Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Leak in the radiator

It's me again, the one with the 1996 Ford Contour with a V-6 engine. This time, it's my radiator. It started dripping fluid today after a drive on the highway. At first, I refilled with simple tap water, believing that's what I need. Unfortunately, that wasn't the answer. The drip stopped when I drove it for about ten minutes, but then the drip returned. Lucky for me, the engine didn't overheat and I was able to return home safe. My dad and I checked the tubes and as far as we can tell, there's no cracks or splits. I don't know if the radiator's shot, but trying to search for the possible split has been a pain. The cap's okay and the water loss has been a slow steady drip, but it's there and I'm concerned.

Any suggestions on what might be the problem? Please let me know and what cost might have to be paid. I appreciate the help.

go to auto zone and rent(free rental) coolant leak pressure tool...put up my credt card, the took out $99 for it and i bought it back few hours later and they credited my card... so there was no charge.(they cant just let you take it.. its like a security deposit so you will bring it back when finished.... worked for me... it also checks the rad. cap to make sure it holds pressure...its suppose to hold 14-16 lbs of pressure..mine would only hold 4 lbs and then blow out the coolant.....

...at least not according to my dad. There's a drip coming from somewhat close to the botton. The cap's not the problem. It must be one of the hoses.

If it's the radiator, you'll have the get the front end up high and remove the radiator out the bottom.. Check the lower hose on the passinger side and the coolant hose from the coolant tank to the radiator. Also check the hoses by the water pump.

Replacing that would be cheaper and easier than dealing with an entire radiator. I'm trying to get that BAT catalog info so my dad and I can figure out where we're going. So far, getting the download's been problemic. I'm updating my Adobe Reader so I can get access and hopefully get to the root of the problem before resorting to calling a specialist.

Thanks for the suggestion, eepals.

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/c9/7a/0900823d801bc97a.jsp
In my earlier reply, I should have said the coolant tank hose to the water cross over pipe, by the radiator.