Hi all new here . Anyone help idea coolant smell low fluid in expansion tank

Hi folks,
So over the last few weeks I have been smelling coolant faintly. Expansion tank looses fluid no visible leaks no milky cap no water on dip stick no running issues no over heating. So today I got a loaner pressure test kit. Pumped it to 15 psi I look all around then I see coolant between oil pan and trans.. middle of the car. So only thing I can think of is that hose that runs under the intake . Then slowly drips out when driving is why I only smell it faintly at stops etc. Anyone else have this issue
07 gt . 4.6 3v

Sorry if I posted on wrong place or did anything wrong I'm a newbie here . Lol and am old fart

It's is most likely the coolant pipe under the intake manifold. Get a light and look down between the intake manifold runners at your engine block valley. Is is stained with coolant? There is a weep hole in the back of the valley where it will drip into the exact spot you described above.

The coolant pipe connections under the intake manifold are o-ring sealed and the o-rings wear out.

Some people including myself cut and sectioned the pipe and joined everything together with heater hose and worm clamps. Did mine a few years ago. Hasn't leaked since.

It is a simple procedure. Most time consuming part is removing intake manifold and fuel rails. So if you're going to plan for the time to perform the coolant leak fix, might as well perform any other upgrades or fixes while you're in there. CMCV delete plates, or maybe just give them a good cleaning? Stuff like that.

I posted a pic of my heater hose fix a few years ago on here, but I can't find it. Sorry.

Appreciate it . Looked like it was dripping from the oil pan at first I was like what the heck then see the bell housing and between the trans. Been bugging the hell out of me for weeks I could smell that faint smell . Lol so on to that

Mikefinzie said:

Appreciate it . Looked like it was dripping from the oil pan at first I was like what the heck then see the bell housing and between the trans. Been bugging the hell out of me for weeks I could smell that faint smell . Lol so on to that

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I smelled the same faint smell in mine for quite some time, mostly on hard acceleration and after cranking it up after a brief stop. There is a drain hole at the back of the intake valley that lets the coolant drain out, so there won’t be a puddle. I replaced the lines a few years ago and haven’t had a problem since.


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Cool definitely looking in that direction Thursday thankyou

I too had this leak. But I was able to replace the brittle plastic part that broke without removing the intake and just removing the alternator (already had it off for other reasons).

If you dont mind a mild case of bloody knuckles it is possible to do this without removing all the crap on top of the motor.

<- this was my inspiration for being lazy and doing it the other way

Lol . Ya I'm just gonna pull it replace my intake gaskets and the whole motorcraft part I have one already on hand so just gonna take my time do it so hopefully don't ever have to do it again lol .

Impressed that:
a, you are aware of your car's developing issue.
b, fixing the issue before it overheats and cooks the engine.

So it begins lol starting on this This morning

Yup time for some work.. lol

Yup as suspected.. was pissing out at the elbow

Yup elbow leak

Mikefinzie said:

So it begins lol starting on this This morning

View attachment 83141

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What's the part number for the hose?

Ford's is and that's the one I would use
Ford # 7r3z-18b402
Dorman is like 626-626
The difference in price is 18 bucks and the dorman one looked cheaper
Don't forget these little suckers ( need 2) & rather take the time replace em now than do this all over again ..lol nobody had em had to make a trip back to Ford
See pic

I'm sure the new Ford part will work and seal things up properly. The reason I went with the heater hose and worm clamp alternative is because almost every supercharger kit for the 3 valve requires you do the exact same thing during install. So I kinda figured it would work. Besides, we all grew up working on our older various pushrod motors with long heater hoses from the water pump to the firewall right?? And those things never leaked right? And if the hose got old and did leak we just replaced it with another $3 section of hose in about 5 minutes. Old-school stuff still works, lol.

The hell with new modern plastic that cracks and $10 o-rings. Just another way for the manufacturer to get gauranteed income after the sale of the car.

By the way after I cut/sectioned the pipe I used a brake line flaring tool on the coolant pipe to put a nice bead on it so it would seal better with the heater hose.

Last thing. MMR makes this thingy if you want more piece of mind. I didn't use it.

MMR Block to Heater Core Adapter Nipple Ford Modular 4.6 / 5.4 [444903] - $41.99 : Modular Motorsports, Home of the worlds fastest Fords (modularmotorsportsracing.com)

Ya was thinking all that as well trust me I'm almost 60 so I hear ya .. I can't stand plastic intakes and plastic elbows and all that crap .. funny too this goofy ass president thinks that electric cars are where we need to be . 90% of the car is plastic made with petroleum products .. lol . Not to go off subject ... I just wanted to go the way the factory did it . This time .. but if it happens again " I be kickin' it old skool " lol