Bizarre leak location (suggestions on a post card?)

[FatHead1979]

Hi all,

After I returned home from working away all week the wife decided to tell me Friday evening that she has had a warning message about high engine temperature a couple of times through the week.  I checked the fluids 3 weeks ago so didn't expect to find the header tank was EMPTY!   So I filled up the tank to the correct level & low & behold by this morning the tank was empty again (although no engine temp warning).

I had intended on changing the oil and filter this weekend anyway so I topped up the coolant, changed the oil & filter and left the undertray off with the engine running to see if I got any puddles.  The pictures below are what I found, fluid which had an orange tinge to it dripping out of the 2 draining ports on the underbody of the car.  There weren't any puddles under the engine bay so I'm trying to work out how coolant can get into the underbody, from the engine bay.   I did notice in the 2nd photo the support bracket which is right at the back of the engine bay is also a bit wet, is there anything at the back of the engine that could leak coolant that badly?

I won't be able to get it to a garage until next Saturday so in the meantime I'm trying to get my head around what might be causing it.  (The engine runs fine, no excessive smoke etc, the oil didn't have any 'mayo' prior to me changing it).

Any suggestions will be welcomed!

[Alb]

Heater matrix or one of the pipes running to it I would guess as that is the only way for coolant  to get into the cabin I believe. Check under your carpets to check if they are wet.

[FatHead1979]

12 minutes ago, Alb said:

Heater matrix or one of the pipes running to it I would guess as that is the only way for coolant  to get into the cabin I believe. Check under your carpets to check if they are wet.

BOOM!..You are the man....Just been out to the car to check the footwells and I carbon wrapped a load of interior parts a few months ago so it didn't take much looking to see the tell tale signs of coolant leaking into the cabin.  I removed the drivers side trim & pulled the carpet back & it's immediately obvious that large amounts of coolant have been making their way under the carpet & out of the underbody drains.

Time to look in the Haynes manual to see how hard it is to get access to the matrix/pipes etc.

[Alb]

On most cars the matrix is a royal pain to get to. It's usually right up behind the dash.

[FatHead1979]

I'll have to take a closer look tomorrow but according to the Haynes manual the early build MK2s used single length steel pipes that have to be cut to remove the matrix, the newer builds have jointed pipes.

[pky]

Mine is an 05 build and has metal to the bulkhead then rubber inside to the matrix. It's a common fault that the 'o'rings fail at the joint behind the pedals. 

Had this 2 months ago, if you search the forum you will find all the info you need on a thread or two.

[FatHead1979]

5 minutes ago, pky said:

Mine is an 05 build and has metal to the bulkhead then rubber inside to the matrix. It's a common fault that the 'o'rings fail at the joint behind the pedals. 

Had this 2 months ago, if you search the forum you will find all the info you need on a thread or two.

That sounds like better news, I didn't realise it was a relatively common issue unlike a few other things we could all mention!  I'll take your advice & have a trawl through the forum.

[pky]

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/49712-mk2-16-focus-overheating/

This thread will help you. Give you an idea where to look and see if it is that.

[FatHead1979]

Just got back in from checking the upper part of the footwell and it appears to be good news.  I've got the jointed pipes so no cutting involved, there is no evidence of coolant above the joint in the pipe so it looks like the matrix is fine & it's the seal/collar that seals the pipe joint that is at fault.  The 'collar' that's leaking is that loose it can be rotated, the other one is rock solid. (Panic over!)

Thanks to Alb in the 1st instance for starting me on the right path & pky for adding some useful extra detail.

I'll post back once I get chance to try fixing it (I'm working away through the week so if I can't find somewhere tomorrow to source the part it will be weekend before I can update.

Thanks again

[Alb]

Good luck mate.

[pky]

Remember to use the original ford orings the part number is on that thread I linked to. I had one leaking. Replace both orings and both collars as if ones gone the other might go sooner rather than later.

i ordered 4 orings (2 spare took them back) and two collars/clamp (part 1454337) . 

I took it to a garage to do and they did it in half hour or so.