Major coolant leak...

[99 GT Coupe]

Before I left cranberry to travel to state college I checked the coolant level was about a quarter inch under the "add coolant" level. I made the drive mostly in 5th gear low rpms, 4th gear was used on long steep hills when 5th would make the engine labor too much. When I got to state college I parked the car and let it sit for a few days before checking the coolant level. Upon viewing the side of the tank i was unable to determine the coolant level. I removed the cap and the tank was mostly dry. I added about half a gallon of coolant water mix, reinstalled the cap and drove the car for two weeks in around town low rpm 1-4th gear driving using about a tank or so of fuel at 16ish mpg. The fluid level has not changed in this time. at no time was I able to smell coolant burning, there is no puddle or fluid under the car, the underhood liner is not wet. This leads me to believe it is a high way, long term driving issue. I have checked the oil and there was no issues so far, I have not pulled the drain plug to check it this trip, the oil was changed less then 1000 miles ago.

This occured once before this winter when I recieved the "hey moron you are low on coolant" light. I added coolant and once the weather broke I flushed the rad and changed the oil. The oil was clean and dark as one would expect from 5000 mile old oil. There was no milkyness to it and it smelled fine. Since the flush, but before the oil change I have taken the car on several very long road trips from craberry to state college then down to charlottsville va. No coolant was used either on the highway drive or the around town driving, however half a quart of oil was used on the way down to virgina.

As far as I know all of the hoses in the engine bay are the ones that ford installed 9 years and almost 72xxx miles ago. they are currently spongy to the touch and I would like to replace them. I am sure that if I go to ford and bend over I can get them their but I would rather leave my butthole unmolested so does anyone know where I can pick them up for less then what would would rape me....i mean charge me for them?

I have no idea where the coolant is going and I am not sure how to find out short of pulling the motor apart...which i can not afford.

thanks for your help in advance.

[blizzard]

hmm... strange. if it's leaking there has to be evidence somewhere. dont think its the engine if your oils clean. maybe the pump? is your floor wet (tho you don't smell anything?) maybe it was just never filled up to capacity?

anyway ford racing has blue hi-miler kits for replacement :thumbsup:

[Chris00GT]

Could be a cracked intake manifold. It could be leaing into the cylinder valley, or it could be leaking coolant into the intake port on the head. The intake gaskets could also be bad. I'd start and look at the plugs to see if any have any look weird of smell like coolant.

[99 GT Coupe]

i will be making the return trip tomorrow....here is hoping all goes well

[99 GT Coupe]

car made it home fine save the rain. once she cools down ill be checking the level and seeing whats up

[quiksilver225]

mainfold cracks are notorious on the early new edge stangs w/ plastic manifolds. if not a manifold crack possibly a manifold gasket. any missfires? if theres a manifold gasket leak the coolant would most likely make its way to the plugs/packs and cause misfires. if non of the above check with a blacklight for leaks. the blacklight will cause any coolant leaks to glow and make them easy to spot. inspect all hoses, the rad, manifold, etc. also a possible thermostat problem.

[94Cobra]

I would check the dipstick to see if you have a milkshake in your crankcase. I had a coolant leak in my 94 Cobra similar to yours, but not as severe. I ended up finding out the cause was the small black overflow hose was too loose on the overflow bottle connection point. It would allow antifreeze to boil off and evaporate. I fixed it by putting a hose clamp on both sides of the hose and replacing my radiator cap. Hard to believe, but true.

[99 GT Coupe]

it seems fine now but as a precaution I changed out the rad cap...im keepin an eye on it for now. thanks for the advice if this keeps up, ill start looking into more