Driving with a coolant leak from the timing cover

[96eb96]

Sounds like a nice (and smart) guy.

Down here, that’s how you get shot in the face.

Anyway, I highly suggest you stop paying people to break your vehicle, and instead use that money to invest in quality tools. Watch YouTube. Lurk on here.

This is going to be far from the last repair that truck is going to need, and you’re going to pour thousands into it if you pay people to do the work.

With that, I’m out. Best of luck.

Yes, if the OP is able he should take this as a learning experience and start working on his car. The 96 he owns is very user friendly. The engine should never have to be pulled. The only weak spot is the v6 trans, but they seem to be longer lasting in 96 vs some other years, possibly because they are 4spd.

Nothing in life is free. Either you spend time learning how and fixing your car, buy tools pay someone, or buy new. Tools can be expensive but after a few repairs they pay many dividends.

Many mechanics don't like working on older cars because they may not see many of them or fear they will accused of breaking something that isn't their fault. And there are good mechanics but you have some malicious ones like this guy's first mechanic and others who mean well but are just incompetent or careless. It could happen in dealerships too. I thought going to Ford for oil changes and alignments if I'm busy is a good idea, right? Well some tech left the alignment locknuts loose and the tires got messed up. Of course when you go back they give you a hard time. They were quick to diagnose a bad shift motor, but it was a ground issue.

If this is real, the OPs should use Kseal as directed on the bottle. Even if the first mechanic missed the cracked heads, new heads would probably add $1000 to the bill, and in some cases not necessary with this product. Mine idles smoother than some new cars.
And from what I hear, similar products are used on the assembly line for new cars. Sometimes cast metals have a bit of porosity. A tiny, harmless leak can turn into a 4 figure repair otherwise.

Really nothing more to say here, if its true I wish him best of luck.

 

[98FordLove]

They can be reusable mainly if it's not the original 20 year old one....otherwise not recommended....but the main issue is if doing short-cut procedure or other way: If that tube is left in place/attached to the EGR below (shortcut) while slipping the intake "onto" it/ tube end while lowering intake back into place on engine....due to tricky angle / technique the o-ring can get tweaked or slip. I did it once successfully - no leak ....and then other time I stressed it / causing it to slightly slip out of place causing leak there --it's hit or miss. The oil dipstick is mounted at that same end as EGR connection / overlaps thus needs to be removed as well...hence the double headache and temptation to attempt shortcut method.

Thanks. I never would have thought that the oil dipstick has to come out too. I would think that the o-ring on it now is a brand new one since it likely came with the intake manifold kit that the first mechanic ordered and installed. I know he took the entire intake manifold out because he showed me, it was all completely off. I just don't think he installed it properly afterwards. The mechanic yesterday was saying something about how the o-ring on it now is sitting too far down and should be sitting further up. Is the o-ring suppose to be visible at all when installed?

Just to be sure, which tube are you referring to? Let me see if I can find a pic from what my mech had off. Looks like he had it all off (pic from last week like 11 days ago)

 

[EB4X]

I forgot you had the valve cover gaskets done as well....so he pretty much had to completely remove it for that part. (curves around drivers valve cover).
I would assume that would come with that kit but not 100% sure it would. I just had / needed my upper intake/f. rail off so purchased just needed gaskets for that.

 

[98FordLove]

I forgot you had the valve cover gaskets done as well....so he pretty much had to completely remove it for that part. (curves around drivers valve cover).
I would assume that would come with that kit but not 100% sure it would. I just had / needed my upper intake/f. rail off so purchased just needed gaskets for that.

yes I had both valve gaskets done and they are good, oil leak that was coming from both is fixed. I think he just didn't reinstall the intake manifold and o-ring properly. It's defiitely the phenum part sucking in air, right at the o-ring.

 

[98FordLove]

Picking up the truck now. The shaking and rough idle is all fixed now, no more air leak. The intake manifold was fine, no cracks but the gaskets were cracked.

I'm guessing that the first mechanic either did a really crappy job installing the new ones or he didn't even replace them like he said he would. What's your guess? Glad it's fixed and one issue tackled but this is just ridiculous.

 

[98FordLove]

at this shop right now and super scared. truck is shaking again and on life support. 3 guys are working on it some more and testing for a leaking head gasket. Crap.

 

[98FordLove]

They found the cause. The wiring harness at the motor was damaged (likely from the previous mech) and instead of using proper connectors, he used butt connectors and crimped them. The only way my mech was able to find it was he was chasing wires and noticed each wire was a different color. The previous mechanic likely crimped on his own wires. But they also could have been damaged recently (as in the past 2 days) from the motor shaking when driving it. My guess is that the first mechanic damaged the harness and instead of replacing it like any honest mech would have, he created his own wires and crimped them together. So as I drove the truck when I picked it up, it highly likely caused the connections to loosen and get damaged.

So $30 for a new harness with the proper connectors that they apply on permanently with heat or glue. And 30mins labour.

This ****in damn mechanic should be paying this bill and my Ubers and my time for this. The damage on this bill isn't as bad as I originally feared but it's still $600cdn. He should be paying for this damn bill.

Head gasket is fine. The mech fixing all these issues is a damn good mechanic who deserves all my business even if he charges more than the rest and has overhead. Even his guys working for him are more trusting that the first mechanic. They saw that the truck wasn't fully fixed and they took the extra time to diagnose and fix it. That's how every mechanic should be.


They checked and head gasket is good.thank god.

 

[98FordLove]

Breach of contract, to start with. Then negligence resulting in damage to your vehicle.

if you paid by credit card, you might have even more leverage for relief.

I'm now looking what I can do about this. I am calling the Alberta Motor Council of Alberta to see what options I have.

 

[EB4X]

I'm now looking what I can do about this. I am calling the Alberta Motor Council of Alberta to see what options I have.

Great...throw the book at him...
What about the lingering (all though lessened) coolant leak....what did these new mechanics do about it / say about it?

 

[98FordLove]

Great...throw the book at him...
What about the lingering (all though lessened) coolant leak....what did these new mechanics do about it / say about it?

My concern is I know he won't give any money back and I don't want to ever talk to him or hear from him ever again.

Man the truck sounds so good when running now, better than when I got it. Starts up so much better now.

The mechanics who fixed the idle and running rough issues don't know I fixed the valve cover or timing cover gaskets. Though he did pick up and notice I had a bunch of work done to it recently.

I just feel bad because I feel if a mechanic diagnosed your issue and was right then they earn first dibs on being chosen to do the repairs.
I was really worried about it running rough so had to get this fixed first.

I have another mechanic who is just as good as the one today. He will be seeing the truck next week on the coolant leak. He says it makes no sense coolant coming from the balancer. I have a good idea where the first mechanic is referring to. I may have it run tomorrow and see if so can spot it. But just dropped the truck off at home and will check the rad level later and over the next 5 days to see how quickly I am losing coolant. My bottle of K seal arrives tomorrow, will put that in too in the rad and if it fixes it then I'm golden and I won't bother with the mech next week. But I am hesitant to believe it will because the first mech said there is a gap there (that likely shouldn't be there) and if that's the case then I don't see the K seal working.

 

[98FordLove]

Oh and my hood latch on the passenger side is basically forever messed up because the idiot bent it. I can't drop the hood like your normally would on any car because it will just bounce. I have to basically softly lower the hood down to the car level and then press on the hood to get the latch into the striker. I can live with this but just any annoyance.

He must have smashed my latch with a sledgehammer. How do you manage to bend a solid metal latch?

 

[98FordLove]

Also had all gaskets in the intake manifold replaced including the o-ring and the o-ring sits much further up now.the first mech did a real crappy job installing it, my guess is he used the original o-ring and couldn't get it further up so just left it. The ones in it were all cracked. So either this guy didn't even bother to replace them like he said he would or he accidentally cracked them when reinstalling the manifold and didn't bother to fix it. Considering he damaged my hood latch, the ignition coil and the harness, my guess is he damaged the new manifold gaskets and just left it as is.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Very tough story here, but. ... I think you REALLY like your truck.

and sounds like it may be moving in the right direction.

Good luck.

 

[98FordLove]

Very tough story here, but. ... I think you REALLY like your truck.

and sounds like it may be moving in the right direction.

Good luck.

I love this truck. Aside from the leaks and occasional misfires it's given me zero issues since I've had it in the 2 years. I wouldn't have fixed it if it wasn't such a problem free truck for me and it suits me perfectly. I guess you could say I was overdue for some repairs and seeing how I went 2 years without any major repairs that is great.

If I can get 2 more years out of this, the $3000cdn that I've spent on these repairs is worth it. $3000/24 months = $125 a month. If I can get 3 years out of it even better. That's the only way I will get my money back on it is by keeping it.

 

[98FordLove]

now I know why the first mechanic won't send me am invoice even though I asked him twice for one and he said he would send it yesterday.

With an invoice it gives me proof that he did the work and I can hold him liable. What a slimeball.

 

[98FordLove]

Crap, I shouldn't have filled my rad up to the neck with coolant yesterday, now I have no way to get the K-seal in on Friday when I get it. I got the larger bottle (473ml) and from what I read, I need to put the entire bottle in. Any way to easily get coolant out of the system without having to pull the drain plug from under? Maybe suction it form the off res?

 

[EB4X]

$9 ... Walmart
You don't need all the attachments ...just pop in the two clear tubes.....hand pump end / tube goes into source to be extracted - radiator.

Hyper Tough Universal Multi-Use Siphon 36200WD Automotive Fluid Change Pump - Walmart.com

Buy Hyper Tough Universal Multi-Use Siphon 36200WD Automotive Fluid Change Pump at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[98FordLove]

$9 ... Walmart
You don't need all the attachments ...just pop in the two clear tubes.....hand pump end / tube goes into source to be extracted - radiator.

Hyper Tough Universal Multi-Use Siphon 36200WD Automotive Fluid Change Pump - Walmart.com

Buy Hyper Tough Universal Multi-Use Siphon 36200WD Automotive Fluid Change Pump at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

Thanks. Is this really powerful? Because I've used suctions before that were extremely weak and took forever to suck up very little fluid.

I need to find out where the coolant is leaking from and what this gap is that the first mechanic is referring to. I'm more worried that it's from the crankshaft area (isn't the crankshaft right near or in the timing cover and harmonic balancer?).

I know that the harmonic balancer bolts right to the timing cover. I am guessing the gap he is referring to is from the timing cover to the harmonic balancer as circled here. If that's the case then how is he able to see it if the timing cover goes back on? Unless it seeps through the bottom of the timing cover.

And if that gap is not normal then I don't see K-seal working at all for this.

 

[98FordLove]

I got my K-seal bottle today. Not feeling too confident about it with my truck, will put it in asap.

 

[98FordLove]

I ran the truck today for a 30min drive. Boy it sure runs good now and sounds better than ever. I took a look underneath and I have a good idea where the leak is coming from. It's green so it's definitely coolant. I think it's coming from the bottom of the timing cover. Not just a small spot but it was dripped down from end to end. It's impossible to see far enough into it without taking stuff off so I can't see the gap where the balancer sits on the timing cover.