i have a 97 f-150 with a 4.6 and a nasty water leak. it's coming from the back of the motor somwere but i can see 2 little hoses that go into the firewall. they don't seem to be leaking and i cant see anything else, any ideas??

 

The 2 little hoses that go into the firewall go into the heater core inside the truck, that way you have heat when it's cold. If you're positive that they aren't leaking then you may have a cracked head. I don't know what else it could be (someone else on here may have more experience). I had a cracked head about a year ago, get ready for a ride because new heads where quite price (OE through the dealer). However there are aftermarket 2V heads in the Jeg's or Summit catalog for around $800 or $900 a piece, and that's mild compared to the dealer. Hopefully this isn't what happened to you. If you can't find the leak yourself then you should probably take it in to whatever shop you usually go to and let them look at it (since half the motor is under the cowl it's kind of a pain to do anything to the back of the engine). You could try a flashlight and a mirror to look in behind. Someone else should be along shortly with more/better advice!!!