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Radiator problems


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Hi Shelby family.

i currently have a 10 gt500 with headers, xpipe, intake, pulley, and tune. and my car from a rev blows out white smoke. as well as me having to fill up an entire gallon of anti freeze/coolant every 8 months or so. is there a reason for this? Don't know what the problem is. i just drove it 22 hours on one weekend so i was guessing that was the cause of it but i have no clue. any input is greatly appreciated.

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Pull the oil cap and oil dipstick, check it for brown thick milky oil. On a cold car, start it up with the coolant recovery reservoir open, and look for any bubbles. You need to find out the source of the leak. Driving a car with a potentially bad head gasket, will ruin the rest of the motor. Not saying it is a blown head gasket, which is pretty impossible to do on these cars at low power levels, but if it is you need to get it fixed.

Edited by ShelbyGT5HUN
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I wouldn't drive that car another mile. If your oil is milky it's too late. Bet my last dollar it's a head gasket. I've lost three back in the 70's driving my BOSS 302 and that's exactly what happens. White smoke out the tailpipe. I am not real in tune with inter-coolers and all that so I guess that cold be a possibility too. Good luck! Don't wait.

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The coolant is going somewhere. I'd start looking around the motor, underneath as well to see if you see any coolant. If you're in luck (unfortunately probably not) the white smoke will be from something unrelated and your coolant leak isn't going into the combustion chamber. Though it does sound to me like a bad head gasket.

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Okay so i looked at oil. Its fine. Right where it is supposed to be and no bubblues or coolant in it. No power loss or anything of that nature. I drove to houston and back and was around 22 hours. and i was running 93 when im only tuned for 91 the whole way. and me living in texas could the coolant have just evaporated especially if i race it on weekends? No leaks or anything thats why im so puzzled as to where its going.. thanks for the help and ideas.

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Describe the white smoke out of the exhaust more. Is it a lot? Does the smoke have a sweet smell to it? No bubbles and good oil is a great sign. I would go down to Autozone, and rent their coolant pressure tester, and stick it on overnight at 15psi. If you have a leak, it will show up as a drop in pressure. Any drips where you park?

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Fluids don't just evaporate/disappear. Seeing fluid levels lowering at a consistent rate is a sign of a leak. There is a coolant leak somewhere if you're having to refill a gallon every 8 months like you said.

 

Is the white smoke out the exhaust consistent? When the motor is warm and cold? White smoke means something is burning/evaporating.

 

You have a coolant leak somewhere. The white smoke out the exhaust is a hint that it's leaking into the cylinder. Id park the car...put a large cardboard cutout underneith and leave it overnight. Check if you see any dripping liquids. Also jack up the car and look very closely for any fluids. If you're lucky, the white exhaust smoke is just a coincidence and the coolant leak is outside the motor itself.

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Okay so now im thinking it could be a bad thermostat and the white smoke is just a coicidence. because i cant even sit in a line at chick fil a without the temperature gauge over heating.. Ill try the cardbaord idea as well as the pressure test and go from there. ??

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YIKES! I would be really careful, aka not drive the car, if it's overheating, or if the needle moves anywhere above normal. You have an expensive chunk of iron and aluminum under the hood.

 

There is a good chance your cooling fan might have a bad connection. Do you ever hear it running when the car is this hot? The power connector leading to the fan, has been known to fail. This cooling system was designed to cool 600+hp all day long, and you are overheating at idle, this is not good. I could envision a scenario, where the fan isn't working, and you are overheating every time you come to a stop, loosing a bit of coolant each time.

 

PS: I really like the silver and black stripes! It must be rare, I never see silver, and never with the flat black stripes!

Edited by ShelbyGT5HUN
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Thanks on the color combo! and alright update. After almost overheating quickly in the chick fil a parking lot and running a pressure test, and leaving a cardboard piece under the car. there were no leaks.. which caused concern because like you all said the coolant has to be going somewhere. Well come to find out my cooling fan was no longer working. so at a standstill the car was getting way to hot and ended up evaporating the coolant slowly but surely. I ordered a new ford racing cooling fan which come standard on the 2013+ shelbys from what I've read and that should solve the problem :yahoo:

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Good news that you figured out the problem! I just caution you, it is more likely the fan connector, that the fan/fan motor. Ford sells a repair kit for the fan harness. What I would do is: order the repair kit for the connector, AND install that nice 2013 fan at the same time. The reason being, if you have a bad connector (on the harness side), and you put the new fan in, you might just end up right where you started (overheating).

 

Glad to hear you figured it out! The head gasket, like I said, is almost impossible to blow on these cars, but overheating could blow it, or your engine!

Edited by ShelbyGT5HUN
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