grege Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 2018 titanium cmax and I can loosen the coolant reservoir cap, but the *(&^%$#@! thing will not come off. Seems to spin loose and then stops and will not budge anymore or lift up/off. Prior to this, my wife's 2017 energi cap and my 2018 caps were always difficult, but never had a problem ultimately removing either. Our 2018 cmax had the tranny replaced and the coolant along with it, so ford possibly dorked some cap alignment since it no longer perfectly"faces front" like it used to do (it's close, but not quite right). Any recommendations for removing this POS? Thanks! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacienega Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Did you get it off? I used an oil filter wrench to get mine off. After that I've rubbed some coolant on the rubber sealant rings from the cap to get it on easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grege Posted January 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2022 On 1/2/2022 at 12:01 AM, Lacienega said: Did you get it off? I used an oil filter wrench to get mine off. After that I've rubbed some coolant on the rubber sealant rings from the cap to get it on easy. I've not gotten it off yet since I was afraid I was going to snap something. I'll try again when/if the coolant level drops significantly. Just annoying because it came off fine before the coolant was changed when the transmission was replaced. Now the cap alignment is off and it now lacks the "loose" feel when unscrewed. I expect I'll be replacing the coolant tank and cap before long. Greg Lacienega 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grege Posted May 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2022 Happy to report I've removed the cap !!! Got fed up enough and said F-it, it's either coming off or I'm breaking it off. Finally popped it off with some aggression and then added silicone grease around cap o-ring and oh-what-a-difference-that-made. I was fully prepared to install a new coolant tank, but no need for that yet... Greg Lacienega 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djc Posted May 23, 2023 Report Share Posted May 23, 2023 I just added coolant to my 2013 - the cap was extremely hard to turn. I discovered I needed to start removing it, then push down to engage an inner piece that is threaded into the reservoir and won't turn unless the visible cap is pressed down. Once it is off, adding some silicone grease sounds like a very good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djc Posted June 2, 2023 Report Share Posted June 2, 2023 Having done this again and actually looked at the coolant reservoir cap once removed, I see the inner piece (presumably a pressure relief valve) is free to turn in the cap. It is not threaded, it has an 0-ring to seal the reservoir. So pressing down on the cap does not engage anything. I used a drop of oil off the dipstick to lube the cap threads - handier than tracking down silicone grease - and that seemed to help. I have a slow coolant leak - drips from the bottom of the thermostat housing. Thermostat housing is low, near the oil filter. It connects to 4 coolant hoses of various diameters. I have added UV flourescent dye to the coolant (at the reservoir) and hope to have a better idea of the leak location soon. Lacienega 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cr08 Posted June 2, 2023 Report Share Posted June 2, 2023 (edited) Just keep in mind that with these vehicles (and a lot of newer vehicles and most Ford's anymore), the coolant tank is pressurized itself. It basically takes place of the old way of having that on the radiator. While I don't think any of the mentioned tricks here will harm this in any way, just figured I'd toss this out as an FYI. Edited June 2, 2023 by cr08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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