2001 Ford Taurus SES Radiator Leak

Hi,

I've posted here before about transmission issues and got some good help so I think I'll try my luck again. I was driving a couple days ago and my heater was blowing cold air after sufficient warming time. I had just put a gallon of anti-freeze in about a week or two prior. I checked the reservoir and it was empty so I poured a new bottle in a couple days ago.

I got home after driving the first time with the new coolant and went to drive again in about an hour. A large wet spot had formed in the driveway and there was a rapid intermittent drip coming from the bottom of the passenger side underneath the car. I would say the drip was near the middle of the tire but I did not crawl under because of the wet spot. I've had the same issue (not sure if the leak was in the same spot) and took it to a repair shop to replace the coolant tank. I'd like to solve this without taking it in - does anyone have advice? I don't have access to any specialized tools but I can buy wrenches, pliers whatever else I might need.

Thank you!

You'll of course want to confirm where the leak is coming from. Since your car has only the pressure cap on the reservoir and there's no way to top off the radiator if the reservoir is leaking, driving the car very far would not be recommended, even though it is quite cold here in Cedar Rapids currently.

From your description of the leak, it does sound like it could be consistent with a leaking reservoir. Once confirmed, the reservoir is fairly straight forward to replace. There are two hoses to remove, then a nut and bolt, and the tank should come out.

I'm basing the above off of the factory service manual steps since I've not actually replaced the tank in a 2001, but the diagrams and steps in the manual don't send up any flags. Since I'm also in Cedar Rapids, if you wanted me to take a look at it some evening I could probably arrange that.

-Rod

I've changed this tank on my 2001 Taurus when the coolant level sensor went. It is fairly straight foward:smooch:

nice....just wanted to drop my 2 cents for those strap for cash....i once saw a guy fix his leaking coolant resevoir with this putty called quick steel...dont know how much it cost but im sure its cheaper then the whole resevoir....im not recommending it because i dont know the side effects ...plus i dont know much about cars...just what i can absorb off of shorod lol.....but, in the end it got the job done for pennies...still runs his car like that....im just saying i would deffinately put some of that until i can change for a new resevouir..