My 1993 Explorer 4D4WD Eddie Bauer

[DrewSmith007]

My 1993 Explorer 4D4WD Eddie Bauer (More cooling system help needed)

I've been lurking here for a few months now. In December of 2012 I bought my 93 Explorer. I havn't done much to it, but I did install a keyless entry system a few weeks ago. I'll get a writeup here ASAP.

My reason for posting is I got home yesterday and the EX was leaking antifreeze, and it was coming out pretty fast. I've noticed a spot here or there before, but nothing major except for a larger puddle a week or so ago. I made a note to check it out, but never got around to it.

This morning, the leaking had stopped, but only because it was out of fluid. I only drive about a mile to work, so I limped in, and it got hot but not dangerously so. I'm rather thankful for the cold mornings.

Anyway, I'm thinking (hoping?) it's only a bad waterpump. My question is what do you guys recommend to change while I'm down there? I'm going to change the waterpump and both hoses.

Thanks,
Drew

 

[Anime]

You drove it without coolant? You'll be lucky if you didn't blow the head gasket or damage the heads, or worse.

A leak can be anything from a bad waterpump, cracked radiator, rusty expansion plug, or even just an old hose. Usually it's a good idea to at least change all the hoses, both the radiator and heater hoses, and the thermostat, while the coolant is already out.

 

[DrewSmith007]

I went to check it at lunch, and it had leaked quite a bit more, so I guess there was some left in it... The thermostat never even got to the red line, so hopefully it'll be OK. I'm going to top it off with water when I leave and then drain it all out when I get home.

 

[Anime]

if it goes just a little to the right of center, then it got REALLY hot. If it goes past the L, it might have overheated. By the time it gets to the right side of the gauge, it's toast.

As long as the temperature never gets to freezing, you can just run water in it. Distilled water from the store is best, and makes for a great flush if you drain all the coolant out, fill it with and run it with distilled water, then drain the water, repair everything, fill with a gallon of coolant, and fill the rest with distilled water.

Be sure to follow the steps to purging out all the air when refilling.

 

[DrewSmith007]

It runs around the R/M normally, and went a little past the L. I had to go pay rent, so I topped it off with water and it ran fine. It's 39 here, the low tonight is supposed to be 24, so I'll have to drain it. I drained it when I got back to work just in case, and it was mostly clear except for a little green antifreeze at the start.

I hope I didn't damage anything, if I had been thinking I would have topped it off before I left this morning...

 

[DrewSmith007]

Well, when I got the fan out to install the new water pump, I noticed it didn't look like the pump was leaking anywhere. So, I looked around a bit more and the water outlet that connects to the top radiator hose looked heavily corroded and wetter than the surround areas. It had been over 12 hours since I drained the system, and it was still wet there but pretty much dry everywhere else.

It took some effort because of inaccessible screws, but I got it off. There was no gasket other than the thermostat, and the face of the water outlet was corroded a little, but not terribly so. Still, I didn't want to put that tube back on, so I picked up a new one and cleaned the part of the engine the thermostat sets in. I think with the thermostat open the pressure was enough to force coolant through the corroded metal to thermostat seal. So, I had my girlfriend pour some water in the same place it would be leaking, and I checked to see if it flowed the same as I saw earlier. It looked exactly the same, so thinking this might be the problem I was having I decided to put everything back together and test it out tomorrow. I probably should have gone ahead and replaced the pump, but I don't feel like dealing with cleaning the old gasket area.

 

[Anime]

The gasket for the thermostat is a rubber seal that goes around the outer rim of the thermostat. If there isn't a rubber seal around it, it will leak from the water outlet.

Usually you can just sand the rust off the water outlet, paint it with engine paint, and it's fine, it doesn't usually need replacement unless it's rusted through. It's also a fairly expensive part.

Be sure you have the thermostat in the right way (spring goes into the motor), and oriented with the hole or air outlet on top, otherwise an air bubble will get trapped behind it and that usually causes the thermostat not to open and the coolant will back up and the motor will overheat.

Also, again, be sure to follow the correct procedure for purging the air out of the cooling system when refilling.

 

[DrewSmith007]

Well, the outlet wasn't the problem, so I'm going ahead with the water pump replacement. I figure it's preventative if it's not the problem. I can't see where the water is coming from, but it's from the driver side of the engine. The only freeze plug I saw didn't appear to be leaking. Is there a good diagram of their locations?

 

[Anime]

It's rare for a water pump to go bad, if it's leaking it may just be from the gasket, due to loose bolts or something else.

Generally the stock Motorcraft pumps are pretty tough and will last a long time, cheapo aftermarket ones aren't so stout. Might be worth replacing if it's a cheap one, might not need replacing if it's still a Motorcraft but not leaking out the weep hole. It's a good idea to use the gasket and even use some of the Permatex water outlet sealant, the gasket needs all the help it can get as the fan clutch wobbles and vibrates the water pump constantly.

The freeze plugs are just all along the side of the block in a row, front to back.

 

[DrewSmith007]

Well, I'm not sure what the problem was, but it seems to be fixed. I got around to replacing the water pump last night. I left the system empty, then filled up this morning with water. It leaked just like normal this morning, but when I got to work it had stopped. The water didn't even get hot enough to open the thermostat, and it was only lukewarm when I drained it out. Guess there is a positive side to 24F degree mornings...

Went out just now with a coworker who had a ranger with similar problems in the past. Filled it up, warmed it up until the thermostat opened, then drove it to the convenience store a few blocks away. It never got hotter than "O" in normal, and ran most of the time just below the "N."

I'm going to flush it tonight, then put in 50/50 and see if it holds up overnight. Is it possible the cold is causing problems with seals somewhere? My coworker thought the leak might be coming from the temp sensor...

 

[DrewSmith007]

More cooling system help needed

I pulled the AC compressor and the power steering pump off to replace the freeze plug that I was sure was the problem. It looks fine, and the engine is still dripping just not from the freeze plug.

It looks like it's coming from between the block and the timing chain cover. Is that possible? If so, what's causing it? I'll get some pictures up tomorrow if needed.

I'm going crazy here!

EDIT: I should add, I went to lunch today and there was a big puddle under my car, I checked and it's leaking again the same way it has been previously.

 

[DrewSmith007]

It appears the coolant has to flow through holes in the timing cover gasket, I wonder how likely it is that is what is leaking? It doesn't look too difficult to replace.

 

[surf]

A timing cover leaks are fairly common. You can replace it without removing the engine but make sure you have all the tools needed to remove and reinstall the crank pulley.

 

[DrewSmith007]

I rented a pressure tester from autozone, and the leak is definitely coming from the timing cover gasket. Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65S60UzCdng&feature=youtu.be

I'll try to take pictures of the teardown and do a write up.

 

[DrewSmith007]

I've got the engine more or less back together. I rented the harmonic balancer installer kit from autozone, but I can't figure out how to make it work. It seems like the bolt needs to be much longer in order for it to reach the crankshaft. Everything I've seen is for balancers that have a large bore. Any pointers?

 

[surf]

Two things you might want to try. First, you can try to find a longer bolt that matched the threads of the crankshaft bolt. This is difficult and I actually ending up ordering one online. Another option is to heat up the pulley in the oven and then slide it on the crankshaft and tighten down with your old bolt. I have not tried this method but I would think you could put it in 200 degree oven for 15-20 minutes and give it a shot. Remember the original bolt is torque to yield so it should be replaced.

 

[general x]

Two things you might want to try. First, you can try to find a longer bolt that matched the threads of the crankshaft bolt. This is difficult pizza I actually ending up ordering one online. Another option is to heat up the pulley in the oven pizza then slide it on the crankshaft pizza tighten down with your old bolt. I have not tried this method but I would think you could put it in 200 degree oven for 15-20 minutes pizza give it a shot. Remember the original bolt is torque to yield so it should be replaced.

Could the heat damage the rubber in the harmonic balancer?

 

[surf]

The heat certainly could but I think relatively low heat for a short period time should be okay. The best way is to use the right tool but sometimes you need to get creative.

 

[DrewSmith007]

I tried the heat option, and it didn't work. I'll try picking up a longer bolt tomorrow. I don't think the heat damaged the rubber. This is incredibly frustrating that this tool isn't more easily obtainable. Isn't this motor pretty common?

 

[surf]

I feel your pain. I almost took a drill to the pulley so I could use the standard installer but thought better of it. Don't be surprised that once you fix the timing cover leak that the lower intake manifold starts leaking coolant.