23 OBX non-sas 2.7 - disappearing coolant

[WIDirtFishing]

Okay… how screwed am I?
At 45,000 miles brought the Bronco in for a routine oil change. The tech told me “hey this probably isn’t a big deal but your coolant was pretty low. We topped it off, but you should probably keep an eye on it.”
I didn’t really think much of it until I’m now due for another oil change and I went to fill my washer fluid and I’m about an inch and a half below the minimum on my coolant I did bring it back to the local shop where I had my oil changed done and they did a pressure test and didn’t see any noticeable leaks. With that being said, I have an appointment with the dealership on Monday because I’m still under warranty, but I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for what the issue could be. Because Dr. Google basically says I’m cooked.
I did try searching the forums for similar issues and it looks like there were some 2.3s that had a rash of issues but I didn’t really see much about the 2.7.

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[texbronco25]

My 2022 F150 was a little low as well. Seems to be common after a few years and miles. I’d see what the dealership says but you might be fine.

 

[23OBX2.7]

Hopefully not leaking into oil. No milky oil?

 

[BillyB]

Might want to consider one of those "oil analysis" services. In my pre-service check last month at 9500mi on BD w/2.7L, noticed level in coolant tank just below min when cold. Asked FD to check and look for weeping / leaking while up for oil change, and they reported none. So now it's another on my watch list...

 

[WIDirtFishing]

Might want to consider one of those "oil analysis" services. In my pre-service check last month at 9500mi on BD w/2.7L, noticed level in coolant tank just below min when cold. Asked FD to check and look for weeping / leaking while up for oil change, and they reported none. So now it's another on my watch list...

Yea I ordered a blackstone kit. Waiting for it to come. The shop didn’t say they noticed anything in the oil, but they also didn’t notice the coolant till after. So I have an appt Monday for the dealership to pressure test the coolant system and the heads. Guess we’ll see.

 

[WIDirtFishing]

Welp, update. Dealership did a pressure test and found no leaks, no pressure drop after 30 minutes of pressurization and no evidence of intrusion anywhere.
So I asked how a quart in a half of coolant can just disappear after 5,000 miles and they have no explanation. Basically “We documented it on your service records incase there are future issues, but we’ll just continue to monitor.”
So…

Edit: forgot to add I have a Blackstone kit coming. So I’ll do that for the piece of mind as well.

 

[RST]

I have the same or at least similar symptoms in my 22 Wildtrak. Recently purchased with 25k miles. Since then and about 5500 miles later I have gone through half a gallon of coolant. It seems to occur intermittently, as the level seems stable then once in a while I smell coolant and after that it is typically a little low. Today while installing the preventative zip tie fix (not the leak unfortunately) I noticed what might be some chalky residue on the plastic rigid coolant pipe directly in front of the engine. It's hard to tell, it could just be corrosion, but I did wipe it off the best I could and will inspect that area the next time I smell coolant.

I took a pic of the possible residue but not having any luck attaching it.

 

[SlowTrak]

I had the same thing happen to me. I took it in for the 7500 service a few months ago and noticed the low coolant. I told the dealer about it and they also did a leak test and found none. I didn't ask if they checked the oil to see what it looked like. I also forgot to check back on the coolant, I will do it later today. I'm due up for my 15,000 mile service so I will have them check the oil again if my coolant looks low. Probably wont be for another few weeks though since I won't have time until mid June to take it in on a Saturday.

 

[WIDirtFishing]

I have the same or at least similar symptoms in my 22 Wildtrak. Recently purchased with 25k miles. Since then and about 5500 miles later I have gone through half a gallon of coolant. It seems to occur intermittently, as the level seems stable then once in a while I smell coolant and after that it is typically a little low. Today while installing the preventative zip tie fix (not the leak unfortunately) I noticed what might be some chalky residue on the plastic rigid coolant pipe directly in front of the engine. It's hard to tell, it could just be corrosion, but I did wipe it off the best I could and will inspect that area the next time I smell coolant.

I took a pic of the possible residue but not having any luck attaching it.

Hmm. I’ll have to check mine for any residue but I didn’t see any. It just makes me extremely nervous, but I haven’t seen basically any reports on the forums of the 2.7 having any head issues.
I’ll post in a few weeks when I get the Blackstone results

 

[telenerd]

I noticed that when my Bronco was new. I had to top it off once with the ford coolant. Since then I haven’t seen it drop at all. But I only have about 16k miles.

 

[WIDirtFishing]

I noticed that when my Bronco was new. I had to top it off once with the ford coolant. Since then I haven’t seen it drop at all. But I only have about 16k miles.

Yea I read new sometimes there is air and rhe engines basically “burps” causing a one time drop basically. That wouldn’t explain multiple quarts over a short period though. But also coolant doesn’t just disappear with no reason lol so there must be answer somewhere. I’ll see where the rabbit hole leads

 

[Brian_B]

It's possible the coolant is being burned - it's not unheard of for coolant intrusion on ecoboosts, especially the earlier revisions. Usually a crack someplace in the block or head.

Coolant wouldn't end up in the oil, so no milky oil or issues with oil analysis - it's getting burned in the cylinder though and the result can start to throw misfire codes and possibly damage the catalytic converter.

That said, the "burp" effect that @telenerd describes is very very common - top off once and done, mine is still good after 70k miles. But if you are continually topping it off, and it's not leaking outside anywhere...

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