non-PP, Houston, Texas area with about 70k on the clock. Following severe maint. schedule and the only thing extra I've done so far is throw a GearHead tune on it. So as y'all are abundantly aware it's freakin' hot in SE Texas in the summer and it's been especially hot this summer. But I just had to add about 4-6oz of coolant to the overflow reservoir to get it to the cold fill line (yes the engine is cold) and I added about the same amount 4k miles ago. But I have a 2013 FoST as well and it's been driven in the same conditions and it's good to go. I cannot find any leaks (quick sweep above and below the car), there seems to be no water in the oil, the exhaust doesn't smell sweet, so I'm wondering if y'all are losing the same amount, none at all? I'm trying to gauge how concerned I should be at this point and how much searching I need to be conducting to find an issue.

You may want to post this in the Gen 4 section for more visibility. This section is for the early Gen 1\2 SHOs. The mods may move it for you

 

[Bigred00]

You may want to post this in the Gen 4 section for more visibility. This section is for the early Gen 1\2 SHOs. The mods may move it for you

Dang, sorry y'all I'll try and move it now.

 

[Texas Marauder]

No, it is not normal to have to add coolant. From the water pump coolant can leak into the engine oil or drip on the ground. Coolant can leak from any hose or connection, heater core or radiator. Check the weep hole on the block for evidence of leakage. Send an oil sample to Blackstone Labs to check for coolant in oil. You obviously have a small leak somewhere. Try to find it before it gets worse. Also, use the correct coolant, Motorcraft Yellow.



For 3.5L Ti-VCT, 3.7L Ti-VCT and 3.5L GTDI engines, the coolant pump is located under the engine front cover, mounted to the block. A weep hole is provided on the front left side of the engine behind the generator, adjacent to a 13.5 mm (0.531 in) cup plug. The cup plug and weep hole create a reservoir for normal coolant seepage and evaporation. Every coolant pump has some leakage past the dynamic mechanical seal. Dampness and crusting around the weep hole is acceptable and an expected result of normal engine operation. Address any coolant spray or leakage amounts large enough to puddle.

 

[kryptto]

I wish to add the reservoir bottles can crack and spring a leak. Check the area around that as well as the weep hole and oil as directed by @Texas Marauder

 

[Bigred00]

Hello All,

Thank you for the quick and detailed suggestions. I will get started on this today.

 

[Bigred00]

I appreciate y'alls help. After closer inspection based on the suggestions I was a able to quickly identify it was a water pump issue and since I do not have the patience to tear down the front of the engine in my life right now I brought it up to the local shop I use and they are currently in the process of replacing it. Thanks again y'all. I also went ahead and contacted Blackstone Laboratories and have an oil testng kit on the way, figure it wouldn't hurt to do an analysis.

 

[Texas Marauder]

Glad you got it figured out. At a minimum have the timing chain replaced while they are in there.

 

[Highway Star]

Make sure you only use distilled water. We've found besides the inherent design flaws of an internal water pump that non distilled water contains minerals which aggravate the gasket situation. This with the correct coolant has remedied the situation in our small fleet of police interceptors.

 

[Highway Star]

I appreciate y'alls help. After closer inspection based on the suggestions I was a able to quickly identify it was a water pump issue and since I do not have the patience to tear down the front of the engine in my life right now I brought it up to the local shop I use and they are currently in the process of replacing it. Thanks again y'all. I also went ahead and contacted Blackstone Laboratories and have an oil testng kit on the way, figure it wouldn't hurt to do an analysis.

Make sure they use distilled water only. That crust around the gasket is mineral build up.