2.9 Intake coolant leak #2

73F100*8Mile · #1 (**permalink**) 10-27-2008, 12:47 PM

1990 ford ranger w/ a 2.9. I installed rebuilt heads about 2 years ago and they're absolutely great. Truck runs great w/ no hickups but when i first put the heads on and ran it, i put about 5,000 miles on it and the coolant gauge would always climb to OT and then drop about halfway between OT and cold and then come back up again. Then i noticed the coolant level would drop very slowly over time so i eventually threw another intake gasket in there after seeing it was leaking out the back of the intake. Now it leaks even worse and i was very careful to torque to specs and use mega black silicone and so forth. Whats the deal? Any ideas? I've considered the possibility that the heads i received were re-surfaced to the point that my intake doesn't seat like it should now. Any tips?

TigerDan · #2 (**permalink**) 10-28-2008, 10:52 AM

I would put a pressure tester on the cooling system and pump it up, with the engine off and 15-17psi in the sytem it makes it very easy to see and hear exactly where the leak is coming from. Do you still have the old gaskets you just replaced? If so, look at them carefully to see if you can spot from the compressed areas just how they lined up on the heads and intake and you may be able to tell from that how the intake was situated on the heads. Look closely around the water passages as well. It may indeed be neccessary to have some material removed from the intake to drop it down a bit, Any way to find out how much was removed from the heads two years ago?

capridude · #3 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 06:14 PM

Are the heads re-done stock Ford heads?
If so, eek! They may have warped more since install.
What brand of gasket are you using?
Be careful of using silicone sealers, they can damage HEGO sensors.

Jeff