Bought 01 Sport trac oil leaks!

[01sporttrac_guy]

I just got an 01 sport trac. I know it had problems when buying but need some help now.

There is oil all over the place. It leaks from the valve cover onto the engine and causes smoke under the hood. It is also over heating.

Basically there are tons of leaks and its all over the place and all over the engine. What should I do first?

Right now what I'm doing is having the valve cover seal changed out. But I don't know what I'm going to do about over heating.

It looks like the water is circulating but after driving it on the highway engine temp rises and I can hear the radiator steaming and there is water leaking/dripping while its hot.

Any help would be appreciated it. First car owner here. Thanks

 

[morbid81]

check the weep hole at the water pump, make sure the thermostat isnt leaking anywhere around the housing and that its functioning properly, check your cooling hoses to make sure they are blown, make sure your cooling fan is in good working order, radiators on the ex's seem to leak around the seams and collect in the splash guard so pull that off and check those, also make sure you got coolant in the radiator and the reservoir, also make sure you aren't leaking from the heater hoses going to the firewall or in the car itself from the heater core

 

[01sporttrac_guy]

check the weep hole at the water pump, make sure the thermostat isnt leaking anywhere around the housing and that its functioning properly, check your cooling hoses to make sure they are blown, make sure your cooling fan is in good working order, radiators on the ex's seem to leak around the seams and collect in the splash guard so pull that off and check those, also make sure you got coolant in the radiator and the reservoir, also make sure you aren't leaking from the heater hoses going to the firewall or in the car itself from the heater core

Hi morbid thank you for your reply. What I've done so far is temporarily used some make a seal around the valve head cover which was leaking onto the hot engine causing smoke. Yes I'll need to order parts and replace the gasket but those have to come from the US as they are far too expensive as I'm in the Philippines.

The water problem I am unsure of. Please note it gets very hot here as this is the tropics but it did not use to overheat until I had the radiator "hoverhauled" by some cheapo radiator shop. Now it overheats. I doesn't seem to be dripping water as I can fill it up with water and run it. No drips. But when it overheats I can hear the steam buildup when I pull over and see water dripping out of it. Yes there is that hissssing sound.

So I did that jurry-rig and cleaned off the engine so I can see if it'll leak much now and my primary concern is the overheating. I changed the oil and filter since I seen the oil was low (not sure if this could have also caused the over heating) but i haven't taken it out on the highway since i've sealed the valve head with some make a seal (similar to "right stuff")

The "Next door neighbor mechanic " said possibly the water is leaking into the cylinder because there is no leakage on the ground. again I'll drive her on the highway to see if she'll overheat since i've only done the oil change a few hours ago.

Thanks for your help and I appreciate it. I'll check the things you recommended in the morning and update.

 

[swshawaii]

Regarding the coolant leak, first place to look on the 4.0 SOHC engine is the lower thermostat housing. The leak usually
occurs on the rear facing seams. A cooling system pressure test kit helps if you can't pinpoint the leak(s). See link below.
http://bengrosser.com/howto/fordthermostat/

The 2001 ST has two different engine configurations, known as the Job 1 or 2. The PCV valve on the Job 2 is mounted on the drivers side valve cover next to the firewall, and known to leak at the valve cover fitting. See pics below and report back.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2714197&postcount=2

 

[01sporttrac_guy]

Regarding the coolant leak, first place to look on the 4.0 SOHC engine is the lower thermostat housing. The leak usually
occurs on the rear facing seams. A cooling system pressure test kit helps if you can't pinpoint the leak(s). See link below.
http://bengrosser.com/howto/fordthermostat/

The 2001 ST has two different engine configurations also known as Job 1 or 2. The PCV valve on the Job 2 is mounted on the drivers side valve cover next to the firewall, and known to leak at the valve cover fitting. See pics below and report back.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2714197&postcount=2

Appreciate you taking the time to comment on here. I'll check that as well first thing in the morning its 12am here Manila (PH) and report back as soon as I find out. Thank you.