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It’s an 07 Taurus X with a 3.5 litre in it and I found a coolant leak from a tiny little core plug hiding right behind the alternator. I had to pull the alternator just to confirm this little plug as the leak source and then drop the AC compressor underneath to get better perspective for a repair plan. The view from underneath was better, but still not too useful.
The view from underneath gave me no way to be sure I wasn’t dealing with a small crack around the plug. I don’t see a failure like this every day so I don’t own any particular tools for removing a plug like this in its very inconvenient spot either. Removing the AC compressor fully would open up some room to experiment with removal techniques, but it seemed like I’d only be making room to experiment with tools that could do irreversible damage to the aluminum block. I might still have never had adequate room anyway so, I decided that I could do the job, but wouldn’t try it without removing the engine first.
I showed off my findings to my service writer and he understood why I wanted the labor and I understood why he was going to suggest the customer go to the dealer for the repair. It was our hopes a dealer garage would have a better way to perform the repair without taking the engine out.
I did take a picture with my phone, but my phone is like an 8 track tape in a world of MP3 players. Quality isn’t great and I couldn’t transfer the pic off the phone until well after work. But the pic should be suitable enough for this thread.
So what I want to know is; has anybody else seen this with this engine, were they able to replace the core plug leaving the engine in, what were your tools & methods, and what the hell is that little recess sitting above the plug for?
It’s unlikely that the customer will return for us to make the repair. I’m asking about the car to try and satisfy my curiosity so if you can or want to share, thanks!
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It was our hopes a dealer garage would have a better way to perform the repair without taking the engine out.
I don’t know what your Ford shop would do for repair, but the place I worked at would lower the engine cradle, engine attached low enough to gain access through the right wheel well opening….but that would be done under a factory warranty condition…under flat rate time.
In real life….If a customer came to our dealership out of factory warranty with that problem and with the known coolant system problems with the Duratec engines; this is what I would do after diagnosis.( Note: this was taught to me by a seasoned Ford tech to prevent come backs)
Check and verify the engine coolant has been changed and flushed every two years. If not, high-mileage Ford vehicles with the Duratec engines will have coolant contamination caused by electrolysis. Ford says this is caused by the result of coolant system neglect. The problem is not only the coolant core plugs but corrosion inside the steel radiator pipes, heater core, radiator clogging and ect. A quick check for that issue is ;( besides appearance of the coolant) use a voltmeter(DVM) to check for electrolysis. Remove both cables from the battery, and then touch the negative(DVM)test lead to the negative battery post, and the positive lead to the coolant in the radiator or coolant reservoir. A reading of more than 0.4 volts indicates trouble.
After the customer would get the estimate to put the car back to factory specs, they would install a coolant system stop leak and go shopping for another vehicle….most likely not a Ford…
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