I've got a leak

ThunderDave

Registered User
I've been smelling anti-freeze every now and then and since I know it has a small leak around the thermostat housing that I had planned to fix in Oct. while I'm on vacation, I was letting it ride. I was at the gas station empying out my wallet :eek: and thought I'd check the motor. There was a really stong coolant odor and I looked under the car and see coolant dripping.

I got back home and put it on the ramps and I could not tell where it was coming from. The hoses looked dry. The water pump looked dry, so I'm wondering where the leak could be. Any ideas or suggestions on what to check or look for would be appreciated.

It runs good with no signs of a problem. :(

Thanks!
 
David, check all of your heater lines and oil cooler lines real good with a flashlight. Is it running hot? It could be coolant overflowing into the reservoir. Mine used to smell strong when it did that.
In case your wondering, Yes I did cut the holes in my hood. Today as a matter of fact. Look for pics on the non tech forum tonight. As soon as the primer dries, i'm gonna set the scoops in the holes and shoot some pics. I'm pretty satisfied so far. They'll be getting paint this weekend. I didn't have to cut any support members at all. The bad part is what the scoops lead into. One goes right to the DIS module and the other goes right to the DIS coilpack! :( I'm thinkin' they might need rainflaps installed.
 
David where at under the front end is the coolant dripping from? Next time you have it in the air grab that flash light and look behind the water pump pulley for antifreeze. Also twist the lines that have wire looms around then that run right under your oil filter. You may find antifreeze hiding inside one of the looms.

Shane
 
You may want to check aroudn the drain from the heater core also, better hop it aint there either, cuz pulling the dash is a real female dawg :(
 
i had a slow leak from my t-stat housing. one day coolant just started pouring out of the bottom of my engine and i thought it was something else. but after looking at everything else i found out it was just the t-stat leaking bad. so it just may be that.

if it is use black rtv and forget about the gasket. it is such a pain to do it with the gasket.
 
Mine came from the throttle body coolant line, the one exiting. Now I am getting it from the heater core hose to the pipe going into the intake manifold. Good luck getting that one...I have tried every place here in SA, except Advance, and no one has one. It has to be a molded hose.

Also, check if all the connections are tight. cannot rule out that possiblity...that is if you still have the stock style clamps. If you do, go get the worms clamps.
 
Here are my coolant loss experiences if that'll help:

#1- is the bottom radiator hose clamp (at the rad).
#2 - is the thermostat housing gasket (coolant ponds on top of the timing chain casing and then runs down the side of the engine).
#3 - is the oil cooler hoses (particularly at the cooler itself, above the oil filter, where they are clamped versus the other factory crimped joints).
#4 - is the water pump gasket (had to tighten the bolts that go thru the timing cover a couple of times).
#5 - is the water pump bypass hose (the little one under the stat).
#6 - is the bent rubber heater hose right behind the a/c compressor & in front of the oil filler cap.
 
The leak around the T stat housing isn't enough to cause the dripping I saw. The overflow was low, so I added some. I had the 14 wire cut to run low speed fan, so I reconnected that, just in case.

Checked it this morning on the way home and didn't see any leaks, not a drop. :confused: I do need the washer that goes on the bleeder valve bolt.

I'll keeping checking it to see if I can track it done. I doubt a leak will stop on it's on. Thanks for the help guys.
 
Joisey Jim said:
#6 - is the bent rubber heater hose right behind the a/c compressor & in front of the oil filler cap.


Have you found that molded hose anywhere? That is where mine is leaking from now...
 
Just to give some input, I thought I had a leak, but it turned out to be a bad raditator cap
 
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For anyone with a leak at the thermostat housing, the best way to repair this is to avoid using a paper gasket. I agree with L/F 93 man on this one. What I've noticed is that the stamped steel thermostat housing flange warps over time and if you use a gasket, it won't be long before the gasket splits and you've got another leak on your hands. I repaired my t-stat housing 5 times in a row, using O.E. gaskets and aftermarket ones along with RTV gasket maker to coat both sides, only to have a leak the day after. I even found a replacement t-stat housing at a junk yard, only to find that the mounting flange was more warped than the one I had. I finally decided to use only RTV gasket maker (Permatex with high glycol resistance) and it worked perfectly. No more leaks.

Just out of curiosity, I went to my local Ford dealership to find out how much $ for a new t-stat housing for a '91 SC. He told me that they discontinued them, but they could get them somewhere in the States for around $350. Yikes!!!! Does anyone know whether or not someone can fabricate these with a machined face that will mate up with the block perfectly? The stock ones are a POS because the gasket mating surface is irregular.
 
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