Ford Coolant Tank

Ford engines work best when running in the proper operating temperature. Such operating temperature, however, is not for the engine to control. As the engine burns fuel, it ordinarily generates a lot of heat and if this heat is kept unchecked, it may eventually cause engine overheating. To avoid any of such complications and to keep the engine running at its best, a coolant is circulated through the engine block to absorb this heat. And to serve as storage for this coolant in your Ford is the Ford coolant tank.

The Ford coolant tank is a semi-transparent bottle, which may be pressurized or not, where the coolant that runs through the engine block and the engine cooling system is temporarily stored. The coolant tank’s function, however, is not limited to storing the coolant used by the engine, just as its other names would tell you.

The coolant tank is called by various other names, among them are: coolant reservoir, coolant expansion tank, coolant overflow tank, and coolant recovery tank. Most of these names would tell you that the coolant tank is used to hold expanding or overflowing coolant. And it actually does! As the engine heats up, the coolant in the radiator would also tend to expand. To allow for this expansion, many modern engine cooling systems are equipped with an overflow tube connected to the bottom of a coolant tank. As the coolant heats up and expands, it flows into the coolant tank, just to be drawn back by the vacuum created in the radiator as the coolant cools down.

Still, the function of the Ford coolant tank does not end there. In modern vehicles, coolant is no longer loaded through the inlet of the radiator. Instead, it is loaded through the inlet of the expansion tank. Ford coolant tanks also have two indicators in its surface. One of these indicators marks the safe coolant level when the coolant is hot and the other when the coolant is cool. These markings on the Ford coolant tank makes checking the vehicle coolant levels a lot easier and safer.