Coolant leak from rear of 5.0L engine

[2000StreetRod]

radiator removal

Thanks for the details regarding the removal of the radiator which I hope to be doing on a V8 sometime in 2011. I think you made the correct choice by replacing your water pump. My SOHC V6 water pump started to leak soon after 150,000 miles on the odometer. Hopefully you will experience many more years of troublefree service!

 

[OneLever]

Great write up 1998Exp! Thank you for sharing the part numbers of the tools you used. That pulley holder for the crankshaft looks very useful. I have run into the mismatched fan pulley and nut kit problem as well. Got around it by getting each wrench from a different kit on loan from Autozone.

Just to clarify, you used the Felpro gasket and black silicone around the corners instead of cork?

I understand why you would replace the timing chain, but what is the reasoning behind replacing the gears as well? Were the teeth worn down?

 

[1998Exp]

No cork

I found no use for those cork corners included in the Felpro kit. They appear to be for the older version of the pan gasket, which was all cork. The gasket on my pan is silicone-lined metal. Some of the silicone peeled off, so I just filled the voids with black Permatex. And as always, when installing the front cover, you need to put silicone sealant in the bottom corners - front and back. Should have mentioned that a bit of sealant is also needed in the pulley keyway - otherwise oil will seep through there. So far so good...

Can't tell how worn the gear teeth were. Measuring those takes much fancier equipment than I have! So this was just cheap insurance; 1/3 the cost of a water pump, but three times the work, if I need to get in there ever again.

 

[wingcmdr]

have you had any leaks or problems after re-using the metal gasket with sealer? I'm about to do this tomorrow with my 97 merc, hopefully it goes smoothly

 

[1998Exp]

You resurrected a very old thread. I later posted some more experience learned from that task. In particular, the Harbor Freight tool that I used to hold the pulley turned out to be a one-shot device. It's made from a soft metal, bent out of shape and basically fell apart on a second attempt to use it. Instead, I improvised a holding tool made from a steel bar, in which I drilled a couple holes and used the threaded holes in the pulley to attach it. Had to grind a recess to clear the center bolt. Works like a charm!
I also purchased an inexpensive extra-short impact wrench, which allows removing the pulley with the radiator in place. Don't remember the make/model at this point.

To answer your question, yes, I did have a problem with the pan gasket, and found a small oil drip. Turned out that my sealing technique was poor -- others managed to do a much better job. Search for their posts.

And, unfortunately, over time. the coolant leak reappeared, albeit it's nowhere near as bad. I am suspecting that the timing cover is now warped. Would recommend checking it for flatness, and replacing if needed.

have you had any leaks or problems after re-using the metal gasket with sealer? I'm about to do this tomorrow with my 97 merc, hopefully it goes smoothly

 

[wingcmdr]

Haha I know I did, I purposely looked for your original post after seeing you post about doing it on other people's threads. Great info, thank you for the help and advice

 

[masospaghetti]

When i did this job I found it impossible to do without lowering the oil pan a good bit (didn't have to be completely removed, but significantly loosened up). There's just no way to get the front cover in place over the dowel pins otherwise and I actually broke my timing cover removing it before I knew this.

With AWD, it's very difficult to access all of the oil pan bolts. Be ready for a very painful, annoying, agonizing battle with swivel sockets to get the bolts loose with the AWD front pumpkin in the way.