I have a 1995 F-150 4x4, 302 with a coolant leak i have had for a long long time. I have had the truck for at least 2 years now and i have always noticed that the coolant resivoir wont stay full, i'll fill it and it will be empty a few days later, and the coolant gets muddy brown. I finally tracked down the leak today. I have a leak from my radiator for starters, this is a recent leak, but the one i have been chasing appears to be coming from behind the water pump where the timing cover bolts to the block. I've checked my oil and I am not getting any coolant into my oil thankfully, but i think some oil may be getting into the coolant and that is what is causing it to turn brown. Has anyone changed the timing cover gasket on one of these 302's, should i replace the whole cover and chain set, it has 95,000 miles on it. How long should i expect this repair to take me? any info is appreciated. Thanks
-john

 

It's not too bad. Get a Double roller timing chain from Summit and a cam change Gasket kit from AutoZone. If the water pump is alright then it can be reused. I would change all the radiator and heater hoses if you haven't in a while. The like to fail on a guy at the most inopertune time. And you have to drain the coolant anyway so why not right?? Allow a good day or two do work on it. But that's just me because I like to work nice and slow and do things right the first time.

 

changing your timing gear cover gasket still won't fix the water leak. try looking at that little 90 degree hose from the top of the water pump to the intake manifold. This is called a bypass hose. It has a little hose clamp on it that is a real bitch to tighten all the way. I had a water leak there, it took me a full day to find it and an hour or so of cursing and yelling at it before i could finally get it tight enough to stop leaking. And the water turning brown is a common occurance due to low fluid in your engine. This is just a little rust forming that gets in the water. Not to worry, just once you fix the leak, flush the engine with fresh water until you get nothing but clean water back out of the engine, and then keep full with a 50/50 mixture of anti-freeze and water.

 

I changed a water pump out I didn't need to because of the stupid little paper gasket on the thermostat cover leaking. It looked like the water pump shaft was leaking. also the little anti icing hose to the throtle will leak and some time run down the front of the motor

My .02

 

While you are into it, make sure you change the thermostat
also....the Motorcraft OEM thermostat will last longer, and worth the extra $$....