"update" on my "freaked out water leak" [pretty long]

anlo

Registered User
:rolleyes:well ive narrowed it down and believe 100 % its intake gasket issue
i went out to check up on my coolant tank level and sure enough it had dropped so then i checked oil level and it was still where i left it , no change.. so thats a relief. so i thought ok the bars copper block/cooling system stop leak crap actually sort of worked .. so i got the ole mirror out and a light and while leaning on the upper radiator hose i noticed a tiny bead of h20 seeping down the line of the intake gasket . i snapped a pic while i squeezed upper hose and caught a bead of water as it exited.. i cant make out the exact origin i believe its about a half inch above the {corner} {"block/head/manifold"} so my logic is stop leak sealed the part letting water into oil and now is seeping externally again sounds crazy but if i can at least one of you to agree with me id feel better...ive changed oil 3 times in the last three days and today level seems to be holding.i guess what i want to here from the gurus is : a simple replacement of the manifold gaskets only should suffice? i truly feel h/g 's are okay what do yall think? i didnt have any coolant in system so only water was introduced to the oil a couple times of which i changed out immediately...i believe the leak was so small that heat from engine would burn it off before making it to the ground. anyway tell me im not just trying to talk myself out of a head gasket job and that i might just be lucky this time..previous owner was so anal im fairly sure he had h/g were replaced under warranty and car was never abused... went out this morning squeezed on the rad hose and slow drip comes from spot described cranked her up an there was a constant drip until warm up then drip stopped went to the store and back and still no leak.. i really think if i could somehow get to a couple of the front intake bolts to tighten it may help --- fuel rail is in the way.. any ideas ? pulled coil pack got to the front two intake bolts and was able to turn a little with low effort just maybe just maybe bought some time???
 

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I personally wouldnt chance it by just trying to tighten the bolts. The manifold gasket obviously is ruined and needs to be replaced. If not, it could get even more damaged by tighting them and if it fails, your going to get water getting into the motor. Buying more time could end up being an exspensive job. I think that the manifold gasket is really easy to do and not bad in price, one time i did it 3 times in 2 days. I would do a compression check just to be on the safe side of the head gaskets.
 
Get yourself an inexpensive cooling system pressure tester and an adapter for the ford radiator. Its worth its weight in gold...

Pressure test system and then you will find that leak in a hurry. If you suspect headgaskets you can even do a quick check for that also .

I personally would replace intake gaskets and make sure the botls are the correct torque. I have seen some use copper spray on the gaskets others use gasket spray on them some use silicone around all the ports and such, i put mine on with a thin coating of gasket sealant (red spray in a can) and i used the supplied front and rear center gaskets from fel-pro and torqued the bolts in 4 steps. Then retorqued them after the motor was nice and hot.

No leaks.

You might wana consider a front timing cover gasket set also while you feel ambitious. Its probably on its way out also.
 
cool thanks

thanks im going to agree and not be hardheaded so far seems fine even the fake oil pressure guage reads better and idle is better i dont know what 11-13 ft pds torque feels like but i got about a half turn on front two bolts and for grins checked passenger side front bolt it was tight.... but it will have to get me through two more weeks. going to get a pressure tester tomorrow. havent ever taken supercharger off and the fuel rail deal scares me a little...with all the horror stories about the egr bolt just avoided that process ,, if i can pull the valve body and change accumulators or change mounts or replace broken harmonic balancer 3 times i feel confident i can handle the manifold.. thanks all.
 
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