Valve cover leak that is beyond me (fixed)

[kennyrkun]

Hi guys. Long story short is just I replaced the water pump and after getting everything buttoned back up, the right/rear valve cover is leaking. And it's leaking pretty good, about a full oil drop per second. I cannot for the life of me figure out what's going on. I've looked through all the valve cover threads on here and on the F150 forums, watched dozens of replacement tutorials. I replaced the valve cover gasket and applied RTV to the right spots and let it sit a full 24 hours, torqued all the bolts to spec. Does anyone have any ideas or know any way that I can figure out exactly where it's leaking form? I've considered that my valve cover might be cracked but I never saw any obvious signs of a crack anywhere. It leaks so fast that it's almost like there's just a hole in the valve cover!

I'm loosing my mind here. After all that work to get the pump replaced, I just want to drive the Explorer again!

Here is a video of the leak:


And here is a bonus video of the average Explorer owner experience:

 

[dvdswan]

That looks like water not oil. So, I doubt it would be a valve cover. I'm not familiar with the engine but I would look for bolts that go into water jackets that would need to have gasket sealer on the threads.

This may be the case here where the leak is near the water pump area and is running along the bracket to where it drips off.

 

[kennyrkun]

That looks like water not oil. So, I doubt it would be a valve cover. I'm not familiar with the engine but I would look for bolts that go into water jackets that would need to have gasket sealer on the threads.

This may be the case here where the leak is near the water pump area and is running along the bracket to where it drips off.

It is definitely oil. When it pools up below it, you can tell far more clearly. Additionally, the water pump in this motor is internal, underneath the timing cover. The timing cover can be seen in the video on the right side of the frame, where the RTV is visible. The water pump is underneath that and a little bit below the leak point. While I don't know what the black bracket pictured in the frame is, it is only bolted onto the back of the motor and then extends up a few inches. It is not connected to anything anywhere, it just sits on the motor and gets in my damn way

But man, it leaks so much it almost does seem like water.

 

[dvdswan]

If it's oil, then I would look for a cracked part. IMO, if it's the valve cover gasket something is pushing it out to leak like that. That looks more like a seal failure rather than a gasket failure, hence the thought above. Gaskets are more prone to seep not drip right off the start. Pretty potent for it to start off just like that.

What is that bracket that it is dripping off of for?

 

[kennyrkun]

If it's oil, then I would look for a cracked part. IMO, if it's the valve cover gasket something is pushing it out to leak like that. That looks more like a seal failure rather than a gasket failure, hence the thought above. Gaskets are more prone to seep not drip right off the start. Pretty potent for it to start off just like that.

What is that bracket that it is dripping off of for?

I honestly have no idea what the bracket is. I can't find a diagram that pictures it and I can't find anything that looks like it in the parts catalog. It sticks off the side of the engine there and points upward about 3 inches, but nothing is attached to it. It just gets in the way. If that bracket weren't there, I could probably get a better picture of where the leak is actually coming from. It appears to somewhere to the left of the frame behind the bracket.

Directly above the bracket, you can see where the valve cover meets the head. That's where I think it's leaking. I agree, the leak is huge to be a bad gasket or not enough RTV (and it does not appear to be leaking where the RTV was applied.) Ford spec for this motor says a little bit of RTV should be applied to where the VC touches the spot where the timing cover bolts onto the block, and that's a little to the right of the dripping bolt in the video, out of frame.

 

[410Fortune]

Your gonna have to pull that valve cover again and have a look
Inspect is very closely as these composite style covers can crack and be hard to detect

Something must have gone wrong with cover or gasket. The gasket can push out or not seat in its groove
All surfaces must be completely dry and free of any oil or the gasket can leave a spot with no seal and you get a leak

Sucks but it didn’t leak before
Valve cover was off and now leak
Equals revisit

 

[kennyrkun]

Your gonna have to pull that valve cover again and have a look
Inspect is very closely as these composite style covers can crack and be hard to detect

Something must have gone wrong with cover or gasket. The gasket can push out or not seat in its groove
All surfaces must be completely dry and free of any oil or the gasket can leave a spot with no seal and you get a leak

Sucks but it didn’t leak before
Valve cover was off and now leak
Equals revisit

Yeah... damn. I wish it had been the front/left valve cover! Would save me so much time! Least I can get the whole thing done and replaced in about an hour now.

 

[410Fortune]

Man I fell your pain. I do this daily
Valve cover better then whole engine!!

 

[kennyrkun]

Man I fell your pain. I do this daily
Valve cover better then whole engine!!

Amen!

 

[FordFlintrock]

Brackets that seemingly have no function are often times used and placed to protect certain components or reduce penetration in vehicle crashes.

 

[410Fortune]

Interesting! Never thought about the crash aspect
Learn something daily!

 

[kennyrkun]

Update: I fixed the leak. The bracket for the connector for the rear oxygen sensor was stuck underneath the valve cover between the head. Loosed up the two nearest bolts, yanked it out, tightened em back down and it was done. Leaks a liiiiiitle bit out of the VCT solenoid seals (which I just replaced!) but slow enough that you wouldn't notice the leak until it got dirty.

 

[410Fortune]

Hooray!