2003 Ford Ranger Noticed a couple of drops of coolant on dr

Tiny
TBRIEADDY
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 FORD RANGER
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 57,000 MILES
Recently, I noticed that my overflow reservoir was a couple of inches below "min". I brought it up to "min". It appears that since then - when I stop the truck and park - I will see a couple of drops of what appears to be coolant on the ground. The drops are not warm or hot - they feel like ambient temperature. After a couple of days - the reservoir is back to slightly below "min" and I did not notice any drips today. The drips are not where I would normally expect to see the A/C condensation drips. I would assume that any relevant drips after 30 minutes of running should be warm? The color is between clear and orange/yellow - which appears to be close to the color in my reservoir. The drips are approx. In the middle of the front of the truck approximately 2 feet from the front and mostly centered across the front. I never noticed this problem until I brought the reservoir back to "min". Thank you.
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 AT 5:28 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
BLACKOP555
  • MECHANIC
  • 10,371 POSTS
Is it inside of the cab or outside?
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 AT 7:20 PM
Tiny
TBRIEADDY
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Outside - on the ground.
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 AT 7:26 PM
Tiny
BLACKOP555
  • MECHANIC
  • 10,371 POSTS
Since that is the case then you should check all your hoses, rub your hands on the tops and bottoms of all of them and see if you feel any moisture, if you do check for a bad hose or loose connection or it could be running down somewhere else, check to see if one of you freeze plugs may be slightly leaking.
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 AT 8:21 PM
Tiny
TBRIEADDY
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Thank you. I will do that. Just one question- if the coolant is leaking out of a freeze plug or hose - would the coolant be very warm or hot after 30 to 45 minutes of the engine running? I only mention this because the drips are at ambient temperature. Thanks.
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 AT 8:45 PM
Tiny
BLACKOP555
  • MECHANIC
  • 10,371 POSTS
They would be about 150 degrees maybe colder, but when they hang on the engine they cool and when they drip they are plenty cool and when they hit the ground it transfers the heat also, your best bet is to look for external leaks and post back what you find
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 AT 8:54 PM
Tiny
TBRIEADDY
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Thank you for your help. I don't see any hose leakage from what I can see. I am going to get someone more mechanically qualified to look into the other areas. I have attached pictures of the leak and its color. I also took pictures of my brake fluid and radiator reservoir fluid color. They both look very close to the leak color. After driving the truck for 20 minutes today - I put my hand where the drips were going and the temperature was ambient - not warm or hot. But as you said the drips probably hit other metal and cooled sufficiently before hitting the ground. I did check my oil today and the color was normal and not milky as I have read would be a symptom of the coolant getting into the engine oil. Anyway, I will take the truck where I can get an estimate of what is causing this leak. Thanks again.


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/165645_Leak_color_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/165645_BrakeFluid1_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/165645_Reservoir_Fluid_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/165645_Ranger_Leak_1.jpg

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Thursday, March 6th, 2008 AT 4:55 PM
Tiny
TBRIEADDY
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  • 5 POSTS
I brought the Ranger to a shop. They found the heater control valve to be bad. They replaced it and pressure tested the truck. They say the leak is gone.
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+1
Monday, March 10th, 2008 AT 5:40 PM

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