Coolant leak

[Greenemachine]

I posted this on the other board, with my old name, Krazykow. anyways I have a coolant leak somewhere near the bottom of my engine. I looked around the water pump and it looks completely dry. So I don't think its from there. it seems to be comming from a seal or something on the engine. But I don't know if there is a seal for it to leak from.

 

[redn8]

Is it a little leak or big? Is it a drip? Can you tell if it's front or back of the engine?

 

[Greenemachine]

its in the middle.. It's a steady drip when the engines on, but not too bad... yet. and the only place it seems to be is right under the bottom crank pulley on the front of the engine. there seems to be a plate on the bottom of the engine with a few bolts in the front. that seems to be where most of the concentration of it is.

 

[Greenemachine]

It could've dripped from above but like I said the water pump looks dry from every angle I've seen.

 

[Ponyfreak]

Sounds like it is leaking from the oil filter adapter. there is an adapter that does both redirects oil to the oil filter, and it directs coolant to the thermostat. There is one gasket that seals it all up. Lookup by it and i think you will find your lead.

 

[Greenemachine]

I'll check this out probally tomorrow... is this an easy cheap fix or labor intensive?

 

[Ponyfreak]

if coolant is leaking from there, it is pretty labor intense. As in so labor intense I do not know if you can do it with the engine in the car. Hopefully coolant is leaking off of your thermostat housing or a hose under there.

 

[XLRVIII]

I was thinking oil filter adapter as well... or maybe a hose in the area of the thermostat housing.

I heard that the Oil filter adapter isn't that hard of a job, just kind difficult because you cant "see" what your working on.

If you can "work by feel" it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
I need to change mine ASAP.. I can watch the oil drip out when the motor is first started up.. after it warms up.. it doest leak.. but while it's cold.. it leaves a HUGE puddle "1 foot in diameter".
{cringes}

Mobil 1 is TOO expensive to be left laying around like that.

...MUST FIX!

 

[Greenemachine]

I just got my car on a lift. Turns out it is my water pump. It was so hard to see where it was comming from. I wish I had a place to put a lift, I'd buy 1 in a heartbeat. anyways thanks for the information you all passed on. I appericate it.

Steve

 

[Ponyfreak]

Now a waterpump, that is an easy job. You should be happy to hear it was the water pump.

 

[Brink]

I don't know if you would be interested or not, but I had a slight problem with temp. going up and down every few miles, I suspected Cavation, when I pulled my Enclosed Trailer. I heard Ford even warned about that if you used this new Eco. antifreeze. I have a 94 Mark and I put a cobra water pump on it, They are better, or so say's one of the car mags I read. You need a different Pully with it as it is about 1" shorter. I figured more room for a blower if I decide to.. But since your changing it anyway I thought I'd mention it. I've had no trouble so far, and it's been about 6 months. I'll know more when the weather get's Hot. If you want the part numbers I'll look them up for you. It cost me right at 100.00 for pump and Pully, but I get a discount. I think list was about 128.00 if I remember right.

Wayne

PS The original pump had fins that sat close to the machining in the block. The new one has a back plate of it's own but is clears. I tightened it a little at a time and turned it by hand to make sure it didn't bind. No Problem.

 

[Ponyfreak]

The water pump off of a V10 truck engine is supposed to be the baddest of them all from what i hear. Might be a lot cheaper too.

 

[driller]

I always say take a simple breakdown and turn it into an opportunity to improve or modify. Sure the water pump can be improved - try this:

http://www.evanscooling.com/catalog/EP3513R.jpg
EP3513R Ford 4.6 L 1996-2000 Mustang, 8 vane 4.0" O.D. aluminum impeller, 3/4" ball / roller bearing.

with some of this:

http://www.evanscooling.com/catalog/npgPlsP.jpg
http://www.evanscooling.com/graphics/ecs_npgPls.jpg
http://www.evanscooling.com/graphics/npgtext1.gif
http://www.evanscooling.com/main21.htm

 

[steve]

John, what makes that coolant a good choice, how is it different from prestone lets say?

 

[Greenemachine]

I always say take a simple breakdown and turn it into an opportunity to improve or modify. Sure the water pump can be improved - try this:

http://www.evanscooling.com/catalog/EP3513R.jpg
EP3513R Ford 4.6 L 1996-2000 Mustang, 8 vane 4.0" O.D. aluminum impeller, 3/4" ball / roller bearing.




Is that water pump a direct fit? how much would it cost. and with the evans... I looked into it a while back, and it said you have to completely drain the coolant system out. whats the best way to do that without spending days. I can't affod to have my car down for that long.

 

[driller]

>John, what makes that coolant a good choice, how is it different
>from prestone lets say?

Steve, from what I understand about NPG+, its main benefit is the lack of water - 'non-aquaeous'. Also, I know from experience that coolant is one of the most neglected fluids in the engine. NPG+ is touted to be a 'lifetime' coolant, you put it in and never need to change it(almost). 'Prestone' or virtually all over the counter anti-freeze will degrade over time and not only lose their optimum cooling abilities, but also start allowing corrosion in the system. The other improvement I feel sets it apart from others is the ability of an increased boiling point without raising the system pressure. IMO this would allow running a lower system pressure thus increasing reliability and longevity of the radiator, heater core, hoses and gaskets.

>Is that water pump a direct fit? how much would it cost. and with
>the evans...

You would need to call Evans and verify the fitment as well as pricing, perhaps someone else here would know better than I, but I believe the water pump on the Mustang version of the 4.6 is the same as the Mark(I'm thinking of some members here with 'stang backgrounds).