Rear engine coolant leak

[givver 1]

2000 150 5.4 63000 miles.The truck has used 1 qt. of oil to a thousand miles since new.Now I have a coolant leak on the right side of the back of the engine,mainly right after the motor is turned off.Any thoughts?

[jbrew]

First thought about oil is PCV valve. What are you using ? Second thought is- O-Rings. The O-Rings are probably spent behind the Water pump,- where the hard line connects. Coolant fills the valley on top of the block, then flows out the passenger side on top of the starter and puddles on the ground when parked.

Good guess? I have a few more if those don't check out. Take a flashlight and look down in the valley behind the alternator. Is she all wet down there?

[fomoco466]

upper heater hose, just above the #4 spark plug...common spot for the hose to come off/ leak/ blow a hole in the hose. happened to me twice on my 99 Expy..... causes the # 4 plug hole to become filled with antifreeze!

[tjk_in_cny]

Originally Posted by fomoco466

upper heater hose, just above the #4 spark plug...common spot for the hose to come off/ leak/ blow a hole in the hose. happened to me twice on my 99 Expy..... causes the # 4 plug hole to become filled with antifreeze!

I had the same problem a cpl of months ago. The thing is, if he was leaking there, his #4 cylinder would be misfiring and throwing a code. That's what happened to me anyways. Made it easy finding the problem, that's for sure.

[Aggie'98]

A/C condensor drain line?

[jbrew]

Originally Posted by fomoco466

upper heater hose, just above the #4 spark plug...common spot for the hose to come off/ leak/ blow a hole in the hose. happened to me twice on my 99 Expy..... causes the # 4 plug hole to become filled with antifreeze!

Nope, it's not leaking their. - It's puddling after shutdown. AND -I hope he's not referring to the AC lol.

They puddle from the hardline thru the valley, here's a pic -

The two o-rings on the WP stem go bad -



Fills the cavity and leaches out the passenger side eventually -



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The fix is this -




You could just replace the O-rings, but they don't last long.

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If your heater core hoses are suspect (It is possible, -just not likley), these can be hard to determine with no evidence. There's two ways to tell, one has been mentioned.

1. #3 or #4 Sparkplug Chamber will be holding water. You can use an air gun attachment to check - just blow into the chambers, you'll know real quick.

2. Use CAUTION: ~ Since these lines leak under pressure - @ operating temp w/engine running, grab these lines one at a time and move them from one side to the other. Where gloves and a long sleeve shirt, you probably won't get hit with coolant, -just in case. Here are the lines -

[givver 1]

Yes I do have little green puddles under the intake. Heater hoses into firewall look solid. I can't see the hose that goes to the back of the block.Do you have to remove the intake to properly fix the back of the water pump problem?As far as the oil consumption ,are talking about the pvc in the RH valve cover?

[jbrew]

Originally Posted by givver 1

Yes I do have little green puddles under the intake. Heater hoses into firewall look solid. I can't see the hose that goes to the back of the block.Do you have to remove the intake to properly fix the back of the water pump problem?As far as the oil consumption ,are talking about the pvc in the RH valve cover?

Yes Sir! You HAVE to remove the upper/lower intake, that's why it's not worth just replacing the O-Rings. In-fact, Ford doesn't even replace the O-Rings on their remans lol. They use a similar fix like mine , but better. They use a better crimp than I do, but yea , they toss the O-rings. There's a couple pics in the Haynes and Chiltons manuals of the new way. One pic is in chapter one in both books.

Anyway, there's better clamps on the market for this fix now, use these clamps -



Expansion Clamps ^^^ - They expand and contract / their solid, won't cut into the rubber. Just don't over torque them, they don't require that much.

With a section of heater hose. - 5/8 I believe ? Might be 3/4...
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PCV
Yea, there's only one and that's ported into the passenger side valve cover. The drivers side is the breather.

Anyway, that PCV part has to be a Motorcraft part. Aftermarket PCV's margins are way to tight and constrictive. When she can't breath, she consumes oil.

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BTW - Don't forget intake gaskets. Rock Auto sells them online. - Oh yea - That smaller 1/4" hose that disappears by the firewall, -connects to the same hardline that's under the lower intake. -Those usually don't leak, I've never seen one leak anyway.

[givver 1]

Thanks jbrew.Pictures and explanations are a great help.Now tell me about your truck.It sounds like a pretty fancy setup. Every time I see my little exhaust manifolds I wonder how that many cubes can breathe.Whats the deal with your exhaust performance .Power/MPG and such?

[jbrew]

Originally Posted by givver 1

Thanks jbrew.Pictures and explanations are a great help.Now tell me about your truck.It sounds like a pretty fancy setup. Every time I see my little exhaust manifolds I wonder how that many cubes can breathe.Whats the deal with your exhaust performance .Power/MPG and such?

Not really.

[dufunnel]

This thread has been very helpful, as I have the same symptoms. Would there be evidence of the o-rings leaking? Mine don't appear to be bad, but I'm going to do the fix anyway. I'm also changing the intake gaskets as one had damage, and I'll probably change the heater hoses while they're accessible. Is there anything else I should check while it's taken apart? Also, how would you guys remove coolant that got into the intake ports?

Thanks for the great information.

[jbrew]

Evidence would be on top of the block, in the valley.


Well, if your close to needing plugs, -it's a good time to change those. If you haven't cleaned your throttle body in awhile, - you could do that as well.

One very important thing you should do, - lay a bunch of dry rags over your coils and block the plug chambers as a stray stream of coolant came come out of nowhere, so it can seem. Fuel from the rail or injectors can do the same. Protect those coils

[Phooey]

I was searching out some other stuff and saw this old thread. For search puposes, i'd like to add that my right rear leak on my 98 4.6 was a bad intake gasket. I had searched out all the usual suspects for this leak, and when i took the intake off.........dry as a bone everywhere. That had me really bothered that i did'nt know the source. But under close inspection of the gasket, i could see where it was leaking.

[DYNOTECH]

oops

[jbrew]

Originally Posted by DYNOTECH

oops

oops ? Old thread lol.