Coolant disappears at a rate of 1/2 gallon per week when driven only about 100 miles. Never see any puddles under vehicle so I guess it's leaking when driving and under pressure. Don't see any steam coming from the tailpipe either. Would appreciate any helpful ideas on what to look for to find and correct the source of the leak--getting kind of expensive adding 50/50 mix of anti-freeze/water weekly. Thanks for any help anyone can give me.

 

Check any and all connections. I had one hose that was bad when I first got mine, and it would leak out while I was driving. It could be a bad radiator cap, although normally you see steam when that happens. Your expansion tank hose may not be sealed right too. If it is loose, when the coolant heats up and overflows into the tank, it may leak out and then when it cools, theres no coolant left to pull back into the radiator. That normally shows obvious signs of a leak though. If you fill up your radiator and your overflow tank never has coolant in it, I would check that. I hope this helps. If I think of anything else Ill let you know.

 

Thanks for the input--any ideas that I can try will be helpful--will let you know if any of your suggestions fix the problem.

 

To the ranger guys with 2,5 motors I can make a stroker kit to 2.7 plus .interested

call 1 877 412 2815

 

It could be the heating control valve, I ran into the same problem and couldn't figure out where the loss of coolant was coming from. I ended up replacing the water pump but I still loss coolant. Not until a fishing trip did my engine overheat and I found out that the heating control valve had cracked (it being plastic) and replaced the unit for about $20.

Some pics for reference:

 

Sometimes you just need to look long and hard at all of the tubes and connections. Might not be an easier solution than that.

 

When my heater control valve failed I knew about it instantly. I cud not hardly see from all the smoke. This may be a dumb question but have you checked the oil and the transmission fluid for coolant yet. The radiator has a trans cooler inside it that uses the coolant to cool the trans fluid and you cud be leaking small amounts of coolant into the trans coolant threw a crack. A nether question. Are you building any coolant pressure. The overflow tank is built into the cooling system. It doesn't just sickle coolant threw vacuum. If there's no pressure it's going somewhere.

 

Thanks GreenRanger, never did know what the name of that part was and thought I was going to have to find it in a junkyard! Mine has been cracked and leaking now for almost a year. Leaving in a few minutes to go get a new one!

Good pictures!

Thanks!

 

Just replaced the heater control valve...I'm going to keep driving it till something goes...I suspect a leak into a cyl...5 speed manual

 

is there any steam coming out the tail pipe?

 

No problem, glad to be of help!

 

I once fixed mine with some duct tape and a pen. Worked for a while.