At this point I'm guessing water pump or heater core from what I'm reading.

 

Long time reader, first time poster. You guys have helped me out a million times with my 03 Focus ZTW (Zetec 2.0) but I'm stumped on this one. Car started leaking coolant from near the back of the engine this week. Figured no big deal and that I'd just replace a hose. But after I jacked it up I see underneath there's a nozzle under where the two heater hoses connect in the back. That's what's dripping all the coolant out and I can't figure out why or what happened. Any help would be appreciated.

That 'nozzle' is the condensation drain for the AC evaporator core in the under dash HVAC unit. If you are certain that coolant is coming out of that drain then you have a leak in your heater core which is also inside the HVAC unit.

Paul

 

Yeah I watched it leak out of there so I'm about 99% sure. Thanks for the info. I'm gonna have to take it in I guess.

 

I've done a lot on this car, but taking out the dash is probably my limit. We have a mechanic that does discount work for us at my job but I'm sure it will still cost an arm and a leg. Thanks for the advice though.

 

Make SURE the leak is coolant and not clear water, which leaks out and NORMAL.

 

Yeah now I'm wondering because I stuck something under the AC drain and only clear water came out today. I've had a slow leak for a long time because I noticed coolant missing over the past year. Not enough that it was a big deal but then the other day it was just bone dry and overheated. So I put most of a jug in and noticed some leaking out that night on the ground.

I don't think it's worth paying someone $700 for the heater core labor on an 03 focus with 200k miles. My plan was just to bypass the heater for a few months and then go from there. But now I'm wondering if there's a hose that's getting gummy and only leaks when it's really hot out. If it was a heater hose in the same vicinity that might explain why it looks like it's coming from the AC drain. I probably need to replace the reservoir while I'm at it. That's an easy fix to start with. Just tired of constantly putting money into this car and working on it.

 

Yeah now I'm wondering because I stuck something under the AC drain and only clear water came out today.

Then, as mentioned above several times, that is normal condensate from the operation of the A/C.


To make sure, put a pan under the drain pipe after you turn the engine off with it hot (fully warmed up) and park the car. The engine cooling system will be under high pressure at that point and if heater core is leaking you will get engine coolant. You will smell (and should see) the coolant if present. If just clear water with no smell comes out, then that is just normal condensate. Look elsewhere for engine coolant leak.


Does engine oil look normal color on dipstick?

 

Oil looks fine. I think what happened is coolant leaked up front and got mixed in on the ground with the water coming out of the AC drain. Haven't seen anything but water come directly out of there when I'm watching or have something under it. I'm gonna order a new reservoir and go from there. The under portion of it weeps coolant sometimes but if its real hot out I think a stream comes out of it.

 

Just an update, it appears several of my hoses all began leaking recently. I went ahead and replaced the reservoir because it appeared to be leaking but it was also so old and dirty that I almost couldn't see the coolant level anymore. While I was doing that I found the small left upper hose connected to it was leaking and the large/lower hose was leaking as well. Fixed all that and everything appeared to be fine for about 5 days.

Then today I take a 15 min drive to a doctor's appointment and come out afterwards to find coolant dumped out near the back of the engine. The marker on the reservoir went from right at max to just under minimum now. There appeared to be two separate streams on the ground, one water from the AC drain and another of coolant. Now I'm guessing again it has to be the two heater hoses connected in back near the firewall. But I haven't specifically seen them leak or been able to ascertain which one. Does anyone know what those two are called just above the AC drain? (Pictured above). Just upper and lower heater hose? Sometimes the hardest part is figuring out the name of the hose just so I can order it first.

 

Those two hoses above the A/C drain are the heater hoses. One going into the heater core, and one coming out.

If you replace those, they often get stuck on. You may have to slit the hose lengthwise a little bit to get it off without damaging the heater core.

 

X2, they cook on good, I use an Xacto knife to cut them off.

 

Got ya. Thanks for the advice. Hoping once I get those taken care of I can quit chasing coolant leaks.

 

Turns out I was right the first time. Finally saw the coolant leaking directly out of the AC drain. Couldn't get it in anywhere right away and really didn't want to spend the money to replace the heater core, so I cut the heater hoses and bypassed the core. For the first time in a year or more I'm not leaking coolant anywhere. That's nice but not sure what I'll do this winter. Might try to tough it out just to save money. I found a small 12v heater that could probably defrost the windshield. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. Replacing the heater core myself may be out of my range.

 

Forgot to update this, but I ended up replacing the heater core myself. It wasn't the most difficult thing I've ever done but it was pretty tedious because you have to take out so much inside the vehicle to get to the actual core/matrix. And yes the hoses were a pain to pull off underneath. Still was able to reuse one though. I took my time but I would say the job took about 8-9 hours over the course of a couple days. Haven't had any issues with the coolant system since I replaced it in October.

 

Good deal.

Tedious is the right word. I had to replace the core in my Escort years ago. What a PITA.

 

If the Escort was same setup as Tempo I sympathize as well. Tempo heater cores were made to fail, I failed every one I ever put in the two cars I had.

If I ever have to do either of my Focus cars I've got a mod worked out to have to pull less than half the stuff off getting the core out. The dash then does not come out. It involves a bit of dash cutting though, and once done will not look bad and massively speed up the job.

 

Yeah, the Escort was a b*tch.

 

Damn. I didn't have to mess with the dash too much. I took out the glovebox (and the center console obviously) and was able to kind of push things around to squeeze out the old core and the box around it. Glad the Focus was slightly easier otherwise I might've given up.

 

 

WATCH THIS:

 

👆 The video is not relevant to this thread.