I have a 1994 Ford Aerostar w/ a 3 Lt. engine. There is a severe coolant leak whose source is coming from above and behind the AC compressor. The leak is not visible from above the engine without removing several parts. I would like to know from someone familiar with these engines what possible sources there are in this vicinity.
TIA
It may be an external head gasket leak.
Tester
So, remove the interfering parts and pressure check the cooling system; or, find someone who has the pressure tester and will do it for you…
I’ve had the vehicle to a radiator shop and the system was pressure tested with the engine cold. No leak was found which is a bit confounding. The leak does not seem to appear until the engine warms up.
Bill E… Did you ever get to the bottom of this?
My mother-in-law (hold the jokes, she’s a nice lady) has the same problem with her 94 Aerostar (same engine too). It’s had a problem now for about two years… We just had a mechanic replace the heater hoses (Ford part only I’m told - $250 for two hoses!). That solved the rather recent and obvious leaks, but as far as I can tell the coolant is STILL disappearing! The pressure test, unless performed when the engine is at operating temperature is pretty much useless so far as I’m concerned. The mechanic has performed said test several times and found nothing.
I fear that the van’s engine is mixing it with booze and drinking the stuff…(silly way of saying something similar to what ‘Tester’ did). I’m not finding much on the web when I search for this problem, so perhaps you and my ma-in-law are the unlucky ones…???