Bypass pipe driver's side gasket leak and replacement

[rwmorrisonjr]

After I changed my water pump, hoses, t-stat, and radiator cap in August, I noticed I was starting to lose coolant on a regular basis. Now that it's warm out, I finally got a chance to look under the hood and here's what I found. Guess the gasket began failing after all the work brought the system back up to normal pressure. Thankfully I can buy just the gaskets and not need to replace the entire bypass pipe assembly. Parts on order from Amazon, might be this weekend's project!

Leaking bypass gasket:


Coolant puddle on garage floor:

 

[GaryH]

Looks dry to me. Can you describe what's happening. Or do you mean that tiny bit of seepage above and left of the idler pulley?

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Looks dry to me. Can you describe what's happening. Or do you mean that tiny bit of seepage above and left of the idler pulley?

Gasket on the driver's side of the coolant bypass pipe has failed. It leaks coolant down the back side of the valley and down the bell housing, also down the front (how I finally found it). Been leaking all winter, just haven't had time to diagnose it or the desire to fix it until it got warmer out. That time has finally arrived.

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

More leak pics. Haven't started the engine since yesterday, the bypass pipe is leaking like crazy. Parts & Coolant will be here tomorrow, will hopefully get it fixed this weekend.

Close up #1:

Close up #2:

Driver's side engine valley (fluid training along it, hard to see):

Coolant puddle:

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

UPDATE: got the parts and coolant in Friday and replaced the gaskets Friday night. Took me about 2.5 hours. All because of this:



If anyone needs to do this repair, here's a great video on how to remove the bypass pipe without removing the intake manifold: https://youtu.be/2lUM9n2b4mQ?si=PyE6EVKREhYR2Z6r

One note: there's a metal sleeve in the bolt hole attached to the intake manifold on the passenger side that wants to slide down and stop the pipe from sliding in easily. You need to angle the pipe in to catch the sleeve and keep it in place during reinstallation. I fought with it for about 30 minutes before finally getting the pipe seated properly.

Here are the part numbers. Both can be found on Amazon or your favorite Ford dealer.

Driver's side gasket: 3L3Z-8C388-AC
Passenger side gasket: 3L3Z-8C387-AC