Ford FocusOverall, it feels cushier than other compacts, both in terms of its comfortable seats and its soft suspension. It's fun to drive, however, with agile handling. It's comfortable on long trips and stable at high speeds. The Focus is among the best of the compacts in terms of ride quality and has been lauded by the enthusiast publications for its handling.
I have a 2000 ford focus wagon...it has about 104,000 miles on it and runs great. Suddenly about 2 days ago while driving down the highway at about 60 the "!" light came on and I noticed the temp gauge was maxed out....The car wasnt smoking, there was no smell or any strange noises and I made it home a few miles away. When I got home I noticed my coolant tank was bone dry so I filled it all the way up and it started gurgling thru the hoses right away...let it cool down and everything seemed fine...the next day I noticed there was coolant under the car...I cant quite pinpoint exactly where its coming from...more so to the drivers side underneath..checked the tank and it had lost some coolant but was still around the minimum line...filled it up a bit more figuring that it just must have been way dry, took it around the block and when I came back, parked the car and looked, more coolant was leaking from...somewhere?!....and of course, back down to min in the tank....when I turn on the heat, its slightly warm...more so when I am driving but as soon as I come to a stop or im driving at a slower speed, so less than 45 mph...it practically freezing air....I have no idea where this could be coming from, what exactly it could be or how to go about fixing it with as little a headache as possible.....Does anyone know what I could be looking out for to narrow down the problem? Will a simple sealant work? Im just lost given that the car isnt smoking, smelling or making any noises, just cold air and leaking coolant and I have looked all up in the engine and underneath the car and just cant pinpoint the location of where the coolant is coming out of, its not pouring or shooting out..... I appreciate anyone and everyones help!
The only thing Ive ever used was 50/50 pre-mixed coolant.....
I just took another look at the car....there is a pipe, I want to say...looks like it may go into the engine but I am clueless on that part..maybe I can post a pic later or something...Ive notice that on this little "L" shaped pipe it looks like the coolant is coming from a tiny hole or very small crack, im certain is metal, not a hose or plastic....I'm still not having any smoking, smells or weird noises but the coolant is coming out a bit heavier than before.....the tank is back down to below minimum....Would anyone know what this little L shaped pipe might be or how serious it would be to fix it? would a sealant fix a hole in the metal pipe or is that just more for hoses? or even depending on what its connecting to..what damage it may be doing if any given the lack of other symptoms?
All Focus thermostat housings will have problems eventually. Look around the drivers side of the engine. Most of the time, the valve cover will leak slightly and the oil will get into the housing and destroy the o-ring. This in turn will cause the housing to crack. You can also look on top of the transmission to see any signs of liquid. While you're checking under the hood, check the bottom of your overflow tank. They start to crack underneath also. Mine has had a small leak for a while.
I had the same problem you are experiencing with my 2003 Focus Wagon ZTW (2.0l Zetec engine) at approx. 89k miles in August. I had to take it to a dealer who showed me the part afterwards and explained the problem - which is likely yours. It was the thermostat housing. They are plastic and there's a ring that seals on the inside using pressure. If the plastic housing cracks, that ring doesn't seal and the coolant drips out before going into the engine. I had to get a new thermostat housing & radiator flush - costing approx. $250 USD incl. parts/labour.
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Lost and losing coolant... 
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