Maybe I'm hoping for miracles, but my 77 shortbed constantly drips from several locations -- just little drips, no major quantities -- and I was wondering if there was some sort of easy fix for this. I think I've seen sprays at the Zone that claim they can stop leaky external fluids -- is that a con?

Drips seem to come from the oil tank, the transmission pan, and the coolant primarily, though based on the cardboard I have laid out underneath the truck, you'd think every type of fluid was dripping from every orifice of the engine.
Is this just age or what? Or should I replace all the plugs and gaskets and see if that helps?

(I started to search for other posts on this, but "dripping" is a rather vague search term and the results weren't, how do you say, HELPFUL.)

Thanks in advance, oh great men of knowledge and experience.

 

There is no miracle spray or additive to permanently cure a leak except to address it correctly with gaskets, sealants, or replacement parts.

These trucks were built with less engineering than new models. If ya don't put in the time and effort, then might as well sell it and buy a new one.

 

No easy spray fix but maybe a turn of a screwdriver or ratchet? Ck the trans pan/oil pan bolts for being tight. Worse case nothing a new gasket would not fix, and since you are in there a new filter and fluid is always a good thing.

Or maybe the oil pan bolts are to tight and have bent the pan lip? Insp the radiator hoses to be dryrotted and cracked or a loose hose clamp. Insp the radiator seams for a split, valve cover gaskets are as easy as a oil drain plug gasket.

Make sure its not a water pump weep hole leak.......heater hoses good condition and tight on both mount ends? Are you sure the eng is not a front main leak and the trans is not a rear main?

There is "Gunk" spray degreaser and stuff like parts cleaner to get the oil off to find the real source of the leak.

 

Chasing drips is one of the toughest jobs to do in the maintenance of these trucks. My truck dripped everything and the only way I could start addressing each one was to have the engine and underside professionally cleaned. It only cost me a little over $100 but it was money well spent. Not only did I have a clean engine and chassis but I found all my leaks and I was able to easily fix them. No spray fix! It takes proper troubleshooting sound repair tactics to fix a leak.

Most of my leaks I fixed and one other leak (Rear Main Seal) is another problem I'm currently working on.

 

DITTO!

When I first bought my '78, it had a 351M/400...it took a while and a few (6-8) cans of the degreaser (Gunk Remover), Dawn Dish Detergent, Plastic Bags to cover the carb, plugs, etc...I would run the engine for a few minutes to let it warm up, cover all the vitals up, spray it down, and let it soak for a few minutes. Pressure wash it, let it dry a little, uncover everything, drive it around for a little while, REPEAT...I actually had a "descent looking" engine when it was fully degreased...Plus I was able to see where it was leaking and fix it properly without guessing where I thought...majority of mine were valve cover leaks...Just as a word of advise, start top side and work down...then plan nothing for a whole day and tackle the bottom (you will have a good chance of getting wet and grimy)! Take good before and after pics...just so you can remember the fun you had!

 

Bought a can of Gunk today. We'll see what I can figure out. I'll have to strap on my dirty pants and clean off my safety goggles and get to work. Thanks for the tips....

 

Get some before and after pics...post some of the process...we love pics!!!

 

Just out of curiosity, where did you have it cleaned? I'm in El Cajon, and I can't find anyone that does it.

 

and how did they clean it? steam cleaner?

 

I agree that there's no "magic" spray/additive that you can use to make leaks stop.

Now, there are some things you can add to sometimes TEMPORARILY stop leaks - I don't know how they work (or how well!) but my experience is that if it temporarily makes it better, when the symptoms come back, they come back worse than before!

A good cleaning goes a long way. I found that in addition to the "GUNK" engine degreaser that comes in a aerosol bottle, that there's a product called "Super Clean" that comes in a purple bottle (usually a gallon size). It sounds corny, but that stuff is AGGRESSIVE! I sprayed it full strength on the motor of my old jeep to get it cleaned off - it attacked the aluminum of the intake manifold and gave it a very slight dusty white coating (aluminum oxide!) and it absolutely ate through the oil/grease. (It looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/SUPER-CLEAN-DE.../dp/B000CCM63K )

The bottle says that for cleaning car parts and grills to dillute it 3:1 with water - However, full strength works well in a spray bottle, just make sure you don't get it in your eyes! (or on anything that's supposed to stay pretty!)

The other alternative is the shotgun approach. Buy a set of valve cover gaskets, an intake manifold gasket, timing cover gasket, oil pan gasket, front and rear main seals, transmission pan gasket, filter, rear output seal, and the seals for the NP205. Start at the top/front and work your way backwards. By the time you're done you'll have accomplished three things:

1) Gotten rid of any leaks in the driveline of the truck
2) Taught you a lot about the "character" of your particular truck
3) Let you break loose every tight/rusted bolt so that when you have to take them apart later, it comes apart easier!

-Brad

 

I'm about 500 miles North of you and the place I went to was a little detail shop in Redwood City that caters to car dealerships almost exclusively. I would ask around your neighborhood car dealerships to see where they take their cars to be cleaned, That's how I found this place here.

Since I live in the suburbs I can't get a can of cleaner and a pressure washer and start cleaning my engine. Fines for illegal improper disposal of toxins are really steep around here and majorly frond upon because all of the storm drains runs to the Bay.

This detail shop is one of a handful of EPA certified operations around here to dispose of all that nasty stuff properly and they do a really good job cleaning the engine and everything under the truck. The best part is I didn't have to do the work, clean up or take a shower afterwards. Just paid them $120 and left them my truck for a few hours while I had a long lunch.

I'm not sure what they used, I can guess it was a pressure washer with some cleaning agents added to the water because some of my engine components where really clean and looked like it was brand new.

I will be replacing my engine soon and when I have the old engine out I will tow my truck to the detail shop to have it cleaned again before I install the new engine. It's probably the next best thing to a frame off restoration. Here's some before and after pix.

Before.


After.

 

If there is a truck stop near you they might have a Blue Beacon truck wash or a truck wash there set up for cleaning chasises. I would talk to them

 

Its pretty common for coolant hoses to leak when the weather cools off after they have been on for a while and they have the screw type post clamp on them. The rubber hardens a bit and when cold everything shrinks so you get a leak that goes away when warmed up. So every fall or every other fall I will have to give every clamp a twist and that usually cures it until its time to change the hose..

 

Excellent advise!

 

When it STOPS dripping...THEN is when you need to worry!.......that's when SOMETHING is out of fluid!