serious water leak pleas help

[xlt1993]

Hey everyone, let me start by introducing myself, my names bill and I'm a proud new owner of a 93 explorer xlt. I'm hoping yall can help me as i have big problem with my new ride. I have a MAJOR water leak. When I looked it over before purchasing I was told it leaked but wasn't a major issue just keep an eye on the level of coolant and add when needed. Well needless to say I purchased said vehicle and brought some jugs of water to get it home and some extra just in case. Well I get half way home and the heater starts blowing cold air (never a good sign and tell tale that you're dangerously low on coolant). Stopped and added what was left in my just in case batch and made it home. Did some inspecting by adding straight water and letting engine run to look for this leak. Well it turns out that this "minor leak" is actually very serious. I filled the radiator completely and put the front on ramps. After some crawling around under the front end with the engine running the leak finally revealed itself. Its on the left (drivers) side of the engine block last bolt behind the water pump. There are no other leaks on the vehicle. I'm hoping that this is fixable. There is no water in the oil (checked and rechecked) and engine didn't get hot when running. I was told by one person it was an intake manifold gasket(doesn't make sense as the leak is below the head and on the very front of the block at the bottom coming from behind a bolt) was told by someone else it was a cracked block( which I'm desperately hoping that its not) is this fixable or will I need a new engine in my ride? Any and all help is appreciated greatly. Also I have the 4.0 with a 5speed manual I'm sure this will help hopefully. Thanks in advance,Bill

 

[2stroke]

Sounds like you talked to 2 fools. You saw your water pump leaking, it happens to all cars eventually. A new water pump and gasket will fix it, its not that hard to do either.

 

[xlt1993]

Thats what I thought when I first spotted the leak but it looks more like its coming from whatever is mounted behind the water pump. The water pump is 100% dry. The leak is behind it. It appears to be in thinking the timing case thats leaking but I don't s we e how this would happen

 

[natenkiki2004]

Thats what I thought when I first spotted the leak but it looks more like its coming from whatever is mounted behind the water pump. The water pump is 100% dry. The leak is behind it. It appears to be in thinking the timing case thats leaking but I don't s we e how this would happen

It happens by design. Take a look at this picture from fellow forum member fast_dave:

http://s861.photobucket.com/user/fast_dave/media/DSCN2376.jpg.html

On the left & right are the ports that the coolant flows through between the block and water pump. Take a close look at them, there's channels that go around them. If the gasket is compromised and leaks coolant, it flows into the channels and out to the exterior of the engine. If those channels weren't there and the gasket failed, the coolant could flow into the engine sump, mixing with oil. We all know that's no good. So this part is designed to fail gracefully. If you're sure the leak is coming from there, you've got a decent job ahead.

 

[malohnes]

It happens by design. Take a look at this picture from fellow forum member fast_dave:

http://s861.photobucket.com/user/fast_dave/media/DSCN2376.jpg.html

On the left & right are the ports that the coolant flows through between the block and water pump. Take a close look at them, there's channels that go around them. If the gasket is compromised and leaks coolant, it flows into the channels and out to the exterior of the engine. If those channels weren't there and the gasket failed, the coolant could flow into the engine sump, mixing with oil. We all know that's no good. So this part is designed to fail gracefully. If you're sure the leak is coming from there, you've got a decent job ahead.

yep...its not a difficult job but it is a bit involved and takes patience.

 

[RangerX]

Thats what I thought when I first spotted the leak but it looks more like its coming from whatever is mounted behind the water pump. The water pump is 100% dry. The leak is behind it.

I had a leak that looked like a pee stream, coming from that area, it was the lower intake manifold gasket.

 

[xlt1993]

If I could how to upload pics from a smart phone onto here I would upload a pic of where the water is leaking from. But I can't find a link to do so. Any ideas on how to do it?

 

[RangerX]

If I could how to upload pics from a smart phone onto here I would upload a pic of where the water is leaking from. But I can't find a link to do so. Any ideas on how to do it?

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147920

 

[xlt1993]

Ok o think I figured out hot to explain this to everyone without posting a pic. If you look at fast daves photo bucket pics. Mostly referring to pic 18 which clearly shows there the water pump channels are at. If you look at that pic right below where the water pump resides on the other piece not the side thats angled but the side thqts straight the second to last bolt hole is where the water is leaking from on mine. And depending on how much pressure the system is pushing will determine how powerful the water stream is but either way it leaks regardless of whether the SUV is running or not. I hope I didn't confuse any and I'm sorry if I did but hopefully I explained it better so that yall can better understand my problem. Thanks again and thanks for your patience, Bill

 

[DeliciousKeki]

Wish mine leaked heavily like that, mine leaks really slowly and makes it really hard to figure out where the leak is and I'd hate to do a bunch of work and buy gaskets for the wrong thing, just running on full water adding a gallon every saturday for a few months now lol

 

[FR-425]

Same answer: you need to pull the front cover and reseal.

 

[xlt1993]

So am I right to understand that to fix the leak the timing cover gasket is the culprit and replacing it will fix the problem? If so I will have the water pump,timing chain and sprockets replaced as well since its all going to be torn apart anyway. However o did read online that replacing the timing chain and sprockets at this point in the vehicles life could do more harm than good. Is this true? The explorer has 163000 on it. Thanks for all of the input its been extremely helpful.

 

[FR-425]

That's straight BS, replacing the chain and sprockets will do harm, where do people get this stuff?!

Not sure if any of the front cover bolts penetrate into the water jackets, recommend using copper seal on the bolts when you reassemble. It acts as a anti-seize any way.

And do NOT over torque.

 

[xlt1993]

Good to know. Glad I asked so now to start acquiring all parts needed to do the job. And hopefully will have it in the shop in the next couple of weeks. Then I can finally run it around and enjoy it.

 

[natenkiki2004]

The timing chain, gears, guide & tensioner are very easy to replace and very difficult to mess up. You really have to try hard and even then, I don't think it will go back together wrong. The question is... do you need to replace them? I did a few thousand miles ago and with 225,000 on the clock (with quite a bit of negligence on maintenance) I don't think they NEEDED to be replaced. I have pictures of the factory timing assembly and how they looked in my Engine Removal gallery: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f7zxl41v0lah8bn/AAC9nPt9rBKFjC5mFZubhIxea?dl=0

 

[larrydd999]

I've read here and elsewhere that you need to pull the engine to drop the oil pan when you replace the timing cover gasket, since part of the pan extends under the cover. However I replaced the timing cover two years ago without doing so and the '92 is still running strong with no leaks. I ended up dumping a bit of coolant into the oil during the process, so I changed the oil when I finished and before starting the engine. I didn't consider the process difficult, just time-consuming.

 

[natenkiki2004]

If you're careful about the timing cover and clean it thoroughly and apply good amounts of RTV in the right spots, you don't have to remove the oil pan even though it's advised. Common sense plays a big role here so if you're not familiar with gaskets, cleaning and RTV, you might get some help on it.

 

[Centaurious]

Wish mine leaked heavily like that, mine leaks really slowly and makes it really hard to figure out where the leak is and I'd hate to do a bunch of work and buy gaskets for the wrong thing, just running on full water adding a gallon every saturday for a few months now lol

Dry everything well and dust the area with baby powder, it will show you the trail of water/oil/trans fluid. Helpful when chasing a leak higher and higher to find the source.

 

[xlt1993]

Since it will do no harm to have the timing gears and chain replaced I will have that done as well as the water pump replaced. Do they need it? Well no they actually dont but I figure that if the front of the engine is going to be torn down that far for just a gasket I may as well have everything in front of that gasket replaced as a good prevention method so that I dont have to have it done later. I would do the work myself, buuuuuuut, between 2 jobs and the fact that its getting cold out I just figure I will have it all done "professionally". Its not that I can't do the job I just dont have the time to do it. And I'm going to need it up and running by the time winter actually gets here as its the only ride outta three that 4x4 and where I live dont get plowed and was told by everyone who live around us that if we need to get anywhere when there snow on the ground we would need 4x4 I'm thinking better to have it done asap and not to mention it would take me all winter to get it fixed. Besides it gets better milage than my truck does(79 f250 2wd) so I think i. The next week or 2 it'll be "officially" diagnosed by a mechanic and then fixed. Just waiting on my next paycheck before having it done

 

[Vilkas]

Since it will do no harm to have the timing gears and chain replaced I will have that done as well as the water pump replaced. Do they need it? Well no they actually dont but I figure that if the front of the engine is going to be torn down that far for just a gasket I may as well have everything in front of that gasket replaced as a good prevention method so that I dont have to have it done later. I would do the work myself, buuuuuuut, between 2 jobs and the fact that its getting cold out I just figure I will have it all done "professionally". Its not that I can't do the job I just dont have the time to do it. And I'm going to need it up and running by the time winter actually gets here as its the only ride outta three that 4x4 and where I live dont get plowed and was told by everyone who live around us that if we need to get anywhere when there snow on the ground we would need 4x4 I'm thinking better to have it done asap and not to mention it would take me all winter to get it fixed. Besides it gets better milage than my truck does(79 f250 2wd) so I think i. The next week or 2 it'll be "officially" diagnosed by a mechanic and then fixed. Just waiting on my next paycheck before having it done

Sorry to resurrect old threads but did that solve the problem? I have a coolant leak from around that area that I'm still trying to locate and already replaced the water pump.