1987 ford f250 5.0 4spd.

had a little coolant drop on the floor every now and again and it really bugs me so,

i took the fan off, took the belt off, took the radiator shroud out and i can see a little pool of coolant behind the water pump atop the timing belt cover. i unbolted and moved acc. out of the way. pulled the water pump, pulled the harmonic ballancer and timing belt cover.

And wouldnt you know it, didnt mark a bolt!

so if there are any words of advice or resources that tell me what, where that would be great. If not, trial and error for me

 

Just for future reference its a timing chain cover, the 5.0 didn't have a belt.

And Why did you take the timing chain cover and water pump off? If you coolant was on top of the timing chain cover then the leak would be above the timing chain cover. Like the radiator hose, or intake gasket.

I mean correct me if I am way off here.

 

No, but if you take a good look at the pump & the accessory brackets, it won't be too hard to figure it out. Some parts of the pump are naturally thicker need more reach than other holes. Use a sealant like Permatex part B non hardening.

 

Kind of what I'm thinking.. If it's on top of the timing cover, I would look at the radiator hose and t-stat housing for leaks..

 

with the truck still together enough, with it running there is a little pool ontop of the timing chain cover, and in that pool there is some turbulence from coolant comming through the gasket or lack there of one in that area of the cover.typed belt, meant chain

 

hoses are dry underneath and this and the side of the block was the only places that were wet.

i used an airgun and sprayed out all the coolant, started truck and watched with a light the pool fill back up again.

 

There is no coolant to or for the timing chain for it to leak out of the cover. I'm so lost here ...

 

Check the gasket between the thermostat housing and the lower intake manifold.

 

Coolant runs through the timing cover, the water pump pulls fron the lower rad hose and pushes to the engine through the timing cover. A bad timing cover gasket could be the cause. A cooling system pressure tester would probably help pinpoint it. I'm not sure if they are on Autozones loaner tool list, but it might be worth asking.

 

My 460 had a pissing coolant bypass hose (between the intake manifold and the water pump.)
I know this is not your issue, but I'm just throwing it out there...

I second the thermostat housing gasket.

 

Thanks for all the replys fellas!

Yes the leak was at the driver side top corner of timing chain cover. The gasket was installed poorly and allowed coolant to spew up. I will post up pictures in the morning of what I did for those of you who care!

Thanks for all the input

 

FYI, I always use Permatex PST on bolts that go into the water jacket.

When I take these things apart I usually sketch out the pump on a piece of cardboard and poke the bolts through where they belong, as I take them off.

Saves me the head scratching later.

 

It would seem that all small blocks of this vintage leak at this particular junction of timing cover/water pump/block. This is my 5.8 & there have been a lot posts about 5.8s "stinking of coolant" or "loosing coolant but no puddles under truck". You can see here where it leaks & boils off/evaporates leaving a gelatine-like/waxy residue in the cavity of the timing cover.

 

I have that exact same leak on my 5.8. I cleaned and dried the area real good and then put my coolant system pressurizer on the RAD. I could see the water seeping out from that same area.

I also think I might have a leak on the intake manifold gasket (passenger side at the front of manifold, near the thermostat housing. Hopefully not! I'm going to double check that before I go crazy tearing apart the whole engine.


I'd be grateful for some advice on the timing cover job. Some of the questions I have before getting into this:

How big of job is it to do the timing cover seal? Does anyone know what the hours involved would be for a competent DIYer?

Should I consider doing the timing chain while I'm there? Trucks a 91 and has 150k miles on it, not sure how long a typical chain is good for?

Previous poster mentioned it is advisable to use Permatex PST on bolts that go into water jackets. Is that to prevent water from leaking out in between the threads? Does the Permatex stay pliable or does it get hard?

Is there generally any need to machine the timing chain cover mating surface?

What is a good product to use on the timing belt cover gasket? I have the high temp gasket maker (orange tube). Should I use that or is there a better product?

 

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