They must all be in the same union! Two days ago, my '93 XLT was steaming when I stopped at a grocery store. A quick look revealed the steam to be coming from just below the thermostat housing. I didn't remember seeing a bypass hose or anything like that when I replaced the thermostat in that area.
The next day, a closer look with the air duct removed revealed coolant gushing from what appeared to be the head/block interface right where the bolt for the A/C compressor bracket goes into the head. My fear was that the head had cracked right where the bolt fitting was.
I was devastated. This Explorer has 190,000 miles on it and although it's been reliable, I've been thinking about letting it go and replacing it.
I've also been thinking about repairing the few minor things that are wrong (door hinge, fuel gauage, rear window washer, lower ball joint,l ABS brakes) and having a cheap paint job put on it and driving it for a couple of more years.
But, I certainly wasn't going to pay $800 to $1,000 to have the head gaskets repaced and I didn't really feel like doing it as I have many other projects to complete.
A little internet research, including this forum, revealed that the intake manifold bolts are prone to loosen and that intake gaskets leaks are a weakness of this motor. But that also depressed me as to the commonality of such failures on this motor.
I pulled the Haynes manual and looked at the leak again. Sure enough, it was between the intake and the block mating surfaces. And, I checked the first intake bolt above the leak and it was loose. I torqued it down, but that made only a slight difference in the leak.
I was torn about starting to tear the engine down to replace the gaskets but I knew I wasn't paying a pro for that job either. The Explorer has been my rock, but it gets lousy fuel mileage and I just couldn't see putting $1,000 into a repair this late in it's life.
I spent the rest of the afternoon researching other cars I might replace the Explorer with and wondering if I could sell it as a parts car as the new tires and the alloy rims were worth $400 or so alone. But of course, I was looking at $30,000 cars and a $1,000 repair seemed much smaller, although I was fretting over the risk factor of having something else major go wrong soon after sinking that $1,000 into it.
Well, I also came across a few comments on using Risoline leak sealer. Now, I have always been a non-believer in those although I have used aluma seal to stop radiator leaks effectively in the past. But, I just can't beleive in such "miracles in a can". They are too good to be true.
I got up early this morning, reread the Haynes manual procedures for replacing the intake gaskets and then went out to take some pictures prior to disassembly. After reviewing the task at hand, I really didn't want to tackle it right now. I was appreciating my old Chevy and my IH Scout. Removing the intake on those doesn't involve fortyeight non-related items needing to be removed and it doesn't take gymnastics.
So, I punted and went off to Kragen and got a bottle of leak stop and put it in and ran the Explorer for twenty minutes. The lead completely stopped!
Now, I can't say that I trust this to hold. And, I know about all the naysayers that will tell me that my cooling system is going to get plugged up. Personaly, I'd attribute the later to urban legend. I don't believe that they'd be selling this stuff for this long if it was plugging radiators and heater cores every time it was used.
But, I've got to say, I've at least bought myself some time to plan for, and replace the intake gaskets when I have the time.
Now, this weekend I guess I'll flush the cooling system and reinstall coolant and maybe fix that door hinge that I've been putting off for a few months.
I'll update everyone on the intake leak in a few months.
Tom H. '93 XLT
Antioch, CA
