SeanPwnery
Click here to upgrade
- Last seen
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2018
- Thunderbird Year
- 2003
Today - coincidentally I made the final payment on my 2003 bird - by and large it's been a great driver. When I purchased it, the odometer read 42k which is why the dealership I picked the car up from was willing to finance. Fast forward 4 years and I'm right at 70k. About two years ago the thermostat housing decided that the cast plug on the drivers side didn't want to be there any more. This was during the bomb cyclone freeze over Houston, and I was driving 15 miles away just to get gas for my generator. I was on the interstate, accelerated a bit briskly because I was tired of looking for gas and finally finding an open station when suddenly the back of my car looked like a mosquito fogger - when it was sub 20 degrees outside. Not even a quarter-mile later the temp gauge was pegged out and I was pulled over. Long story short, I ended up replacing the thermostat housing (the entire assembly), all the hoses up front, new clamps, and new water pump. I even did a video over on Youtube to share the experience with people in case anyone needed it for reference material.
Anyway - a couple weeks ago I began to notice a coolant smell after keying off in the middle of a hot Houston summer. This smell was only occasionally - say once every 3-4 days and usually there was nothing dripping under the car. Then it began to drip near the harmonic balancer and oil cooler up at the front of the engine (instant thought was the T-stat housing failed because it was one of the plastic-fantastics on Amazon). I pulled the T-stat housing bit, and noticed the O-ring was a little janky so I ended up replacing the O-ring and giving the whole area it sits in a squirt of RTV as a precaution. Again, the coolant leak seemed schizophrenic - it was completely inconsistent. Sometimes I'd hear a groaning sound near the passenger side cylinder head when it would leak that almost sounded like some kind of electric solenoid, but could never actually spot it.
Yesterday as I drove to work, I forgot to check the coolant level (which I've been having to top off now every 4-5 days). About a mile from work the dash beeped away, the needle stopped just short of the red mark, and the engine bogged down something horrible. Turns out the ECU has a limp mode, pulled all the timing out, fuel pressure I assume and refused to let me run more than about 1200 rpm. I made it to work (still never reached the red mark on the gauge - just short of it), keyed off and allowed it to cool down naturally the entire day. The car took 2 gallons of water and my co-worker began noticing water dripped from the front *and* the back near the bellhousing. I too noticed the drips at the back several days prior as well and decided to keep an eye on it. Here's where things get strange - I drove the 14 miles home without the A/C on, the windows down (it was kinda nice outside so it was tolerable) and not only did the car remain perfectly fine on the gauge, but when I arrived home, not a single drop under the car. This morning I checked the coolant level and it's right where I left it before heading home yesterday from work. I've tried looking for "engine cooling diagrams" for the *rear* of the engine in case there are hose assemblies I simply don't see, and can't seem to find anything concrete.
So, question - what gives? I don't really know where to begin looking at this point. There's not much visually to see at the back of the engine once the cover is off, and I can't seem to see where the bleeder hose goes to from the other end (not the end near the bottle). The water pump I replaced did have the metal gasket, and the only hoses I can see that I didn't replace are the heater valve hoses that run down the passenger "framerail" area but the leaks aren't anywhere near those. I'm a bit at my wits end with this one. Also, I checked the oil before setting off, no water in the oil or vice-versa - I believe the HG's are ok.
Edit : I'm beginning to think maybe it's part number 11 (since it appears to run from the front to the rear of the engine) - but I'm not 100% sure where that is. Is this running under the intake towards the rear to the bleeder?
Anyway - a couple weeks ago I began to notice a coolant smell after keying off in the middle of a hot Houston summer. This smell was only occasionally - say once every 3-4 days and usually there was nothing dripping under the car. Then it began to drip near the harmonic balancer and oil cooler up at the front of the engine (instant thought was the T-stat housing failed because it was one of the plastic-fantastics on Amazon). I pulled the T-stat housing bit, and noticed the O-ring was a little janky so I ended up replacing the O-ring and giving the whole area it sits in a squirt of RTV as a precaution. Again, the coolant leak seemed schizophrenic - it was completely inconsistent. Sometimes I'd hear a groaning sound near the passenger side cylinder head when it would leak that almost sounded like some kind of electric solenoid, but could never actually spot it.
Yesterday as I drove to work, I forgot to check the coolant level (which I've been having to top off now every 4-5 days). About a mile from work the dash beeped away, the needle stopped just short of the red mark, and the engine bogged down something horrible. Turns out the ECU has a limp mode, pulled all the timing out, fuel pressure I assume and refused to let me run more than about 1200 rpm. I made it to work (still never reached the red mark on the gauge - just short of it), keyed off and allowed it to cool down naturally the entire day. The car took 2 gallons of water and my co-worker began noticing water dripped from the front *and* the back near the bellhousing. I too noticed the drips at the back several days prior as well and decided to keep an eye on it. Here's where things get strange - I drove the 14 miles home without the A/C on, the windows down (it was kinda nice outside so it was tolerable) and not only did the car remain perfectly fine on the gauge, but when I arrived home, not a single drop under the car. This morning I checked the coolant level and it's right where I left it before heading home yesterday from work. I've tried looking for "engine cooling diagrams" for the *rear* of the engine in case there are hose assemblies I simply don't see, and can't seem to find anything concrete.
So, question - what gives? I don't really know where to begin looking at this point. There's not much visually to see at the back of the engine once the cover is off, and I can't seem to see where the bleeder hose goes to from the other end (not the end near the bottle). The water pump I replaced did have the metal gasket, and the only hoses I can see that I didn't replace are the heater valve hoses that run down the passenger "framerail" area but the leaks aren't anywhere near those. I'm a bit at my wits end with this one. Also, I checked the oil before setting off, no water in the oil or vice-versa - I believe the HG's are ok.
Edit : I'm beginning to think maybe it's part number 11 (since it appears to run from the front to the rear of the engine) - but I'm not 100% sure where that is. Is this running under the intake towards the rear to the bleeder?
Attachments
Last edited:
