Losing Coolant from Overflow, Help

[pierces2]

Long story short my 93 Festiva overheated one day after a dry rot coolant line finally gave way. Started losing power while cruising so I immediately shut it off and had it towed back to our shop. After replacing that hose and the thermostat we figured we’d start it up and bleed the coolant system of air and filling it back up (I had lost 3/4 of my coolant from the leaky hose). Started up and seemed to run fine. I drive it 10 miles home and the temp gauge stays about mid way between cold and hot. After turning the car off I can hear gurgling and see steam spilling from the overflow tube as well as dripping from the tube and I’m down several quarts of coolant. No other external leaks and I replaced the rad cap with a brand new 13 lb as well. It goes into the mechanic to have the radiator tested tomorrow but wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem and had a diagnosis. I’m thinking worst case scenario cracked block or head somewhere?

[pierces2]

…. Really? Lol no one has any suggestions? I expected more from this forum.

[w4rkry]

Your original diagnosis is where I would start. If the coolant isn't leaking outside of the engine, then it has to be either leaking into the combustion chamber and burning, or leaking into the oil. Both most likely caused by a bad headgasket. The Festiva head really doesn't like to be overheated. Low oil, no problem. Heat, very bad.

And the forum isn't as active as it used to be. If you want faster answers, I would recommend asking on the Facebook group, Facebook.com/groups/fordfestiva.

[pierces2]

…. Really? Lol no one has any suggestions? I expected more from this forum.

[WmWatt]

Perhaps because it's an unusual event. I've been following this forum for quite a while and don't recall seeing it before. Still, a search of the site on something like "overflow pipe" might bring up something. Good luck.

[1990new]

Which coolant line did you replace? If you had dry rot in one it's likely that you have it in others too.
Two little hoses in particular have become the source of mystery coolant loss in Festivas. The little hose that runs from the intake manifold to the idle speed control and the other one that runs from the idle speed control to throttle body. Either of these hose can get a small cracks in them near the connections and will slowly leak when the engine get hot. The leaks are usually so small that you don't realize that you are losing coolant until your reservoir creeps lower. Sometime the leak can be detected by your nose when you open the hood and smell hot antifreeze near the back of the engine.
My Festiva shop manual doesn't say much about them and there is no diagram showing how they connect. They are difficult to get to to change as well.

From your description, your coolant loss appears to be more rapid now but a leak at one of these hoses could have been the problem that led up to a bigger problem because of multiple overheating events.

[zoe60]

I hate to be Bob Bummer, but mine did that when I first got it and it turned out to be a bad head gasket. Combustion pressure getting into the cooling chambers. Just a thought. Sorry