MK3 Ford Focus Coolant Issues?

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Good morning, guys! First time poster, here.

I have a 2012 Ford Focus, it currently has 63k miles - though, I've had this issue for over a year. This Focus uses the VC-3-B Ford Specialty Orange coolant (AKA re-branded Dex-Cool?) I noticed the coolant reservoir was a little low, so I topped it off with distilled water. When I removed the cap I saw that it had some build-up on it. A quick search at focusfanatics showed that a couple of other people on the forum had the same issue. A few said it was caused by a (vapor) leak in their radiator, but a few people also said it was normal. They said it was leftover stuff from assembly or the engine block wasn't immaculately clean, etc. I figured I'd come here and ask the experts.
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After another year, this is the third time I've had to top off the coolant reservoir (which should be a closed system....) and this is what my tank looks like:
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It's hard to see the particulates sitting on the bottom in this picture, but they're there.

So now what?

1. Keep going dealership to dealership until they find the leak that the first dealership couldn't find?
2. Clean the reservoir myself and re-top it off with Ford's coolant
3. Flush and replace the coolant myself every two years until my warranty is up, then switch to a different type
4. Ignore it (Maybe it is normal, after all...?)

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It doesnt look too bad to me. I probably wouldnt be happy with it though.

I'd do a couple drain and fills to get fresh coolant in there

not a big fan of flushing the block unless the coolant is totally nasty.

Maybe drain and fill at the next couple oil changes?

Is there a radiator drain or is it one you have to take a hose off?

dexcool is usually 100% fine in closed systems that are the right level and have a working pressure cap.
 
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The MK3 Focus has a pressurized reservoir? Ugh ... I dislike those.

The tank in my 2011 looks pretty clean oddly enough.

Did the car overheat? I overheated mine (apparently to the point that it spit coolant out the reservoir) on the way to thanksgiving ... during a snow storm. The slush and snow plugged up the grille openings and it overheated. Was crazy!

Have not had to add any since, thankfully.
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
Is there a radiator drain or is it one you have to take a hose off?

Yes, there's a radiator drain, though the only place I can see to fill it is the reservoir - does that sound right?

Originally Posted By: Miller88
The MK3 Focus has a pressurized reservoir? Ugh ... I dislike those.

Did the car overheat? I overheated mine (apparently to the point that it spit coolant out the reservoir) on the way to thanksgiving ... during a snow storm. The slush and snow plugged up the grille openings and it overheated. Was crazy!

Yup, this is my first car with a pressurized coolant reservoir (my last car was a 2002 Ford Escape)

As far as I know the car has never overheated - luckily, the parking sensors gave me an error before that happened to me.

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I remember having to turn down the heat. Then it started beeping that it was overheated. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop on the highway so I blasted the heat with the windows down.

Couldn't figure out why it was overheating on a 25 degree day. Then noticed the buildup.



Originally Posted By: Rand
your 2011 doesn't have a pressurized reservoir?

my 2007 did.


They changed for the 08-11. I'm very glad they did. I am not a huge fan of pressurized reservoirs.

You can't see the rad cap here ,but it's just a snap on cap on the reservoir
EngineBay.jpg
 
Is that 2EHA sludge?

I gotta say, 2EHA containing coolants have got to be the stupidest engineering idea, or the cleverest latent defect for coolant system/engine work outside of warranty. I have taken apart 20+ yr old Japanese (non silicate, non EHA) that were absolutely spotless inside with neglected coolant changes, while never seeing that in any 1+yr old, and/or well maintained system using 2EHA.

See if you can switch to Motorcraft VC-10-A in your app, which lacks 2EHA.
 
My 2011 Chevy Cruze 1.4T has a pressurized reservoir and I've had to add coolant a few times in it's young 20K lifetime.
Coolant loss is a known issue on the Cruze and GM can't seem to get to the bottom of it. Some owners have had heater cores, radiators, water pumps etc...replaced under warranty and still lose coolant. I was thinking that maybe the turbo is boiling it off but now it seems these highly pressurized systems (20 PSI in my case) might be problematic. There is some talk online about a class-action suit against GM regarding coolant issues (many owners have a coolant smell and window filming)....I have gotten the smell a few times so I'm definitely mentioning it when I bring it in for the latest recall....
 
My problem with the pressured expansion tanks is they just blow when they get older. Then, when the vehicle is 15 years old - the only available tanks are the cheap ones that will blow in a year.
 
I would replace the cap, and top it off with the oem 50/50 until warranty is up. Be careful adding too much Distilled water you will be below 40% concentration before you know it and then you will really have build up.

Maybe coolant analysis it to check concentration.

I know about leaky tanks, my 99 Taurus blew after 10 years, lucky I found a new oem replacement on a Taurus forum from a guy who wrecked his car before he put it in, I hear the Dorman replacements are garbage.
 
I'm pretty sure there's air getting into my system and those deposits are from my aluminum engine block oxidizing as OAT doesn't have the silicates that can protect the metal surface from air in a leaky system. (If I had an iron engine block, I'm pretty sure my coolant would be rust-colored)

Now... I just need to find the coolant leak so that I can point it out to the dealers... since they're apparently clueless.
 
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I would probably flush the coolant and fill the system with G-05. But you are under warranty so perhaps that might pose some problems.
In any case, I switched my 2006 Mazda 3, with essentially the same port injected engine as Duratec, when it was 3 year old and had about 50k miles. Apparently a big no, no on Japanese cars, but I went ahead anyways knowing that Mazda 3, until recently, used the same pressurized coolant system found in Focuses, heck even the pressure tanks were identical and Fords had G-05 installed in them, until recently. The coolant is crystal clear and looks fantastic in the tank.
I read that many Mazda 3's need their thermostat changed well before 100k miles, but mine with close to 110k miles is still on the original one and there are no signs of problems with the cooling system. I'm sold on G-05, even if it doesn't exactly meet the OEM spec.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I would probably flush the coolant and fill the system with G-05.

If they find the leak, I'll keep the OAT. Otherwise, I will switch to G-05 when my warranty is up (or if this happens again within 20k miles).
 
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Originally Posted By: jrustles
Is that 2EHA sludge?

I gotta say, 2EHA containing coolants have got to be the stupidest engineering idea, or the cleverest latent defect for coolant system/engine work outside of warranty. I have taken apart 20+ yr old Japanese (non silicate, non EHA) that were absolutely spotless inside with neglected coolant changes, while never seeing that in any 1+yr old, and/or well maintained system using 2EHA.

See if you can switch to Motorcraft VC-10-A in your app, which lacks 2EHA.


Dex type coolants are just fine when you keep the air out.

I've lost track of how many Dex filled cooling systems that I've pulled apart that were completely clean in spite of the fact that the owner had gone beyond the recommended service interval.
 
Originally Posted By: jrustles
Is that 2EHA sludge?

I don't think it's sludge; it's not gel-like in consistency. It's more like a bunch of white flakes (oxidized aluminum, I'm sure) that have settled in the degas bottle. Probably not good for my engine block... or water pump bearing.

I bought some DexCool-compatible UV dye yesterday. I'll drain some coolant so that I can get some of this running through the radiator and I'll keep you guys updated if I find the source. Considering there have been several radiator replacements on focusfanatics.com, I'm betting I have the same issue.
 
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I drained 2 quarts of coolant from my car yesterday and put in 2 fresh quarts (50/50 distilled water) +1oz of UV dye that is compatible with DexCool.

The color of my original coolant was a dull, watered-down red-orange in color, not the vibrant red-orange that the new stuff (without the dye) was and how it looks in other pictures online. I also tested the pH of both coolants. The original was about 7.2 while the new stuff was about 8.5. The air leak is probably accelerating the degradation of my coolant. *sigh*

Let's hope the UV dye works, though! If I find the leak, I'll supply pictures.
 
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For anyone following, I think I narrowed it down to a leaking hose (it was actually the "cool" hose after the heater core that goes to the thermostat housing/water pump)

There's some white residue above the clamp (not one that can be tightened) at the connection by the radiator and it's the only thing I could find that would glow orange in my engine bay. I haven't gotten it fixed yet, so this is all speculative.
 
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