whitedragon551 Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 We have a 2009 Edge SEL AWD model with 127k on the clock. This car is my wife's daily driver. Yesterday she picked the kids up from school and her engine started smoking. The principal saw some fluid leaking and had her shut the car off. I leave work early and make it to the school and her car lost all coolant. We pulled the car into a spot in the parking lot and left to let it cool as we only live 10 minutes away anyway. Later that night my dad and I went to go tow it to an auto repair facility, but figured we would check the basic things. We brought a bunch of water with us and filled the coolant up with it and let it run for 30 minutes. During this 30 minutes, nothing leaked, nothing over heated, all of the hoses are on tight, and the water is at the same level it was the day the car was leaking. Oil isnt milky and all other fluids are fine. Im thinking it may have been a bad seal on the coolant cap or a bad cap all together. My current thinking is this weekend, I will flush the system and refill with the proper coolant and see if it happens again. Any idea what would cause this? Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Could be an intermittent cooling fan problem that caused the coolant to overflow or maybe it was just low on coolant. Google water pump failure and see how to check for that just to be safe. I would refill it with coolant, recheck all the hoses and caps and verify the fans are working (both should be on with A/C on max) and have her keep an eye on the temp gauge. And check the water pump. If it overheats again check the fan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Any idea of the location of the leaking coolant? Water pump weephole location Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedragon551 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Any idea of the location of the leaking coolant? Water pump weephole location No idea, I wasnt driving it when it happened and my wife didnt look under the hood. I do know that coolant was found on top of the power steering fluid pump and directly on the wires/area under the coolant container. It was contained to the passenger side of the engine bay. This is why I think it may have been the cap on the coolant container as no hoses are lose and as far as I know coolant doesnt spray around enough to end up on the power steering container if it exits via the weep hole. I didnt see any on top of the engine, valve covers, or alternator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWRBB Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 How much did you put in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 It will overflow the coolant recovery tank if it overheats - the question is why did it overheat in the first place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedragon551 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 How much did you put in? I filled it to the fill line, started the system, burped the air, and filled it to the fill line again. It will overflow the coolant recovery tank if it overheats - the question is why did it overheat in the first place. Thats a great question. She drove it about 15 minutes and then sat idle in the parking lot for probably another 10-15 minutes at the school with the car running. During my testing Ive let it run for about 15 minutes before a 15 minute drive instead of sitting idle. So far I havent been able to replicate the issue. Once the car heats up and the needle is at about 12 o clock, it doesnt move. My guess is either fans or thermostat at this point caused it to over flow. Ill probably start at thermostat since thats generally a cheap and easy fix. That being said, anything special I need to do to flush the system other than drain the water and refill with anti freeze? Can I use any antifreeze or does it have to be something special like DexCool? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWRBB Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 I meant quantity wise- was it a pint or two gallons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Thermostats generally fail open and if it stuck closed it would have overheated almost immediately after startup. Doubt it's the thermostat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 (edited) One remote possibly, check the relief valve on your radiator cap. This pressure relief valve on the underside of the cap is designed to hold the pressure in while the coolant is cold. After it heats up, it starts to open allowing the coolant to overflow into the coolant recovery container. (After it cools down, the partial vacuum in the radiator sucks the coolant back out of the container to refill the radiator and engine). If it stuck closed, the pressure in the radiator and engine would have risen over specification (don't know what the Edge runs at, 14 psi?), and forced coolant out of the system where a hose joins the metal connector. That would explain the loss when she was driving, but not later after you opened the cap and corrected the problem. Thinking corrosion caused the cap to malfunction. Have you changed the coolant per schedule? (Use the proper stuff)? Edited August 30, 2017 by enigma-2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbwt Posted August 31, 2017 Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 Very few issues for over heating with the primary being the failure of the cooling fans. The next main failure historically will be the water pump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedragon551 Posted August 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 I meant quantity wise- was it a pint or two gallons? The tank was near empty. I put in probably close to a gallon, gallon and a half. One remote possibly, check the relief valve on your radiator cap. This pressure relief valve on the underside of the cap is designed to hold the pressure in while the coolant is cold. After it heats up, it starts to open allowing the coolant to overflow into the coolant recovery container. (After it cools down, the partial vacuum in the radiator sucks the coolant back out of the container to refill the radiator and engine). If it stuck closed, the pressure in the radiator and engine would have risen over specification (don't know what the Edge runs at, 14 psi?), and forced coolant out of the system where a hose joins the metal connector. That would explain the loss when she was driving, but not later after you opened the cap and corrected the problem. Thinking corrosion caused the cap to malfunction. Have you changed the coolant per schedule? (Use the proper stuff)? If it was the relief valve, would coolant have made it on top of the power steering container? If so where is the relief valve located? I will double check it. Very few issues for over heating with the primary being the failure of the cooling fans. The next main failure historically will be the water pump. As of now when the AC is on max, the fans do not come on at all. I have been watching them and havent seen them come on. After my drive to work this morning Im going to take another look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted August 31, 2017 Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 Relatievly easy fix if it is the fans. Would be nice for it to only be a fuse, though assembly replacement is more likely. OEM is highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedragon551 Posted August 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 Relatievly easy fix if it is the fans. Would be nice for it to only be a fuse, though assembly replacement is more likely. OEM is highly recommended. I drove a ton more today. About 45 minutes around town in stop and go traffic with the AC on full blast. Max speed limit of about 45 MPH. No over heating, No smoke, no leaking fluids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Probably still bad fans or fan controller. At 45 mpg you don't need fans, has enough air flow through the radiator; only need them when idling. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbwt Posted September 2, 2017 Report Share Posted September 2, 2017 Probably still bad fans or fan controller. At 45 mpg you don't need fans, has enough air flow through the radiator; only need them when idling. Agree I have documented many times using Forscan Lite that the fans shut down at 45mph. They also operate at reduced power at 30mph. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted September 2, 2017 Report Share Posted September 2, 2017 They also operate at reduced power at 30mph.Be darned, didn't realize that. Thought they were off above 30-35. Maybe has something to do with the car's airflow design. By that I was thinking of the front grill opening, etc. May be old school, thought they were 0%-100% based on coolant sensor. Nice to know, thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted September 2, 2017 Report Share Posted September 2, 2017 well, programming changed between gen 1 and gen 1.5, could be part of that. will have to monitor on my 2007. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedragon551 Posted September 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2017 Got it to over heat again. This time we dropped it off at the shop to confirm it was the fans. Does anyone have the parts number for replacement fans? Im hoping to have them ordered today so I can have this done by this weekend. We dont plan on owning the car for much longer. Maybe another year or 2 so Im looking at the Dorman OE replacements. Looks like PepBoys has a discount of $50 on the parts right now, but want to make sure Im getting the correct part. Im coming up with part number: Part #: 621-392 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omar302 Posted September 20, 2017 Report Share Posted September 20, 2017 Make sure you get the right one for your Edge, the difference is whether your Edge has the factory tow package or not. Otherwise, the fans are the same for 2011-2014 Edges. Also, I think Dorman now has the fan modules separate, so if that is what's failing, maybe you don't need to replace the whole assembly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted September 20, 2017 Report Share Posted September 20, 2017 Non-OEM replacements including Dorman have proven unreliable with some failing right out of the box. Motorcraft is recommended. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 Read reports of off-brand fans with a lot of noise and vibration. Also the connector is wired differently than oem. Best if you go with Motorcraft. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedragon551 Posted September 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Had the issue diagnosed. Had codes read and they were P1285 and code P0480 Bought Motorcraft Part RF295 from RockAuto and had them over nighted for $245. Fans have officially been installed so we will see what happens next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Had mine replaced with Motorcraft and have never had a single problem. Will probably outlast the car now. BTW, what did you mean by "officially installed"? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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