I took my '88 F-150 for a test drive for the first time in nearly two weeks today after fixing the water pump and timing cover. It runs good but I'm really afraid a gasket could be leaking. On the timing cover, the coolant ports and oil (timing chain area) is very close. There is certainly plenty of oil and anti-freeze that flew everywhere while I was working. There doesn't appear to be any external leaks. I'm scared now though, after running the engine for about 10 minutes. It appears I have more oil than I started with. I'm pretty sure of the level but I am always careful of that "it's probably messed up" additude I get into after doing this much work. The oil still looks clean and like new oil. No white like I am used to seeing when an ATV goes under water.
What is everyone's opinion on this? I plan to drive it about 25 miles tomorrow to take care of some business. I definately don't want antifreeze leaking into the oil. Should I tighten the cover bolts again?

 

Relax. If you used new gaskets, and completely cleaned the gasket surfaces, and applied thread sealer to the proper bolts, you've got nothing to worry about. If any water mixed with the oil, it would be very obvious on the dipstick as the white color you referred to seeing in a ATV. If you overtighten the bolts, there's an excellent chance that you'll break one off in the block, and have to tear it all down again. If it was going to leak because of loose bolts, it would be an external leak.

I'm sure you're fine, but if you want to be absolutely sure, get a big drain pan, and pull the drain plug for just a second, and then screw it back it. It will be messy, but it will tell you for sure if there's any water in the oil. Since water weighs more than oil, it always sinks to the lowest point in the crankcase, which is at the bottom of your oil pan, BELOW the oil. After sitting overnight, the water will be completely separated from the oil, and will be the first thing to come out when you remove the drain plug. If you loosen it up, and oil comes out, you're good to go.

 

I pulled the oil drainplug just now after running the engine for almost an hour since the fix. Once the plug got loose, water started leaking out. I pulled it out and oil came. I estimate 1/4 cup or less of water came out, almost unmeasureable. I thought the oil level was higher, but this amount of water could not even show on the stick. I am wondering (hoping?) if some water / anti-freeze leaked into the pan when I was pulling the cover off. The oil is still super clean and looks new. If a gasket is leaking it is very slow. You think the radiator stop leak stuff could patch that up if this was the case? The only thing I know is I am not doing another minute of work on this truck. I'm sick of it and this is just a reminder that I am way past due for a Powerstroke.

 

It's very likely that the water you found made it's way in there when you did the job in the first place. As a general rule of thumb, I always change the oil and filter after doing any engine work, just to be sure that anything that could have gotten in was removed. Try checking it again in a week, and see if anymore water is in the pan. Keep an eye on the oil on the dipstick, and the water level in the radiator, just in case.