5.0L Coolant Level Saga
08-23-2014, 10:11 PM
#1
5.0L Coolant Level Saga
I started smelling coolant when getting out of my 2012 F150 XL with the 5.0L motor. Currently the truck has 24000 miles on it. I opened the hood and could see a slight spray of coolant on some plastic shield below the main pulley near the bottom front of the motor. I took it into my local dealer and they said that the water pump was leaking and replaced it under warranty. It looked to me at the time, like a job well done.
Now that I have explained what was going on, here is what happened next. I picked up my truck from the dealer on a Friday afternoon and drove to work. Temperature gauge showed a normal reading with the needle at half way. My truck was then parked on level ground for about nine hours. When I got off work at midnight the first thing I did was to open the hood and check the coolant expansion reservoir. To my surprise the reservoir was empty. I then used my flashlight and saw no puddles of coolant under the truck. Took the truck back to the dealer the next morning and they had a guy put more coolant into the reservoir. He filled it up between the cold fill min and max lines. On Sunday I could see it was low again so I was back to the dealer on Monday afternoon. Again they added more coolant to the reservoir, this time about ¾ up between the min and max cold fill lines. I explained that because the truck was at operating temperature he should fill it past the top cold fill line. Dealer would not listen and off I went to work.
That night after the truck sat for 5 hours on level ground the coolant level only showed about 1/8” up in the translucent half of the coolant reservoir. This was still low and about 3/8” below the min cold fill line. I checked it again the next night after the truck sat for close to 10 hours and once again the reservoir was empty. Every time I checked the coolant level I rechecked under my truck and still, no puddles found. That night I even checked my oil to make sure that no coolant was getting into that part of the motor. Only oil was seen on the dip stick when I checked it. Took it back to the dealer the next day and explained everything to one of the mechanics on duty. He then went and got a jug of coolant and said; “How high do you want it?” I told him ½” above the max cold fill line. That night after the truck had sat again for over nine hours I checked the coolant level and found it center of the cold fill markings.It took a long time but I finally have the correct coolant level.
When a water pump is changed on any vehicle along with adding more coolant the air needs to be purged or burped out of the coolant system. I saw that after my water pump had been replaced, the temperature dial for the heater had been turned up to max. This told me that the technician who worked on my truck did attempt to purge the air out of the coolant system. Has anyone else with the newer 5.0L coyote motor run into this kind of a problem? Perhaps I need to get future services done at another dealership, that I hope can do the job right the first time.
I realize that I could have purchased the correct coolant from the dealer and topped off everything myself, but why should I? This truck is still under the 3 year bumper to bumper warranty. I should not have to spend a penny for warranty issues. Looks like I need to spend a lot of my time to make sure the job is done right.
Now that I have explained what was going on, here is what happened next. I picked up my truck from the dealer on a Friday afternoon and drove to work. Temperature gauge showed a normal reading with the needle at half way. My truck was then parked on level ground for about nine hours. When I got off work at midnight the first thing I did was to open the hood and check the coolant expansion reservoir. To my surprise the reservoir was empty. I then used my flashlight and saw no puddles of coolant under the truck. Took the truck back to the dealer the next morning and they had a guy put more coolant into the reservoir. He filled it up between the cold fill min and max lines. On Sunday I could see it was low again so I was back to the dealer on Monday afternoon. Again they added more coolant to the reservoir, this time about ¾ up between the min and max cold fill lines. I explained that because the truck was at operating temperature he should fill it past the top cold fill line. Dealer would not listen and off I went to work.
That night after the truck sat for 5 hours on level ground the coolant level only showed about 1/8” up in the translucent half of the coolant reservoir. This was still low and about 3/8” below the min cold fill line. I checked it again the next night after the truck sat for close to 10 hours and once again the reservoir was empty. Every time I checked the coolant level I rechecked under my truck and still, no puddles found. That night I even checked my oil to make sure that no coolant was getting into that part of the motor. Only oil was seen on the dip stick when I checked it. Took it back to the dealer the next day and explained everything to one of the mechanics on duty. He then went and got a jug of coolant and said; “How high do you want it?” I told him ½” above the max cold fill line. That night after the truck had sat again for over nine hours I checked the coolant level and found it center of the cold fill markings.It took a long time but I finally have the correct coolant level.
When a water pump is changed on any vehicle along with adding more coolant the air needs to be purged or burped out of the coolant system. I saw that after my water pump had been replaced, the temperature dial for the heater had been turned up to max. This told me that the technician who worked on my truck did attempt to purge the air out of the coolant system. Has anyone else with the newer 5.0L coyote motor run into this kind of a problem? Perhaps I need to get future services done at another dealership, that I hope can do the job right the first time.
I realize that I could have purchased the correct coolant from the dealer and topped off everything myself, but why should I? This truck is still under the 3 year bumper to bumper warranty. I should not have to spend a penny for warranty issues. Looks like I need to spend a lot of my time to make sure the job is done right.
08-23-2014, 11:01 PM
#2
Lucky Number 7
Sounds like a leaking head gasket. Wouldn't leak externally and would drain the reservoir... Any over pressuring/coolant water spots near the reservoir? I am more familiar with 6.0L powerstroke issues, but you never know...