water leak ford cougar 1999

freddie

Forum user
Oct 12, 2010
14
0
middlsex
hello , I noticed a water leak coming from ( 1999 ford cougar ) cant clearly see where its coming from when bonnet up , but when on a ramp the wet marks and drips appear to be located around the central part under the engine , any thoughts or idea would be appreciated , thanks
 
Sounds like the water pump if its a V6 or if its the zetec engine it could be the thermostat housing as its plastic ( cheap zetecs :devilish: )
 
If you have or can borrow one of those 'black light' torches, coolant / antifreeze should glow like tonic water. Does sound like it might be A/C condensate. Otherwise sounds like pipework to the heater matrix maybe. Is the coolant level in the expansion tank dropping by a corresponding amount ?
 
Sounds like you need to look on the engine side of the firewall first. Nothing getting on the carpets inside I assume, that must be a good thing. Could it be the waterpump ? That's further forward but easy to see from the top if you remove the cover I believe. Thermostat housing just behind it. Remove the air box and you will be able to see most of the pipework...
 
Water likes to find its own path, so where it's hitting the floor could be quite a way from where it's exiting your engine. How quickly are you losing it? As in, how fast is the header tank draining down?

Water pump, thermostat housing, pipe end perished, pinhole in a pipe, (in decreasing order of likelihood). If it's very central it's unlikely to be the radiator, but check it over anyway.

Look for "witness marks", which in the case of coolant will be white and powdery, tinged with the colour of whatever coolant you're using. If it's a pinholed pipe, you may see the residue on nearby bodywork or the engine itself.
 
pinhole in a pipe
I had this in my thermostat housing, it was fine while travelling at speed (I guess because the water was going past the hole too quickly:LOL:), but as soon as you slowed down it would empty itself within a couple of miles, I remember getting off the M1 without a care in the world then by the time I got to Al's it was merrily filling the gutters of Mansfield:LOL:
 
I've seen that before too, except it was a case that as the pipe heated up the hole would seal itself. So it was fine while it was running, but in the period where it was heating up, (or cooling down but still had some pressure in the system), it would leak.

Learned some new profanity diagnosing that one.