Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance coolant leak / thermostat housing

ok I know that there is coolant leaking from some place around the thermostat housing, also there is some oil in the coolant but I am pretty sure it is from the leaky valve cover. the leak drips to the bell housing and runs down some of the webbing then over the trans.

the bottom temp sensor is wet with coolant but it isn't running down the wires. also we cleaned everything and it took a day or two to show up again. After cleaning we couldn't determine any leaks

it is a small but where could it be coming from, will try to post a pic if i can

The housing is only held on by three bolts. If one of them was slightly loose that could be part of your problem. There is a line running to your heater coming off of the back of the housing, down near the trans. You can get to it without removing everything, but it takes a little patience, especially if the guys at the factory put your clamp on kinda sideways. The other visible hose comes off of the front. Very easy to determine if it is leaking.

Whatever you do, DO NOT break that housing. List on it is almost $40.

checked all the bolts that mount the housing and for the thermostat and they are tight.

the upper radiator hose has been replaced as well as the short tappered one below it. the one off the back was replaced where it runs after the metal pipe to the heat core, the short little bent section wasn't. all the connections appear dry and the changes were last june at the latest.

I think it has something to do with the cold, it started after the car was run rather quickly 4 times one day in the very cold, about 10 degrees, to and from work, not even 5 minutes, and to move the car to get another out of the driveway and back. the first leak happenned over night, or that is how long the leak took to leak enought to run over the bell housing and trans and to spill to the ground

still cann't see any physical leaks other then the bottom sensor in the housing is very damp

edit: forgot to mention that we reused the clamps on the new hoses, the housing has never been removed by us, jus the thermostat, so we are thinking the clamps overnight are leting coolant out

i would pull the tstat out and make sure that the gasket o-ring thing is around the tstat like it is suppose to be. just because it is tight doesn't mean that it is sealing up.