For the past couple of days I have smelled radiator fluid. There are no leaks around the hoses, radiator, etc. No water is making its way down the engine to the ground. The temperature is running normal. I have looked to see if there is any water coming from the weep hole but I can't see the weep hole because the pulley obscures the whole view. I did notice a puddle of water on top of the motor behind the water pump below the throttle assembly. I am assuming the o-ring on the pulley is no longer sealing and drains into this trap on top of the motor instead of trickling down under the water pump. Can I get a confirmation on my theory from anybody that knows. I don't want to pull the water pump unless I am certain.

 

I need to update this post. It is not the water pump. I got a better look at it and there is no way the water pump could leak into the area on top of the engine. I am thinking the hose that runs behind the water pump may be leaking or the intake manifold gasket is leaking. Does anyone have access to TSB 00-18-3? If anyone has ever dealt with the pooling of coolant in the V on top of the engine, let me know what your deal was. 99 F150 5.4L

Thanks

 

the intake manifold gasket is a sure bet to save $$ and might be your only problem.

 

its the intake manifold gasket, or the tube running from the pump to the passenger head... your best bet is to pull the manifold and replace them all.

 

Do the trucks suffer from cracking intake manifolds like the cars do? Apparantly the early composite intakes on the cars crack and leak coolant.

 

I pulled my intake manifold off today and found a couple of things that puzzle me.

1) I found pieces of plastic under the intake sitting on top of the engine. These are not pieces from the plastic part that bolts under the intake manifold. I put what I could of it together. It looks square and has a open top to it and a few holes where bolts would hold it into place. Is this some sort of pan that sits under the intake manifold? I got a piece of the part numer off this thing. L??-6P013-AB

2) I can't really see where the gaskets have been leaking. I had a puddle of coolant sitting on top of the motor and was loosing coolant daily. Is it normal for you to be able to find a bad spot on the gasket? I didn't run any dye in the cooling system before I started nor did I run a pressure test. Looking back, I guess I should have done that. I can see where there is a buildup of grime running down the driver side head near the thermostat housing but the gasket looks ok there.

If anybody has any ideas on the these let me know. I'm waiting for Advance Auto to get my gaskets in later today. I suppose I'll change out the plugs and the back coil over plugs. I'll never get another chance to change those suckers so easily.

 

http://www.motorcraft.com/catalog.do?from=page try this website on that part number

 

ITs probably the pipe you see down there, replace the O rings and the intake gaskets and you shoud have no leak.