Timing Cover Coolant leak

[Lazzman]

I have been having a small coolant leak that I could not find. It was not a big leak and you could not see coolant puddled under the vehicle. The most you could notice it was when you drove maybe 100 or more miles than the coolant in the resevoir would go down.

I just got back from my mechanic today and he told me the leak was coming from somewhere around the timing chain cover.

This sounds like a costly repair, as it will take a lot of wrenching to get to the timing cover. The mechanic said he is not sure if that is the exact spot of the leak with out digging deeper, but it is somewhere on the right side of the engine.

Does this sound like a commone problem, because I don't ever recall reading about it on here. I asked him about the lower Thermostat housing and he said that was not it.

I wonder if I can just put a bottle of bars leaks in the radiator to fix this. Having little kids and Christmas coming, I cannot afford to spend $350 to get this fixed now.

The engine has 200k original miles on it, so I assume some gaskets are starting to go.

Thanks for any help :biggthump

 

[Hartman]

I wouldn't say it's common but I've seen threads on it. There are cooling tubes that go into the cover that can leak.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Retorque the timing cover bolts

The photo below by CDW6212R with the timing cover removed shows the two exposed coolant ports in the block that allow coolant to flow to the water pump.

If the gasket between the front timing cover and the block is leaking then coolant could be leaking to the outside or to the inside or both. If leaking to the outside there should be visible signs. If leaking to the inside then there would be coolant in the oil.

I suggest that you pull the oil pan dipstick and see if it has milky foam on it. If so, then you have water in the oil. As I recall oil floats on water so when enough accumulates in the pan then the oil pickup tube will be picking up water. The bearings will not last long with water for a lubricant.

I believe that some of the front timing cover bolts are accessible from working under the engine. Others are accessible after removing the radiator cooling fan with shroud. You might try retorquing those that are accessible.

 

[Lazzman]

Thanks for the very detailed info, would this mean that I need a new timing cover gasket?

This could be a sort of stroke of luck for me, as one of my plastic timing chain tensioners is busted- I found pieces of it in the oil pan and it has the diesel chatter at cold start up.

The mechanic should be able to replace the plastic tensioner when he takes off the timing cover to replace the gasket. Would this be true?

He gave me a price of around $300.

 

[pergolies]

Thanks for the very detailed info, would this mean that I need a new timing cover gasket?

This could be a sort of stroke of luck for me, as one of my plastic timing chain tensioners is busted- I found pieces of it in the oil pan and it has the diesel chatter at cold start up.

The mechanic should be able to replace the plastic tensioner when he takes off the timing cover to replace the gasket. Would this be true?

He gave me a price of around $300.

Well if you had the oil pan off and didn't notice any water in the oil then i guess you dont have water leaking inwards from the timing cover gasket.

If you have plastic parts in the oil pan, then it could be from either the front or rear tensioner OR both, but i doubt it would still be running with both broken (not for long anyway). Can only hope its the front tensioner as the rear is an engine out job

 

[stevetichy]

stop leak

I had a similar leak over a year ago and put in some of the stop leak stuff that looks like little black pellets. Surprise, it been working very well.

 

[1998Exp]

I am having a very similar problem with my '98 at 140K miles, so it's not so rare. The leak is slow and I couldn't see anything dripping until I hooked up a pressure tester and kept it pressurized for a couple hours. The leak is from the driver (left) side water passage in the timing cover. Seems to be entirely external, but who knows how long before the gasket gives up completely and coolant gets into the oil? I am going to take the water pump off and try to re-torque the bolts, but almost certainly will be removing the timing cover next. Learned that the bulletproof way to do it is with the engine out, because the timing cover bolts to the oil pan and the oil pan gasket needs to be cut if the pan is not removed. That cut is tricky to reseal and may result in an oil leak, sooner or later. I am guessing that this is what your mechanic is proposing to do, because otherwise his quote would have been much higher. Please let us know how this ended up!

 

[Lazzman]

He is going to do it with the engine in the vehicle. Said it was a big job because he needs to take away all of the accessories in the front of the engine to get to it. Doubtful that he is pulling the engine.

Thankfully there is no coolant in the oil and the oil looks like maple syrup after 4500mi on it. That Auto Rx stuff really cleaned my engine like new.

It will be a few weeks before I can raise the $300 to fix the leak, I am scared Sh**less that gasket will go and the coolant will get into the oil and wreck the engine.

It is the right (passenger side) water passage- could never see the actual leak just coolant on the ride side of the block, once in a while could smell antifreze. Could not even find the leak after I dyed it and went over it with a black light- so it is hidden pretty well.

This mechanic is pretty good so hopefully he can make the oil pan gasket thing work.

Thanks will keep posted.

 

[2000StreetRod]

water pump bolts

. . . I am going to take the water pump off and try to re-torque the bolts, but almost certainly will be removing the timing cover next. Learned that the bulletproof way to do it is with the engine out, because the timing cover bolts to the oil pan and the oil pan gasket needs to be cut if the pan is not removed. That cut is tricky to reseal and may result in an oil leak, sooner or later. I am guessing that this is what your mechanic is proposing to do, because otherwise his quote would have been much higher. . .

I believe on the SOHC V6 none of the water pump bolts attach to the block. They all attach to the timing cover. When I pulled my front cover I left the water pump attached.

Sometimes it is possible to remove the front timing cover without cutting the front of the oil pan gasket. It is possible to separate the top of the oil pan gasket from the bottom of the timing cover. If the pan gasket is cut then RTV at the right angles should prevent leakage.

 

[2000StreetRod]

primary tensioner

Thanks for the very detailed info, would this mean that I need a new timing cover gasket?

This could be a sort of stroke of luck for me, as one of my plastic timing chain tensioners is busted- I found pieces of it in the oil pan and it has the diesel chatter at cold start up.

The mechanic should be able to replace the plastic tensioner when he takes off the timing cover to replace the gasket. Would this be true?

He gave me a price of around $300.

If there were pieces of plastic in your oil pan they may be from either the left or right guide assembly instead of the primary tensioner located under the timing cover.

 

[bobflood]

I'm not familiar with either of the V6s. Is it possible that the leak is coming from the water pump itself?? That's where it was on my V8 - darn thing only lasted 210K miles.

 

[1998Exp]

Oops sorry, I thought yours was the V8, but now see it's the SOHC V6. Would assume the timing cover/water pump arrangement is similar, but not familiar with that engine. On the V8 A/C probably needs to be discharged, because the compressor tubing is all rigid, so it can't be moved aside. Hope you can avoid that hassle with your V6.

 

[2000StreetRod]

leave A/C connected

. . . On the V8 A/C probably needs to be discharged, because the compressor tubing is all rigid, so it can't be moved aside. Hope you can avoid that hassle with your V6.

I removed and reinstalled my SOHC V6 with the A/C lines remaining connected.

 

[specialized7]

im not 100% sure about the sohc but on my ohv v6 2 mechanics said it was the timing chain cover gasket when it turned out to be the lower intake gasket which was leaking right over the timing chain

 

[Lazzman]

Thanks for the info.

looks like this could be more complicated then I thought.

 

[1998Exp]

For what it's worth, now that I got to it, I can see that there is no need to move the A/C compressor on the V8 (5.0L) either. The accessory bracket is positioned side-by-side with the timing cover, and bolts directly to the block.

 

[jkarecki]

timing cover leak

I was wondering if the stop leak is still working? If so, do you remember what the name of the product was? Thanks.

I had a similar leak over a year ago and put in some of the stop leak stuff that looks like little black pellets. Surprise, it been working very well.

 

[nmare198]

1997 Explorer: 1.Invisible water leak 2.No start after engine warms up.

I know this is a couple of years too late to help you, but as one who just had this very same problem on a 1997 Explorer, 4.0 SOHC V-6 the maddingly seemingly invisible leak, the no start after warmup, no Chk eng light etc., was eventually traced to one of the temp sending units (yep there are TWO of em, one for the gauge one for the computer) They are located on the Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet assy. and on an engine with 200,000 miles on it I can just about guarantee that the Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet assy will have to be changed because the brass inserts that the sending units screw into are either pressed or glued into the PLASTIC housing after won't let you have the darned things because the brass that the temp sending units are screwed into just go round and round in (this is also where the water is disappearing from) the plastic housing and if it does that, the housing will have to be replaced. This part can be bought in many configurations but A*a*on has this one (Dorman 902-204 Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet) that comes with the thermostat already installed. You probably should replace both sending units, but if your gauge is working and you only have hot start problems you can reuse gauge sending unit. BTW these 2 sending units are not interchangeable. Hope this helps someone with this problem because that 4.0 l' SOHC engine was used on alot of Ford models. :exp:

 

[Iluvmyexplorer]

1995 Ford Explorer with "timing cover gasket" supposed leak

First off, I'm a female. , and I don't work on my own car anymore, but I used to drag race so I understand quite a bit about engines... So my question is this. This is my first post, so hoping I'm putting it in the right place....

I have a 1995 V6 XLT 4WD Ford Explorer that I've had for over 10 years. Its been a wonderful vehicle, never has given me much headache except for a VSS that had to be replaced a few years ago that was misdiagnosed as needing a new transmission (those pikers)....$25 part later, runs super again. Now, my vehicle has trouble maintaining an idle on restart after its warm. It starts up fine, just sounds like its trying to die...after about 15 seconds of holding the gas pedal down to rev the engine up slightly to get it over that rough spot, it runs fine again. NO other driving symptoms. No red lights, no overheating, no ticking.

Took it in to my mechanic for a well child checkup, and he said it has a SEVERE timing cover gasket leak! He said it was so bad he didn't even have to dye it. But he said it was coolant, not oil. ......Now. If this is true, I should have foam on my dipstick...which I don't. He wants $600 to replace it...but after reading this forum, once you tear into something with 211,000 miles on it, you can break loose a lot of crap that wasn't broken in the first place considering all the stuff you have to take off to get to the gasket.....and I am wondering if the expense would be worth it, since the vehicle is only worth about $1500 on the resale market anyway. The flip side though, is if I KNEW that he would not break anything else taking this apart, and I KNEW that he'd do a good job of seating the new gasket, and this would solve the problem, I'd do it in a second, because I love the vehicle, its paid for,..its comfy, pretty, looks almost brand new, and I have no urge to dump it. But then I read THIS:
"......as one who just had this very same problem on a 1997 Explorer, 4.0 SOHC V-6 the maddingly seemingly invisible leak, the no start after warmup, no Chk eng light etc., was eventually traced to one of the temp sending units (yep there are TWO of em, one for the gauge one for the computer) They are located on the Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet assy. and on an engine with 200,000 miles on it I can just about guarantee that the Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet assy will have to be changed because the brass inserts that the sending units screw into are either pressed or glued into the PLASTIC housing after won't let you have the darned things because the brass that the temp sending units are screwed into just go round and round in (this is also where the water is disappearing from) the plastic housing and if it does that, the housing will have to be replaced. This part can be bought in many configurations but A*a*on has this one (Dorman 902-204 Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet) that comes with the thermostat already installed. You probably should replace both sending units, but if your gauge is working and you only have hot start problems you can reuse gauge sending unit. BTW these 2 sending units are not interchangeable. Hope this helps someone with this problem because that 4.0 l' SOHC engine was used on alot of Ford models. "

Makes me wonder if my mechanic knows what he's talking about, since he didn't know about the VSS making the vehicle run like it needed a new tranny when it goes out. I found that out on my own, and replaced it on my own. What do you guys think? I'm gonna go get some of those black pellets and at least put that in for the time being. P.S. I have not noticed any leak, nor have I had to constantly add fluid to the system which leads me to believe the leak is not so HUGE as he says it is....and HE didn't see it three months ago when I took it in for the VSS problem that he didn't find. lol. I know what you are going to say - find another mechanic. And then I found this on another forum - this describes maybe the noise the car is making on the warm starts: " Ford XLT Explorer. My mechanic removed the oil filler cap to listen to the sound coming from the right side front of the motor. It sounded like the clicking of a diesel near where my power steering pump is located. This problem seems to be intermittent. It was not there on a cold start so I left and drove a short way; parked for about 15 minutes. Upon restart, there it was. It's his opinion that a timing chain nylon tensioner on the front is either worn or gone entirely causing the chain to slap the sides or the another chain that is near it. It takes special tools for this....." But I still want your opinion on what the chances are of a "fix" breaking more things than are fixed.....

 

[1998Exp]

First, are you sure you have a V8 engine? I don't think it was available in 1995. Also, the V8 engine came with AWD, not 4WD. My guess is that you have the OHV V6, which, as far as I understand was the only engine available in 1995. I hate to say it, but if unsure just count the ignition wires.

Regardless of the above, you can safely ignore the horror stories about the chain tensioners, plastic thermostat housings, etc. of the SOHC V6, because this engine first showed up in 1997.
Resealing the timing cover on the more traditional OHV engine is a lot of wrenching, but should be within the capability of the more advanced shade tree mechanic, so I would not worry too much about your guy's ability to do that. And while he his in there, you should have the timing gears and chain replaced. It may even solve your idling problem.

First off, I'm a female. , and I don't work on my own car anymore, but I used to drag race so I understand quite a bit about engines... So my question is this. This is my first post, so hoping I'm putting it in the right place....

I have a 1995 V8 4WD Ford Explorer that I've had for over 10 years. Its been a wonderful vehicle, never has given me much headache except for a VSS that had to be replaced a few years ago that was misdiagnosed as needing a new transmission (those pikers)....$25 part later, runs super again. Now, my vehicle has trouble maintaining an idle on restart after its warm. It starts up fine, just sounds like its trying to die...after about 15 seconds of holding the gas pedal down to rev the engine up slightly to get it over that rough spot, it runs fine again. NO other driving symptoms. No red lights, no overheating, no ticking.

Took it in to my mechanic for a well child checkup, and he said it has a SEVERE timing cover gasket leak! He said it was so bad he didn't even have to dye it. But he said it was coolant, not oil. ......Now. If this is true, I should have foam on my dipstick...which I don't. He wants $600 to replace it...but after reading this forum, once you tear into something with 211,000 miles on it, you can break loose a lot of crap that wasn't broken in the first place considering all the stuff you have to take off to get to the gasket.....and I am wondering if the expense would be worth it, since the vehicle is only worth about $1500 on the resale market anyway. The flip side though, is if I KNEW that he would not break anything else taking this apart, and I KNEW that he'd do a good job of seating the new gasket, and this would solve the problem, I'd do it in a second, because I love the vehicle, its paid for,..its comfy, pretty, looks almost brand new, and I have no urge to dump it. But then I read THIS:
"......as one who just had this very same problem on a 1997 Explorer, 4.0 SOHC V-6 the maddingly seemingly invisible leak, the no start after warmup, no Chk eng light etc., was eventually traced to one of the temp sending units (yep there are TWO of em, one for the gauge one for the computer) They are located on the Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet assy. and on an engine with 200,000 miles on it I can just about guarantee that the Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet assy will have to be changed because the brass inserts that the sending units screw into are either pressed or glued into the PLASTIC housing after won't let you have the darned things because the brass that the temp sending units are screwed into just go round and round in (this is also where the water is disappearing from) the plastic housing and if it does that, the housing will have to be replaced. This part can be bought in many configurations but A*a*on has this one (Dorman 902-204 Thermostat Housing/Water Outlet) that comes with the thermostat already installed. You probably should replace both sending units, but if your gauge is working and you only have hot start problems you can reuse gauge sending unit. BTW these 2 sending units are not interchangeable. Hope this helps someone with this problem because that 4.0 l' SOHC engine was used on alot of Ford models. "

Makes me wonder if my mechanic knows what he's talking about, since he didn't know about the VSS making the vehicle run like it needed a new tranny when it goes out. I found that out on my own, and replaced it on my own. What do you guys think? I'm gonna go get some of those black pellets and at least put that in for the time being. P.S. I have not noticed any leak, nor have I had to constantly add fluid to the system which leads me to believe the leak is not so HUGE as he says it is....and HE didn't see it three months ago when I took it in for the VSS problem that he didn't find. lol. I know what you are going to say - find another mechanic. And then I found this on another forum - this describes maybe the noise the car is making on the warm starts: " Ford XLT Explorer. My mechanic removed the oil filler cap to listen to the sound coming from the right side front of the motor. It sounded like the clicking of a diesel near where my power steering pump is located. This problem seems to be intermittent. It was not there on a cold start so I left and drove a short way; parked for about 15 minutes. Upon restart, there it was. It's his opinion that a timing chain nylon tensioner on the front is either worn or gone entirely causing the chain to slap the sides or the another chain that is near it. It takes special tools for this....." But I still want your opinion on what the chances are of a "fix" breaking more things than are fixed.....