Thread: coolant leaks and fun

08 base 197 k miles now. developed a coolant leak that i found to be coming out of the water pump so replaced that. burped the system, ran great then found out i was losing coolant about 400 miles later only now quite a bit quick. coolant elbows, which were replaced a while ago, were leaking. changed them out. pushin coolant out pretty good still- then noticed quite a bit of pressure in system.
going into catastrophic mode i went to head gasket issue BUT- im not getting clouds of white smoke. and not water in the oil. im not sure but id think the car would throw a code for O2 sensor, running lean, or something to that effect but nope- no codes.
getting out of catastrophic mode and thinking some, i topped off the system and drove with the rad cap loose. it doesnt appear im losing coolant as much.
could all of this just be a failed rad cap? i was thinking of pulling the plugs to see if any show signs of burning water but no clouds of white smoke throw me off
gonna be a couple of days before i can get onto this but thought id pick brains beforehand. reads like head gaskets are rather rare on the series 3 engines and really hope thats not the issue.
any thoughts are greatly appreciated

Originally Posted by FordMan77

Before you go off the deep end on all this, what proceedure did you do to bleed the air from the cooling system? These engines are known to get air pockets in them and do strange things. You would have to try hard to get a 3800 to eat a head gasket. Reading through all what has been done it seems like a lot of air would have been introduced into the system along the way. I would start off by making sure it is bled 100% and go from there. Could have the cap tested too if it's suspect.

they do strange things with the cooling system alone!LOLOL when i did the WP, i got smart and flushed the system BEFORE changing the pump. ran a lot through the system. after water pump it took 2 3/4 gallons. idled it with rad cap loose to let it burb a bit then tightened up rad cap. ran it a bit. **** if off let it cool. pulled burpin plug from tstat housing topped off rad.
catastrophic mode i think is a familty trait.
im really thinkin cap but hope i didnt blow a gasket somewhere. i can run it with the cap loose and dont loose any. tightent the cap and massive pressure buildup and loss of coolant. i could hear pressurised air coming out down near the WP and was wondering if maybe it was comin out the weephole in the wp? if theres too much pressure could/would coolant blow out there?
i havent gotten it into the shop yet. we got a cold snap and my knees dont like this cold.

Originally Posted by FordMan77

When was the last time the thermostat was replaced? Maybe it has junk in it too causing it to stick closed. Depending on the condition of the cooling system the rad could be plugged up too. And no, I haven't seen a waterpump leak due to overpressure. Just a bad pump seal or gasket.

Did you briefly open up the screw several times on the thermostat housing while it was running at full temp? It should produce a steady stream of coolant. If it's spitting and hissing then it's still got air in the system. I've had to have the car jacked up in front to get the air out before on a stubborn one.

new when i did WP. flushed system before replacing Wp but could have broke crud loose after.
ran it to the store yesterday in 12 degree weather. catastophic mode kicked in again. coulds of smoke comin out the tail pipe. but then notice other vehicles must have blown head gaskets,too! LOLOLOL
im gonna be pullin it into the shop tomorrow to start investigating.