well through the past couple of years my COP's have been going bad....i did some research and found that most of them will go out on the passenger side because of coolant leaking and its normal on ford trucks...Yesterday the number 4 COP went out, so i switched it out and today it went out again and there is coolant sitting on the COP...there is an aluminum line that runs right above the COP that connects to a rubber line....I also read (either jbrew or glc posted it i beleive) that ford lines will never leak only the connections leak....so is this connection the problem? can i just put another couple hose clamps on it and be good to go??

also how hard is it to put on a new b+ plug? (the plug that plugs in the COP), my clip broke and i was thinking about just black taping it on the COP because its tight back there.

thanks guys.


oh most important details ha

98 ford lariat 4x4 5.4

 

Ford lines NEVER leak? ANY line can leak especially if it's 11 years old. You've GOT to find where the leak is. No one can answer where your leak is coming from without inspecting the truck! If it's coolant leaking, you know you've got to inspect all the coolant lines until you find it.

Not sure how hard it would be to term a new connector to the wires that go to the COP. I would look to replace that connector ASAP though. Taping may work temporarily or may not.

 

Show me a Ford coolant line that burst in these 97-03 models and I'll shine your shoes for a week lol. Ford really did something right here, they will outlast the vehicle. Yes, they will go bad at those band clamp connections over time unfortunately. When replacing, you should use expanding clamps -



Was it wet in the plug chamber? Did you blow it out to verify? They leak @ the water pump tube and manifold connections intermittently. Unless the hoses where changed and clamped up top at the heater core ? That's a big mistake lol. Well, unless you used these -



Pop the hood after it rains, maybe you have a bad seal ? Make sure your harness isn't resting on top of your AC accumulator. Did it sound like a rod knock when #4 went?

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You can cut the Ford hose ONCE and reconnect, but use those clamps. They require very little torque and are solid,- won't tear into the rubber.

 

thanks for the info.....i took my truck home to get a new vehicle to finish the week of college

i will be home thursday and will get a pic of the line i think is leaking

i did not notice if it was wet in the plug chamber, the old COP did not look wet, i didn't blow it out either...I will make sure to do this when replacing this time

i really don't know what a rod knock sounds like, but i could definately tell exactly when this thing went, at around 35 it actually sounded really smooth

the hood could have a bad seal as it was recently wrecked in the front and had a so-so job done putting it back together