Ford - Explorer :: 2002 - Antifreeze Smell - Coolant Leak
Jan 12, 2014
Son in law just bought a 2002 Explorer with the 4.0. Looks in pretty good shape and overall I don't think he got a bad deal. However....after a test drive I noticed an antifreeze smell. Got to poking around and it appears to be leaking directly below the thermostat housing and that whole manifold for lack of a better word. It's a bugger to get in there and really see what's leaking...doesn't appear to be any hoses but given the angle can't be really sure. I'm new to the Explorer and the 4.0. Is this anything peculiar to the Explorer/4.0? A known part problem? Something far worse?
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I am the original owner of the 02 Explorer with 157K miles and recently started smelling antifreeze when I pull into the garage and turn the truck off. I had the water pump replaced less then 10K miles ago. Sometimes the overflow will expel some antifreeze but that has stopped. I checked and there are no leaks, that I can see. Needle on the temperature gauge reads right in the middle. What to check for? Could it be a radiator cap causing too much pressure?
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The last couple of days I thought I smelled antifreeze and I had to add about a pint of coolant to the reservoir. So I looked all around today and can't see anything leaking. Nothing on the floor. I suspected the water pump but looked pretty dry from what I could see. Thing is if its the pump, its still under warranty for a few months and 7,000 miles so want to find that pretty quick. Radiator is fairly new also from hitting a coon. Any tips? Not sure if a pressure test would detect a small or intermittent leak in the pump though.
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The oil cooler mounted above the oil filter on my 2002 Explorer 4.0L V6 has a major coolant leak on one of the external line/hose bib elbow. I've googled Explorer oil coolers and I've searched this forum with no luck. Can you bypass it without any problems mechanically or electronically (throwing error codes)? I have already purchased a new cooler and the lower oil cooler line. I'm just wondering if I should return the parts and bypass it. If I go through the replacement, I noticed the cooler is mounted by a pass through threaded tube with a hex head molded into it for fastening/loosening purposes. What size hex head socket it is?
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I've got some dripping of antifreeze on my 2000 Explorer. I figured maybe I'd try a recommended "stop-leak" product...
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Noticed this leak today a few days after parking the Ex (V10) -- not a daily driver. Crawled under the Ex and checked under the hood but I could not find an obvious sign of where the leak is coming from.
I checked the coolant plastic reservoir and its on MIN -- I believe that where it should be when the engine is cold. I noticed that these trucks do not have a cap directly on the radiator. That plastic reservoir, is that where I would top off the coolant?
Is there a spot on these engines where it would commonly leak? Should I try to put some dye on the coolant and/or possibly pressure test it?
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116000 miles 2005 sport trac, antifreeze leak possibly coming from the engine. I haven't been able to pinpoint the leak.
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This is my second vw I've owned and now I own a 20th ae gti. Just the other day I got out of my car and smelled antifreeze. So I popped the hood and realized there was no coolant in the reservoir.. So I went to my dealership, put some in... well that obviously isn't my problem, because the next day it was gone. Again. This is on sunday so I can't do anything about it. I made an appt to drop it off tonight @ my volkswagen dealer. It's not leaking, not smoking or burning, and the temp gauge isn't moving at all.
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Our Elantra never overheats or shows hot on the gauge but every couple months it is a little low on coolant. When I shut it down I sometimes get the sweet antifreeze smell. I see no leaks. Never a spot on the driveway. Just need to add a little. Car has about 80,000 miles. as a matter of annual maintenance I drain and fill the coolant and trans fluid once a year. Hoses are in good shape. The oil is clean and shows now sign of contamination. We Love this little car.
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My 2005 chevy silverado 1/2 ton seems to be low a quart of coolant every 2-3 months. First alerted to this during a oil change, check it monthly and need to add a little to the reservoir every other month. The temp gauge never goes over half way. I do smell antifreeze after I shut the truck down after a significant drive, but only if I walk to the front of the vehicle.
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I have a 2011 F350 diesel 6.7l. I have had this smell outside the front of the vehicle for months and so I took it finally to a dealer to solve the leak problem. They spent hours on it and eventually found a leak in a tube at the rear of the engine under the intake manifold and supposedly solved my problem. That was 2 weeks ago and I have driven about 300km.(180 miles) but the smell is still noticeable. How long should I wait before it goes away or should I return it to the dealer for further work?
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My 2002 Explorer is having a problem. It started running rough suddenly and when I had it checked the # 6 coil pack on the spark plug was bad. We replaced it and it still ran rough. Found fluid on top of spark plug. At first thought it was oil due to the color but later figured out it was antifreeze. We do have a cracked thermostat housing that we tried to seal up a few months ago. Doesn't seem to be coming from there. This is my only reliable transportation.
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I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty (2WD), 149k miles, that has been using a lot of antifreeze lately. I am using a full 50/50 gallon mix about once a week. I do not have any visible leaks. My heater no longer works and I was not sure if that may be a cause. The check engine light is on, but has been since I purchased the vehicle in 2012. I thought it may be a gasket, but do not see any white smoke from the exhaust. I am not hearing any strange sounds, so I am perplexed.
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Brand new 2012 LS460 with one Dealer oil change:
This one started with stronger smell on passenger side but is now strong hot antifreeze smell when you open either front door. Not a drop on floor, no gauge movement from normal on hot 2-3hr trips - Only had one service six months ago at dealer just because it was to sit all year. I pulled all top engine covers off to inspect and found not one thing wet or suspect.
Ready to put on rack to look underneath (below firewall I suppose) just not sure at what, heater core connections? But a head gasket would be 1st guess? What could this be?
SAME as previous post (but no ID) from a 2008L owner: "I only have about 3,500 miles on my car, every now and then I get a faint smell of possibly antifreeze when I open either of the front doors after a good drive. It's very strange because if I try to locate the source, the smell goes away. Once I exit the car and sniff around, there is no smell in the wheel wells, in the front grill, or under the hood. I then try to sniff under the car just under the front doors, and there is no smell!"
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I have an 02 passat with about 85K and the other day my windows would not clear up and a faint smell of antifreeze. also when temp control is in cool and you move the temp control to warm steam comes out of vents. I need to know if i could change this myself and if any procedure on how to do it.
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02 Camry with 202k. Recently my car has been blowing cold air only when it's on heat. Then it will start to overheat causing me to stop and pull over and I see little smoke come out. Also it has been leaking antifreeze and when I make sharp turns or come to a stop I can hear water or something behind the dash...
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I have an 01 supercab. 5.4 Triton 135k. I have begun to smell coolant the last couple of days. Have seen nothing leaking and truck doesn't run hot.
Will investigate more this weekend. Where to start looking for this. It has to be leaking somewhere. Windows don't fog and the smell is there all the time. I live in florida so don't use much heat.
Not the heater core. Heat works fine and no smell from the vents.
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I have 2010 explorer. I have to add almost 200 ml of coolant in my reservoir every week. there is no sign of a leak from anywhere even at thermostat manifold as well. but one question, when the car is running for at least 1 hour, the coolant level at reservoir shall be around FULL HOT Level and when car cools down overnight, it should be at around FULL COLD LEVEL. is it right? if yes, then my level remains little more than FULL COLD when the car is hot and when it cools over night, level goes little down than FULL COLD. like this every week I have to add almost 200 ml of coolant. radiator CAP is okay and I replaced it few months back. no apparent sign of leak. any clue what can be reason?
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I've been smelling coolant for a few weeks with no apparent leak. Walk out today, small puddle under truck. Coolant running/drip along seam of engine and trans right in front of downpipe on passenger side. Even with a mirror I can't see up far enough. Looking from top is impossible. What could be leaking up there? Turbo?
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I looked at a 99 with a 5.0 and noticed a puddle on the driver side, a little below and inboard of the power steering pump but outboard of the water pump. The puddle was higher than the water pump weep hole and it was in a racetrack oval shape. I was unable to see where the leak originated and I couldn't tell exactly what part/housing the puddle was sitting on. Obviously, the leak had originated from above.
I don't think it was coming from the upper radiator hose as I remember the upper radiator hose being more on the passenger side and I don't recall any heater hoses in the area. The only things that came to mind as the potential leak source were the intake manifold and the sensors on it. Are the 5.0 intakes prone to coolant leaks? Other than hoses, what else would be leaking coolant on the driver side?
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I've got a 2001 Explorer 4.0L with around 160,000 miles on it. Just noticed this morning it has developed a coolant leak. It's dripping off the rear of the oil pan and appears to be coming from the passenger side somewhere above the oil filter. Without tearing a bunch of stuff apart, I can't really see for sure where its coming from. Are there any common issues with this? I'm hoping its not a head gasket...
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