Ford V10 antifreeze loss
My 2015 Fleetwood Storm keeps losing antifreeze in the exp. tank. It is the Ford V10 engine. Have had pressure checks done (excellent). Have had all connections checked (ok). No leaks on ground etc. T...
Forum Discussion
This is not an unusual problem with Ford engines. Ford uses spring clamps on the radiator and heater hoses. They are held in the open position from the time they are manufactured until they are slipped onto the hoses at the assembly plant. They may be held open for weeks or even months depending on the time of manufacture and installation. Being held open for extended periods sometimes causes the spring pressure to relax. If that happens they may leak.
Age is also a factor. In your case it's more likely a defective clamp rather than an age related problem. After thousands of heating and cooling cycles the spring clamps can loose tension. The hose itself also becomes more pliable. The combination of weaker clamps and more pliable hoses can cause leakage at connection points.
More often than not the clamps will leak when the engine is cool or is cooling down, and there's little or no pressure on the cooling system. The easiest way to determine whether a clamp has leaked is to look for a white or cream colored stain at the hose connections. Sometimes you may actually see or feel a wet spot at the connections.
The most likely place for a hose to leak is where the lower hose is connected to the radiator. It took over 6 months to find the lower radiator hose was leaking on our 2001 Ford chassis. It would only leak during the cool down period, and even then it wasn't much at each cycle.
Eventually I replaced all the spring clamps with gear style clamps with gear style clamps like this:
http://www.zoro.com/ideal-hose-clamp-1-34-to-3-34-in-sae-52-pk10-5752/i/G2199337/?gclid=CMDFzurf1skCFQaraQod6K4CCQ&gclsrc=aw.ds
After they were replaced there were no more leaks or loss of coolant.
Age is also a factor. In your case it's more likely a defective clamp rather than an age related problem. After thousands of heating and cooling cycles the spring clamps can loose tension. The hose itself also becomes more pliable. The combination of weaker clamps and more pliable hoses can cause leakage at connection points.
More often than not the clamps will leak when the engine is cool or is cooling down, and there's little or no pressure on the cooling system. The easiest way to determine whether a clamp has leaked is to look for a white or cream colored stain at the hose connections. Sometimes you may actually see or feel a wet spot at the connections.
The most likely place for a hose to leak is where the lower hose is connected to the radiator. It took over 6 months to find the lower radiator hose was leaking on our 2001 Ford chassis. It would only leak during the cool down period, and even then it wasn't much at each cycle.
Eventually I replaced all the spring clamps with gear style clamps with gear style clamps like this:
http://www.zoro.com/ideal-hose-clamp-1-34-to-3-34-in-sae-52-pk10-5752/i/G2199337/?gclid=CMDFzurf1skCFQaraQod6K4CCQ&gclsrc=aw.ds
After they were replaced there were no more leaks or loss of coolant.
