Coolant leak, 94 EX

My son called me Friday and said his EX (4.0, A4LD, 4x4, 203,000 miles) was spitting coolant. It was dark and cold, but he thought it was coming from the left side... So we drove down today (120 miles each way), hoping it was just a hose or some such. Nope.

It seems to be leaking right behind the timing cover on the drivers side. Is this a usual place for it too leak? Or am I looking at something catastrophic? It leaks too high to be a block freeze plug, but suppose it could be the headgasket. It just doesn't look like its going to fun to get to. Not really hard. But not fun.

Connect a cooling system pressure tester to locate the point where it's leaking. You could get one from Autozone's tool loaner program.

I have found that the 4.0L OHV engine often leaks from the front timing cover to block water passage which is very close to the head gasket area. It usually starts out as a weeping sign then continues to deteriorate as the gasket dissolves. Has the engine been overheated?
No such thing as a freeze plug, its called a core plug from casting the block.
BrooklynBay's suggestion is a good start.

I've already seen where it leaks from, right behind the timing cover as you mention. We didn't notice weeping, but then, the truck isn't mine and not in my driveway often anymore. First indication my son had was coolant puking when he got to work Friday morning. Overheated? Not sure, but probably not. Again, truck is 120 miles from me.

Thanks for the info on the gasket, if it is common then I guess we're not having an unusual issue then. We filled the radiator and coolant overflow, and we saw small drips. And that was without even running the motor. Tried to pinpoint it that way but it wasn't easy. So we started the truck and saw coolant running to the ground. and stopped the motor. Looked a lot closer and then ran the motor again for about 10 seconds. twice more. Like I said, right behind the timing cover drivers side. Its NOT weeping, it POURS. It became real clear real quick.

Heard em called freeze plugs and expansion plugs. Never heard core plug before...

Also, O'reilly's shows a timing gasket set and says it needs an oil pan gasket. Is this normal or can I get away without changing it? Nevermind. With this amount of mileage I might as well change it out. Can I get the engine high enough to pull the pan? I have a shop crane...

Here are some looks with the cover off, maybe seeing in there will help...

Joe Dirt, thanks a bunch brotherman. Without the truck in front of me the book was looking pretty bare for what I wanted to see. Really appreciate the pics!!!

Towed it home last night, bought the gasket set this morning, and digging into it after my buddy brings his propane heater over for me. Gotta get the chill out of the garage... And, gotta have my son do most of the work. Its his truck afterall. He'll be here this afternoon.

OK, been a week of lots of distractions. Man, that is the tightest fit of a fan clutch I've ever seen. Now the question, is it a left handed thread or right? And I still gotta figure out what tool I have that will fit...

Explorers have a notice molded into the fan shroud that the clutch is Right Hand threaded.

Slip joint pliers will work in a pinch, but you can save yourself a ton of time and aggravation by going to autozone and having them loan out the right tools. The slender wrenches that slide over the clutch nut and that hold the clutch still make the job such a piece of cake I'd say it's even worth buying them if you work on the engine enough.

I'd just go ahead and pull the radiator first. It'll make getting to the timing cover and removing everything a ton easier, and you're going to be draining the coolant anyway, plus it lets you clean out all the crud under the radiator too.

Well how about that? I hadn't noticed that... (Note to Ford, did you actually expect folks to work on Explorers?) I was about ready to take the waterpump out so I can get the shroud off too. I really prefer to take as little apart as I can get away with, and the coolant level is down already. I don't want to pull the radiator as I don't want to mess with the trans cooler lines.

Thanks (that wasn't sarcasm above either!)...

You pretty much have to scrape your knuckles getting the fan off the water pump before you can do anything else, the shroud is held in by the fan, unless you pull the radiator first, then you can eventually squeeze the shroud through the space the radiator now makes if you're really in a jam trying to get the fan off.

If you get the fan off the pump, pull the shroud up and off with the fan, taking care not to scrape up the radiator fins as you do so. Some cardboard behind the radiator (and taped in place while you're working) will save you radiator and hand damage.

Ran to Autostoned and got the right tool... Sure made the fan clutch easy to yank. Now, letting the heater warm the garage to get further into it.

did you remove the oil pan to change the timing cover gasket?

We've got a 1994 Sport 4x4 that just began pouring coolant from the exact same place as zjrog's (drivers side, right behind the timing cover where it bolts to the front of the block).

After seeing Joe Dirt's photos, and after reading zjrog's initial steps/progress, I have a question for you two (or anyone else who's done this repair):

Does the oil pan HAVE to come off to be able to remove the timing cover and replace its gasket? I just can't quite tell from the photos.

I ask because if yes, it looks like taking the oil pan off entails a TON of work.

Thanks very much, and I hope to hear from you soon.

-GREG

zjrog said:

Ran to Autostoned and got the right tool... Sure made the fan clutch easy to yank. Now, letting the heater warm the garage to get further into it.

Click to expand...

Still haven't got there yet. Between weather, work and the son not being home much, it sits...

shop2010 said:

Does the oil pan HAVE to come off to be able to remove the timing cover and replace its gasket? I just can't quite tell from the photos.

I ask because if yes, it looks like taking the oil pan off entails a TON of work.

Click to expand...

Yes, taking the pan off entails a ton of work, either lifting the motor or taking it out.

As Joe Dirt's photos show, no, you don't have to mess with the oil pan to remove the timing cover.

The dealer did this gasket repair for me about 2 years ago,
when the wife was commuting and I didn't have time to repair
it myself.

It looks like the tech did not remove the oil pan, but ran a
bead of silicone across the oil pan flange to seal the pan
front to the timing chain cover. I think the repair manuals
say to remove the oil pan, but the silicone sealer trick must
be a short-cut.

No leaks so far, with about 30K miles on the repair...

Thanks Runnin, THAT is some great info...

So, been a while. We got the front off, new gaskets, new waterpump and new hoses and thermostat. Filled with coolant and... Still poured out as fast as it went in. What I saw next is what I wish I'd seen the first time. The coolant was pouring from the driver's side front of the intake manifold.

So, between my own bad health and my son's getting time to come work on it, we finally got into it today and have it mostly back together again. This truck better make it another 200,000 miles before leaking coolant again!!! It was going to leak at that timing cover before long, so the work wasn't a waste of time. Although a moment of stupidity early in the project cost me almost thirty stitches in my hand, with another 15 to close...


Just need to get the rest of the electrical reconnected, and the fan and belt and associated stuff. Then we can fill it again with coolant and see what happens next. We DID go ahead and change plugs and wires, the plug boots were hard and and broke when we pulled them, and the 2 and 3 plugs appear to be Bosch Platinums that haven't been changed in forever, practically no center insulators left on either plug. So, MPG ought to get better....

Well, FINALLY the EX was driven from the garage today. The worst aspect of this was breaking a thermostat housing bolt this morning, but it came out with little drama. Initially, the plug wires were put on the coil block incorrect and it ran like crap. When we put the plug wires on properly, purrs like a kitten. I'll drive it locally for the next week before letting the truck go with my son 2 hours away...

Looking forward to getting the Warthog back in for a complete TTB rehab (balljoints, bearings, seals and U joints) and slave cylinder replacement... SAS is off the shelf for now.

OW.... that had to hurt. Care to explain how you managed that one?

Also, good to hear you got it sealed up and running again. Nothing better then a running truck after having half of it spread out around the garage.

Check the link in my sig for help on the front end work...