Hot answers tagged coolant
5
I suspect you have a leaking head gasket, you don't have to see the coolant leak because it can leak into the combustion chamber and exit your vehicle in the form of vapor from the tail pipe. It can also leak into the oil so make sure to check the oil for contamination.
It could also be as simple as a bad radiator cap, you can test them with specialized ...
3
If coolant is getting into the engine, then oil will be getting into the coolant. It's a 2-way street there. I'm really surprised he didn't mention it, since it's expected. However, normally after doing a gasket repair of that type they just automatically change your coolant and oil on the spot since it's contaminated.
2
The only special equipment you'll need to flush your own radiator is a bucket. The fact that they claimed it would take special equipment is just one red flag. I'd be skeptical they even changed the oil. Just google how to flush your Toyota's radiator, you'll see it's super easy. And see if you can warn everyone else in your area about that shop.
2
To add to R...'s answer, I don't know about your Toyota, but on my buick there's a wingnut on the radiator, once I unscrewed that all the coolant came out (so drip pan was my 'special equipment'), once it stopped I tightened the wingnut and added properly mixed coolant, been running fine ever since.
If you really want a peak at what it will take, here is ...
1
Oil in the coolant reservoir is usually a pretty bad sign! Are there signs of coolant in the oil as well (a creamy mayonnaise-like substance)? Either of those are signs of Head Gasket failure, which would eventually stop the engine from starting, but would normally give a lot of other signs first...
You say it started off as an intermittant problem - is it ...
1
I've seen similar symptoms a couple times before in other cars (I have no Ford experience). In one case it was the oil pump failing (pump later suddenly seized up). In 2 other cases that come to mind it was actually an alternator going overvoltage and freaking out the ECU causing it to pop lights when it shouldn't.
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Firstly, on most cars (I don't know about the Escape) the oil and coolant warning lights don't warn you of low levels - The oil light warns of low pressure, and the coolant light of high temperature. Therefore, you could easily have low oil pressure while still having plenty of oil.
The first symptom you describe (the light coming on under braking/idle and ...
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