Driving with a coolant leak from the timing cover

[98FordLove]

3 years

good amount of time.

 

[98FordLove]

I don't think a flush will hurt the k-seal repairs, and in the worse case you can add another bottle. If you have lime green coolant, probably best to leave alone.

just confirmed that it's coolant leaking and not oil. I checked the rad and the level dropped. I was able to drop half a bottle of my second bottle of k-Seal in. Idling for 30mins now.

 

[donalds]

Its best to drive so there is load and different rpm
Just idle ing don't get the coolant moving enough

 

[98FordLove]

Its best to drive so there is load and different rpm
Just idle ing don't get the coolant moving enough

Thanks. I did that today, two nice 35 min drives. Now cooling. Took a quic

Will check the rad in the morning.

Its best to drive so there is load and different rpm
Just idle ing don't get the coolant moving enough

Thanks, did that too.

 

[98FordLove]

Even though it's -35c today I figured it was time to bleed the air out. The last time it was done was last Wednesday and I easily put on 150km since then. I really need to get a no spill funnel or else I'm going to have people complaining about me for leaving a mess. I was shocked how much coolant came out. It literally squirted out like water out of a hose for 3-4 seconds. is that normal? If someone saw it and didn't know what I was doing they would have assumed i cut a hose. I did it at 5am in the morning so people couldn't see me.

It took longer but I managed to get 2 big air pockets out of the system. It was lime green, so looks like K seal didn't even mix with it yet. I put a tiny bit more K seal in right after to replace any that may have been lost. This should help seal up and get the K seal going to all parts. Will likely need to bleed again in a couple of days.

 

[98FordLove]

Well....

The leak is slowing down, still leaking but slower.

I let a drip onto a tissue and smelt it. It's motor oil not coolant!

What the?

Then where is my coolant going?

 

[98FordLove]

I'm getting closer to it. Still waiting until Friday to take this back to my mechanic to give K seal more time to work.

I just checked the coolant level from the rad and there didn't seem to be a drop from the drives yesterday. I was able to still put in maybe 150ml of coolant to get it right up to the neck of the rad but I'm guessing that small drop is normal from the coolant contracting as it cools. Heat remains just as hot as a few days ago and even though the thermostat still flunctuates between middle and 1/4 cold, the heat remains the same when I go at different speeds and even idling.

Checked my motor oil again and it was surprisingly half way between min and max. 3 days ago I checked it and it was just over the max line. So it's oil I am losing, not coolant. It looks like K seal has already sealed my coolant leak from wherever it was coming from. So that's the good news.

I put more oil back in the truck.

This is what i don't get. I just took it for another long drive on the highway, got it fully hot and glanced under the truck after and the leak is a lot slower. Still leaking but it's like 80% improved compared to the first day. If K seal is for coolant, and Im leaking oil, then how is my oil leak slowing down too?

It looks like K seal will help oil leaks too.

 

[98FordLove]

I'm getting closer to it. Still waiting until Friday to take this back to my mechanic to give K seal more time to work.

I just checked the coolant level from the rad and there didn't seem to be a drop from the drives yesterday. I was able to still put in maybe 150ml of coolant to get it right up to the neck of the rad but I'm guessing that small drop is normal from the coolant contracting as it cools. Heat remains just as hot as a few days ago and even though the thermostat still flunctuates between middle and 1/4 cold, the heat remains the same when I go at different speeds and even idling.

Checked my motor oil again and it was surprisingly half way between min and max. 3 days ago I checked it and it was just over the max line. So it's oil I am losing, not coolant. It looks like K seal has already sealed my coolant leak from wherever it was coming from. So that's the good news.

I put more oil back in the truck.

This is what i don't get. I just took it for another long drive on the highway, got it fully hot and glanced under the truck after and the leak is a lot slower. Still leaking but it's like 80% improved compared to the first day. If K seal is for coolant, and Im leaking oil, then how is my oil leak slowing down too?

It looks like K seal will help oil leaks too.

At the mech and found out where the leak is. Not good, a few things are leaking. Won't sink more money into it. Maybe drive it till it blows up taking it, it won't be a safety issue.

The first mechanic really messed it up.

 

[98FordLove]

Depends which route I decide to go.

The oil pan has two small hairline cracks on the front left side. This is the worst of the oil leaks. This is caused from that idiot mechanic overtorquing the bolts back on and cracked the oil pan. Can't buy a new one but was told you can seal it with silicone or sealant. Mech says it should hold up and is much cheaper. Mech also says I would likely need a new harmonic balancer.

The crankshaft seal is also slowly leaking.

The lower intake manifold gasket is also starting to slowly leak. This one I could get away with just leaving as is.

Radiator has a small crack on the side and is a bit swollen. There is also a small tiny crack in the plastic neck where you pour coolant. But I'm not too worried about this because the K seal will seal it if it already hasn't (seems like it has). So I wouldn't bother with replacing the rad.

Was quoted $719cdn to replace the crankseal, harmonic balancer, including labour.

$135 to reseal the oil pan and gasket area. I may just get him to reseal the oil pan and gasket area to start.

The crank seal is very little coming out and I think over time it's okay to have a leak from there, as in not a safety issue.

I'm also looking into any addictives I could put in for this leak. If there was such a thing as k-Seal but for oil...

 

[98FordLove]

Oh oops, guess I can't get him to just seal the oil pan and gasket area because he said the balancer would need to come off. So if I get him to do it, I would have to get him to replace the balancer and crankseal too. Meaning $719 plus $135. I just can't do this.

There has to be a product like k-Seal out there but works with oil. coolant is much thinner than oil and if it can be sealed then oil for sure can't. This is what I'm first going to try. May also look into a private guy who can seal the pan and gasket area without taking the balancer off.

 

[96eb96]

Depends which route I decide to go.

The oil pan has two small hairline cracks on the front left side. This is the worst of the oil leaks. This is caused from that idiot mechanic overtorquing the bolts back on and cracked the oil pan. Can't buy a new one but was told you can seal it with silicone or sealant. Mech says it should hold up and is much cheaper. Mech also says I would likely need a new harmonic balancer.

The crankshaft seal is also slowly leaking.

The lower intake manifold gasket is also starting to slowly leak. This one I could get away with just leaving as is.

Radiator has a small crack on the side and is a bit swollen. There is also a small tiny crack in the plastic neck where you pour coolant. But I'm not too worried about this because the K seal will seal it if it already hasn't (seems like it has). So I wouldn't bother with replacing the rad.

Was quoted $719cdn to replace the crankseal, harmonic balancer, including labour.

$135 to reseal the oil pan and gasket area. I may just get him to reseal the oil pan and gasket area to start.

The crank seal is very little coming out and I think over time it's okay to have a leak from there, as in not a safety issue.

I'm also looking into any addictives I could put in for this leak. If there was such a thing as k-Seal but for oil...

I have a small crankseal leak - some oil changes it goes away. Weird, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Maybe use a high mileage oil.

Lower intake is just very poor labor, unprofessional repair, that redneck mechanic messed it up. When I did mine I took extra time that everything was just right. It is not a hard repair but you have to use the right part and put RTV in the right place.

I guess you can use oil additives, this is a very old school engine. You could probably go with high mileage 10W30 or even 40. even. I know NEVER EVER use 5W20 on this motor. Ford switched over all their motors except for this one.

 

[98FordLove]

I have a small crankseal leak - some oil changes it goes away. Weird, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Maybe use a high mileage oil.

Lower intake is just very poor labor, unprofessional repair, that redneck mechanic messed it up. When I did mine I took extra time that everything was just right. It is not a hard repair but you have to use the right part and put RTV in the right place.

I guess you can use oil additives, this is a very old school engine. You could probably go with high mileage 10W30 or even 40. even. I know NEVER EVER use 5W20 on this motor. Ford switched over all their motors except for this one.

Okay good to hear about the crankseal, thanks.

I'm taking it to another mechanic of mine today to get a second opinion (since he wants to see it and is not charging for it) on whether he feels the harmonic balancer needs to be replaced. I would be surprised if it does but my mechanic yesterday said it does. This is the big question mark for me because if he feels that it does then I may just get the mechanic from yesterday to do the job in replacing it, the crank seal and seal the oil pan and gasket area. But I show no signs of having a bad balancer.

But if not, then I will just JB weld the cracks in the oil pan.

I did consider using high mileage oil too as I've used them in a previous car with minor leaks and had good success with it. Do you use HM oil? On our oil cap it says 5W20 on it. I did consider going with a 10W but the winters here are brutal and in the winters I can barely get 5W oil flowing, I couldn't imagine using a 10W oil. BUT if using a thicker oil will help then I will switch.

I don't think the first mechanic even replaced the gasket on the lower intake manifold. He would have mentioned it starting to leak. But then the upper gaskets were all cracked so maybe he did replace them but he just cracked them all when re-installing. Very poor labour.

I'm looking into oil addictives right now too. Sounds like Lukas is one of the best.

Here is a pic of the cracks. Notice it leaking from the crankseal too, though not as bad.

 

[96eb96]

Harmonic balancer is 95% of the work for a crank seal. You would have to be crazy not to do both. Sometimes a special "service" sleeve has to be installed on the surface where the seal seals. The mechanic will know.

The 5w20 is from another engine, 100%, because I don't even think it was made available in 98. The OHV needs 5W30. The lifter/rocker area needs all the lube it can get.

Could be the original lower gasket is starting to leak. If he just did the upper, no oil can leak from that.

I use Pennzoil platinum high mileage 5w30.

If it is that cold maybe stick with 5w30. Try high mileage oil first. 5w20 no way. https://www.ford-cruising.hu/miscimages/0219.pdf

JB weld is fine for the oil pan. clean it up well. We aren't looking for a showcar here. Just keep an eye on the oil. Some brand new cars burn oil.

 

[EB4X]

"that redneck mechanic messed it up" He's from Calgary, Canada....he's probably a liberal on meth... many on here are from the midwest and don't like that term and it being thrown around as if when your from the midwest you're probably a redneck who doesn't know what you're doing.
Not trying to be inflammatory...

 

[96eb96]

"that redneck mechanic messed it up" He's from Calgary, Canada....he's probably a liberal on meth... many on here are from the midwest and don't like that term and it being thrown around as if when your from the midwest you're probably a redneck who doesn't know what you're doing.
Not trying to be inflammatory...

Sorry bout that. I think the term can go both ways :lol:. Good and Bad. No harm meant. There are great hardworking rednecks and crazy ones.

 

[98FordLove]

Harmonic balancer is 95% of the work for a crank seal. You would have to be crazy not to do both. Sometimes a special "service" sleeve has to be installed on the surface where the seal seals. The mechanic will know.

The 5w20 is from another engine, 100%, because I don't even think it was made available in 98. The OHV needs 5W30. The lifter/rocker area needs all the lube it can get.

Could be the original lower gasket is starting to leak. If he just did the upper, no oil can leak from that.

I use Pennzoil platinum high mileage 5w30.

If it is that cold maybe stick with 5w30. Try high mileage oil first. 5w20 no way. https://www.ford-cruising.hu/miscimages/0219.pdf

JB weld is fine for the oil pan. clean it up well. We aren't looking for a showcar here. Just keep an eye on the oil. Some brand new cars burn oil.

Oh okay thanks. I didn't think the balancer was needing to be replaced unless it goes bad. So if I do the crankseal then may as well do the balancer too. The mechanic did mention something about that sleeve that you mentioned, said it works well and is about $75.

I've been using 5W30 on the truck since I got it, I knew 5W20 wouldn't be good. I would go with 10W-30 but the winters here worry me. I just know when i refill 5W30 oil in the winters, out of the bottle it is quite slow just to get out. 10W may be a bit risky for where I live and getting that oil to move at cold start.

I don't know if he did any manifold gaskets. At the time he said he did but the install sucked.

 

[98FordLove]

This looks promising so far. My mech may have fixed the leak from the oil pan today - without removing the balancer or anything. Just cleaned it really really well and applied this red silicone. He still spent a good 2.5 hours on it with his apprentice, only charged me for the new oil. He said it still leaks but even if it slows it down to make it less worse then I am fine with that. So far it seems to be much MUCH better. With the truck hot and running, I got 1-2 drops coming down every 60 seconds from the front suspension bar (before it was 1-2 drops every few seconds) and I can stick my flashlight right under to see the cracks and I'm not seeing anything come out. Mind you he took the pressure washer to the undercarriage of the truck right after to get oil off but I still took it for a 1 hour drive after and so far it looks promising. Just going by how quick it was coming out of the cracks yesterday, it didn't take long for a puddle to form just from having the truck idle while on the jack stands for 5mins.

Will silicone hold up over time?

Have a piece of cardboard right under the truck for the night and will check in the morning.

Even he said, it's not worth the work to replace the oil pan.

 

[EB4X]

This guy did the JB weld ...sounded like this version: LINK
And it was still dry / holding after 2 months as read in comment section....maybe reply to that comment and ask if still holding ... or how long it held until he replaced pan...assuming he eventually did...

 

[98FordLove]

Harmonic balancer is 95% of the work for a crank seal. You would have to be crazy not to do both. Sometimes a special "service" sleeve has to be installed on the surface where the seal seals. The mechanic will know.

The 5w20 is from another engine, 100%, because I don't even think it was made available in 98. The OHV needs 5W30. The lifter/rocker area needs all the lube it can get.

Could be the original lower gasket is starting to leak. If he just did the upper, no oil can leak from that.

I use Pennzoil platinum high mileage 5w30.

If it is that cold maybe stick with 5w30. Try high mileage oil first. 5w20 no way. https://www.ford-cruising.hu/miscimages/0219.pdf

JB weld is fine for the oil pan. clean it up well. We aren't looking for a showcar here. Just keep an eye on the oil. Some brand new cars burn oil

Isn't all high mileage oils 50% synthetic? If so then wouldnt it be noticably thinner than conventional oil?

If so then if I get HM oil, I should probably go with 10-30 over 5W-30

 

[C420sailor]

I repaired a sizeable oil pan puncture on a V8 with RTV ultra black. Stopped it in its tracks. No leaks. Had to drain the oil and clean it REALLY well though.