2000 ex still leaking???wtf

[joe doe]

ok i had my whole top end regasketed because it was leaking antifreeze from everywhere .
so we replaced all the gaskets in the top end .
i go out today looking and what do i see?more antifreeze leaking .i had to get under the truck and shine the lite up .
appears to be leaking from behind the water pump area .
the water pump is new its not the pump ,but the piece behind the pump area on the drivers side .

isnt that where the timing chain is?can a leak even happen here?

800.00 dollars later i still got a leak ......i,m getting frustrated now.

when i took the cap off(truck bone dead cold)the radiator it kinda popped and spit some at me ,the thing is full up to the neck.but i still have a leak.


so what can leak behind the water pump area?i,ll try to get a picture of the area.

 

[joe doe]

ok ,not the best picture but you can see what i mean .
the shiny new part you see is the water pump.behind that is the ?(timing chain cover??)
behind that cover is my leak.......you can see the green run coming off it .
this runs down and drips off the lower engine case .i took this pic laying on the ground with flashlight in one hand and camera in the other so this was the best out of half a dozen shots.

so whats leaking now???

By null at 2010-05-13

 

[budwich]

yep behind that cover... front engine cover I think is what is referenced as. The bad news is to fix that you need to remove the cover...BUT to remove the cover, you need to remove the lower pan cause there are two bolts holding the cover on. To remove the pan, you need to lift / remove the engine... :-( search and you will find some threads on this problem.

 

[pifordparts]

Before you do anything, I personally would rent a pressure tester from one of your local parts houses. I had a hard to track leak on my 98 4.0 sohc. It ended up being the housing that sits right on top of where you are working. The upper radiator hose goes into it after going through an elbow then to another hose that actually goes into the housing.. The pressure tester will make it an easy sight to see if that is the problem. I couldn't find it until I did that test. It is a common issue on the SOHC.

 

[joe doe]

i have the ohv engine .

 

[pifordparts]

so much for that idea.

 

[joe doe]

do i gotta do the oil pan gasket too now along with the timing cover?

autozone sells both gaskets together so........

 

[ranger7ltr]

Is your Explorer 2wd or 4wd?

If it is 2wd the pan comes off without any issues except removing the starter and the 20+ bolts holding the pan...There are 5 bolts that attach the front cover to the oil pan and there is a gasket in between that is a metal/neoprene composite that you should reapply silicone at the seam both under the gasket and on top as well for best sealing...

The following pictures show the ease of removing the oil pan, if needed, on a 2wd Gen II Explorer...You can see there is no frame or crossmember in the way of dropping the pan...

If your truck is a 4wd there will be the transfer case[ I think] and the front axle in the way and raising the engine is necessary to remove the pan...

 

[joe doe]

thanks for those pictures.i talked with my mechanic today .he says he can do it without removing the oil pan .
i do have 4by4,but when i was under there it looks like all the bolts are accessable from underneath.i will look again but yeah it looks dooable.

that sure is one clean engine you got there .is that a fresh block??

until its all said and done i could have nearly bought a replacement engine .

i am 800.00 into gasket repair already
both head gaskets done
lower intake gasket done
upper plenum to intake done
new water pump and gaskets done
exhaust manifold gaskets done
new radiator
new hoses
i have a new alt waiting to go on
i have a reman a/c pump waiting to go on .
new lower ball joints again last year
new thermostat and gasket

this is only a fraction of the repairs done in the last years time .

i must be 2grand into repairs in the last year .and now this yet plus the alt and a/c to go on yet.
its killing me .

so at least so far it looks like we wont have to drop the pan ..i will have to take a closer look ,but my mechanic says he can do it without messing with the oil pan so .and hes good .

thanks again for the pics i saved them .

so with 135,000 on the clock do you think replacing the timing gears and everything in there is in order while we got it open??i am thinking so but all those parts from ford add up to another 4 bills just in parts .so i,m thinking if gears and chain look good just replace the tensioner and the guide .

those 2 parts are like 150.00 alone .

help!!!!!

 

[pifordparts]

Joe,
I can supply your Ford OEM timing parts for $200 plus freight if you decide to do it. Chain, sprockets, guide, and tensioner.

 

[ranger7ltr]

Yes Joe Doe that is a new engine...

I was running the original engine in my 99 X for the last 15 months and noticed a slight coolant leak...Lived with it for a while then decided to replace the head gaskets and put the new heads on that I bought when I bought the truck...

If you need to replace the timing cover gasket, I would definitely replace the timing components...When I pulled mine apart with lots of sludge and 169,165 miles on the engine they still looked tight but I was going to replace them as well...Now I have a new aftermarket timing set with tensioner and guides since the shortblock came with new timing chain and other components...

What I found was 2 cylinders that looked like hell...So I bought a Motorcraft remanufactured shortblock and used the new parts I already had to complete the engine...New heads, roller lifters, water pump, oil pump[came with shortblock], inkectors, rocker arms, pushrods, and a little bling to top off the engine...

 

[joe doe]

thank you piford,thats a good deal .believe me i know .i got fords prices for that stuff today .i,ll let you know .

 

[joe doe]

hey ranger ,what you pay for the shortblock?and you got a pm too.

 

[ranger7ltr]

The cost of the shortblock...

I paid $495.00 for it through a supplier outside of Dallas...I would have rebuilt the original one but the bad cylinders were .110-.125 bigger at the top and the parts for rebuild +labor to prep the block would have been more expensive than buying a rebuilt unit..

The heads were new castings from J & C cylinder heads that were about $400...The rocker arms and pushrods I got from Specialty Engine Parts out of Ft. Worth..The new shortblock came with an oil pump so I didn't need to buy another one but I did replace the oil pump driveshaft and the camshaft syncronizer...I used a unit from Advance Auto parts...

The valve covers and the thermostat neck were powder coated by Turdle on this site...

All I set out to do was to change the leaking head gaskets and use the new heads I had and add the valve covers to the engine...After seeing the damage inside, I couldn't add new heads to that bottom end so out came the old block and in went the new one...

I now have a complete new engine at 169165 miles...