There's been a small oil leak at the timing cover since I bought this van a couple of years ago. Since I'm (temporarily) driving it 100 miles/day, it's gotten a bit worse. I fill the fuel tank every third day, and every six days I run it by the car wash and hose down the front of the engine & the crossmember, to keep the spots in the driveway to a minimum.

However, it had gotten a bit worse in the past couple of weeks, and I was starting to have to clean the timing cover off every fillup, which is starting to be serious.

Normally, I'd just change out the timing cover gasket, but my shop is 1400 miles away (until December) along with my compressor & air tools (think harmonic balancer bolt). I really don't want to take on this job without being able to snug up that bolt.

I took a hard look at the timing cover, and Lo! Part of the gasket is broken in a visible place, right up top where I can both see it and touch it.

(click any image for larger)




I sprayed it all down with starter fluid, let it dry, then, using a 12" phillips bit as an application tool, conveyed globs of black high-temp RTV all along the seam as far as could be reached (which isn't far: about 4" total).



This topical application (to an oil-free surface) seems to have completely stopped the oil leakage. I've driven it two days so far (200 miles) and last week this would have had visible oil drips all over the lower surfaces of the water pump & timing cover, but it's very dry.

I've done this sort of thing before on timing cover leaks on other vehicles I've owned, but with the very limited access on this 4.0l I didn't really hold out a lot of hope that the only place it was leaking was also where I could get to it without a lot of teardown.

Looks like I may have gotten lucky, this time.

 

You are lucky that it seemed to be leaking there, and were able to fix it with a dab of RTV.

I wonder if you got any water into the oil with all those hose-downs you did to clean it off?

 

If there was, I never saw any indication, but as I'm driving it so much, the PCV system would have pulled any small quantity of moisture out.

This engine uses almost no oil. I changed it Sunday, and I'd only added a single quart in 6000 miles. AMSOil 5W30.

 

I would have at least pulled it down to loosen all the bolts without taking it off and re-sealed it with right stuff RTV, that way I know its sealed for good.

I have these recurring dreams when I don't do things the right way, that it will leave me stranded when I least expect it and cost me 3 times more trouble.

 

If I touched the bolts, I'm afraid of starting a leak at the cover/oil pan interface, and that's not something that Right Stuff will fix on the outside.

I've used Right Stuff, it's good, but it's no miracle product. There can't be any oil present for it to adhere, just like other RTVs.

I do not want to get into a tear-down right now, I've got too many other irons in the fire before we depart in three weeks for 12 days of driving & towing. An oil leak of a teaspoon of oil per 300 miles is something I can live with if I have to for this trip. If I had a worse leak, maybe not.

 

Right Stuff RTV will seal the whole cover easy if you took some extra time and did the whole cover. I had to take down the front end to do the same thing. It only takes an extra 20 mins to remove the fan shroud, and fan to get at it.

I might add your leak was on the inside and just blew out the upper part of the seal. given that the oil pressure reaches around 30~35 lbs. it will not take long for it to find the next weak spot on the cover.

 

good temp fix Al
sometimes a guy has got to do what conditions dictate.
Denver in Oct. temps 40s day and below freezing nights with no place to pull it inside, that sucker would have dripped on the driveway all winter before I would have torn it down outside in the winter Denver wind. that Front Range wind in winter is beyond brutal. It will take the skin right off the face.

keep warm Al until you get back to WWA.
just got back from a few days of deer hunting in E Wa. teens at night and 6 inches of fresh powder on the ground. damn near froze my nuckies off.

I'm impressed with what Permatex's Right Stuff will do, bonds super strong after heat curing. I use it more than Super High Tac now.

 

There are no pressurized oil passages in the timing cover, so that's a non-factor in oil leakage there.

I'm more worried about coolant leakage, esp. to the inside.

At any rate, this is a temporary patch, till I get back to my shop and air tools.

What is the Ford-recommended method of torquing the crank bolt? I use a rattle gun, as I haven't found a easy way to restrain the crankshaft to use a torque wrench.

 

OTC Tools 4754 Universal Pulley Holder & Fan Clutch Set



some use a strap wrench on the pulley but can damage rubber isolator/vib damper.

the 4.0L OHV uses a 1 time torque to yield crank damper bolt. I use blue temp. Locktite on them

 

I must have done this at least twice, but I still can't remember how I held the crank steady while I removed the bolt. I may have jammed a crow bar between the inside part of the damper and some other stationary object.

 

It's been 2000 miles, and there's no leakage at all. I'm very pleased with this quickie "repair".

 

Open up that little access plate and jam a big flat blade screw driver on one of teeth on the flex plate, or whatever they call that little thingy to which the torque converter is bolted.

 

You can lock that flex plate down with a bolt if you look close there is a threaded hole that when you put a long bolt in it, it goes into the flex plate and locks it down. You can only use it when the starter is out.

 

Sigh. Removing the starter requires disconnecting the front driveshaft and moving it to one side, IIRC.

I'll wait until I'm home and in my shop to do this. Right now, it's clean & dry under the hood, just the way I like it.

 

Update: eight months and 10k miles later, still no leakage there.