Ford

My 1998 ford expedition 5.4 180,000 miles is using radiator fluid. i can smell it sometimes after shuting truck off to get out. over flow tanks empty about once a week. dont noticed any drips puddles? sometimes when i shut the truck off i can not only smell but sometimes see some drips extremely little bit though and you can here like a bubbling sound in the radiator, after engine off sometimes? any ideas? dont seem to be dripping enough to be taking that much out of the over flow tank to make it empty! ????help????

As a ford certified technicion. first get it to a shop before you do damage the engine! if the heater core is leaking it wiil put steam out of the cabin vents when the heater is on. the bubbling sound is the system at a rolling boil in the radiator from the fluid being low and lost cooling surfaace area in the radiator. bare min be ready to have the system pressure tested aprox .4hrlabor to find the leak, and iff water is added for the pressure test it will need to be flushed to get the coolant back to specs. if the pressure test is normal then you could be looking anywhere from a t-stat to a possible head gasket. and with 180,000 mi. a dealership will rec a engine. a reman ford crate engine will come with a 3yr/36000 mi warranty. aprox cost engine 5k, labor aprox 15-18 hr at there labor rate.bottom line get it looked at before anymore dammage is done.