Coolant Leak/Boiling/Steaming

[Dannnyg]

New here! Will say right off the bat car knowledge isn't my strongest suit but i've been trying to tackle my latest problem. I've got a 2004 Ford Fusion.

About a week ago when parking up i noticed a puddle under my car (under the driver foot well it seemed to be coming from). Enough liquid to start trickling down the street. After looking under the hood i noticed my coolant tank was now near empty. So i re-filled it, with a coolant/distilled water mix and made my journey back. On the journey back i noticed a little bit of stream coming from under my bonnet and when i got home i realised my coolant tank was nearly empty again.

I re-filled it and sat on my drive revving my car, trying to heat it up and i noticed that my coolant tank was boiling, whistling, giving off steam and sure enough after a point water/coolant started spluttering out of the cap area. I thought it might be a dud cap so i bought a replacement one.

After replacing that i decided to re-fill it and make the short half mile trip to the petrol station to test it, i noticed some steam again, and this time i felt like i could HEAR bubbling coming from the tank. I also felt like the power steering got heavy turning corners, not sure how/if thats related but has never happened before. Sure enough when i got back the coolant tank was completely EMPTY again.

I've checked my oil, there is no milky white coloration in the oil etc. There is no oil in the coolant tank either. I am wondering if replacing the actual coolant tank is the next step. It holds liquid absolutely fine when the engine is off, level doesn't deplete so wondering if its an expansion issue.

Any suggestions/diagnosis would be greatly appreciated as like i said, relatively clueless when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks guys.

[Paulkp]

This seems to be a common problem on Fiesta/Fusions.  Does your temperature gauge give any indication of overheating ?  The system is designed to run at pressure, so will appear to boil at normal air pressure.  There are a number of threads on here, mainly in Fiesta area.

We have a 2007 Fiesta and a 2010 Fusion both with 1.6 petrol engine, and I have recently replaced expansion tanks on both due to visible cracking and swelling. They are only about £20.00, two hose connections and one bolt, so not difficult to change, and it can be done without losing any coolant (or any more coolant in your case).  Taking out offside headlamp makes it slightly easier.

[Sergiu29]

Hi, I got a 2004 ford fusion 1.4 Petrol 16v. i replaced the expansion tank and the cap but it keeps dumping the coolant, i was thinking it was the thermostat but after replacing it nothing changed, any clue about whats wrong?Hi, I got a 2004 ford fusion 1.4 Petrol 16v. i replaced the expansion tank and the cap but it keeps dumping the coolant, i was thinking it was the thermostat but after replacing it nothing changed, any clue about whats wrong?