'94 Cobra losing coolant-head problems?!

Ersel · 04-01-2001, 04:16 AM

My '94 Cobra has been running low on coolant for the last 6 months and I keep on filling the radiator every month with a gallon or so of coolant etc. There are NO visible leaks and the car runs fine--40k original miles, but I feared the worse so, I took the car to the dealer.
The Ford Dealer pressure tested it and did all these other tests and said I either had a cracked head or a blown head gasket and the bill would be a min. of $1300.00! I haven't repaired it yet, and I wanted a second opinion...any thoughts out there?? Thanks in advance.

Dark Knight · 04-01-2001, 04:56 AM

what happened to the 50k mile warranty? check the spark plugs.. I'd think you'd be fouling one losing THAT much..
I think you can buy a dye that you put in the radiator to find leakes.. and use a black light to see where it's coming from..
for $1300, you could buy a good set of heads, gaskets and do it yourself with change left over ;-)

------------------
84 convt,'95 302,AFR's, performer
3.55's, underdrives stock shorties
stock cam, 1.7's
14.06@100.21, 255RWHP on a hot day
265 on the mph/weight chart

TEXSN95 · 04-02-2001, 02:04 AM

Go to some repair shops and ask them to use a block tester. It's a little container with some colored liquid and they place it into your top radiator tube. The coolant fumes go up through the bottom of it, and the liquid will change color if the fumes from your coolant have exhaust gases in it. Texaco did it for free on mine and it only took about 5 min.

Screw Ford and their $1300 quote...if it is a blown gasket, as Dark Knight said, get some badass heads, a few friends, some beer, and have a blast doing it yourself. Thats what I did :-).
------------------
Clint L.
White 95 Cobra #3637
R lookalike with lots of goodies

[This message has been edited by TEXSN95 (edited 04-02-2001).]

04-01-2001, 04:16 AM	#1
Ersel Registered Member Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 6	'94 Cobra losing coolant-head problems?! My '94 Cobra has been running low on coolant for the last 6 months and I keep on filling the radiator every month with a gallon or so of coolant etc. There are NO visible leaks and the car runs fine--40k original miles, but I feared the worse so, I took the car to the dealer. The Ford Dealer pressure tested it and did all these other tests and said I either had a cracked head or a blown head gasket and the bill would be a min. of $1300.00! I haven't repaired it yet, and I wanted a second opinion...any thoughts out there?? Thanks in advance.

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04-01-2001, 04:56 AM	#2
Dark Knight Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1998 Location: Az Posts: 854	what happened to the 50k mile warranty? check the spark plugs.. I'd think you'd be fouling one losing THAT much.. I think you can buy a dye that you put in the radiator to find leakes.. and use a black light to see where it's coming from.. for $1300, you could buy a good set of heads, gaskets and do it yourself with change left over ;-) ------------------ 84 convt,'95 302,AFR's, performer 3.55's, underdrives stock shorties stock cam, 1.7's 14.06@100.21, 255RWHP on a hot day 265 on the mph/weight chart

04-02-2001, 02:04 AM	#3
TEXSN95 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: college station, tx Posts: 143	Go to some repair shops and ask them to use a block tester. It's a little container with some colored liquid and they place it into your top radiator tube. The coolant fumes go up through the bottom of it, and the liquid will change color if the fumes from your coolant have exhaust gases in it. Texaco did it for free on mine and it only took about 5 min. Screw Ford and their $1300 quote...if it is a blown gasket, as Dark Knight said, get some badass heads, a few friends, some beer, and have a blast doing it yourself. Thats what I did :-). ------------------ Clint L. White 95 Cobra #3637 R lookalike with lots of goodies [This message has been edited by TEXSN95 (edited 04-02-2001).]