99 Taurus No heat...lead to leaking reservoir..muddy fluid. WHATS GOING ON?

[CelesteEve]

I want to start out I'm a daddy's girl that loves to fix things on her own if at all possible. I just need a little guidance.

So, the car hasn't been blowing consistent heat recently (it will heat up once in awhile especially if I pound on the dash) and starting last night i noticed that it was leaking coolant.....fast. It does not smell like coolant in the car and the hoses under the reservoir seem fairly dry accept for some residual leaking fluid from above.

Today I drove a few miles to run errands and before we got even home it was at HOT. so I took a piece of cardboard and put it under the reservoir (where it seems to be coming from) and after running the engine for a bit and removing the cardboard it was wet. SO i put my hand under it and it appears to have a hole or a crack underneath it. Is there a plug which is located underneath? There is a hole big enough for my finger to sit in. I can buy one from autozone for approx $30. I should be able to swap it out myself I'm hoping.

So I thought I had figured it out. I have no coolant so I added near hot water to the reservoir which i then noticed the fluid in there was a muddy brown. After researching this online i find out that it could be a severe head gasket which is blown or a clogged heater core backing up. I have no experience with anything like this before.

I'm wondering if it truly is just the reservoir and the muddy brown got stirred up because it hasn't been flushed within the last 3 years which could be leading me to freak out prematurely OR should I get the core flushed and radiator flushed as well?

I know...lots of questions...and I'm hoping for lots of answers! Thanks guys (and/or gals)!

[03p71]

The cooling systems in these cars are terrible. Coolant reservoir cracking like you repaired is very common. While it's possible you could have a head gasket leak, the car would probably be running noticably bad if that was the case.

You definitely should flush out the entire coolant system. Not just drain the radiator, but a complete flush. You could also try flushing out the heater core again by itsself, but more than likely you will need to replace it to correct the no heat problem. Heater core clogging is also very common.

While you do need to pull the instrument panel to get to the heater core, it's really not that difficult on a taurus and something you might be able to do yourself (although you will need a helper to remove and reinstall the dash). You don't need to remove it completely, just pull it back far enough from the plenum to get at the heater core.

[CelesteEve]

PROBLEM SOLVED!

I just wanted to post a follow up to this. i took it in and it was as easy as i hoped it would be. A cracked reservoir with some rust dying the fluids to make me think head gasket. I got a good flush and heat works fine. Now i did fail to mention the instrument panel got smashed in with a fist (not mine...long story) so a few wires were pinched causing the heat to actually blow cold and vice versa for cool air.

Thanks for all the input. I do think the core is next to go. Its been touchy all winter.

Thanks everyone!!