Raining coolant

[aeorn]

Just got back from a short drive and there is coolant raining down on my driveway from behind the engine. You guys have any ideas before I go taking everything apart? I'm guessing a hose burst. Is there one that is more likely than others? Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Hamfisted]

Have you opened the hood and looked ?

 

[aeorn]

Can't see anything obvious from the top or wheel well

 

[Hamfisted]

Do you smell a coolant smell inside the cabin when you turn the AC blower up ? Like a heater core leak ? With a flashlight, do you see coolant in the engine valley ?

 

[aeorn]

Actually yeah, now that you mention it, there was coolant in the valley and some white streaks around the coils. I thought maybe it was from an old spill, but that doesn't make any sense because I haven't touched the coolant in recent memory

 

[aeorn]

I'm not in front of the car, but I think I know what you mean by "valley" - under the plastic cover in the middle in a small crevasse

 

[Hamfisted]

Ok. Your best bet is to get yourself a coolant system pressure test kit and pressurize the system with the motor off and use a bright flashlight to find your leak while it's under pressure.

Coolant System Pressure Test Kit on Amazon





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[kep5niner]

Coolant in the valley can come from the o-ring failure at the back of the water pump (search for the water pump mod - very common), or your intake manifold could be leaking, particularly if you’re seeing streaks down into your valley.

Either way, take the pissed-off squirrel’s advice. He knows what he’s talking about

 

[aeorn]

I'll let you guys know what I find. Thanks!

 

[whtbronco]

Either way, take the pissed-off squirrel’s advice. He knows what he’s talking about

Ain't that the truth.

 

[aeorn]

Thanks for the tip on the water pump. Coolant flooding stopped.

 

[aeorn]

I found a new leak unfortunately. Much smaller. Can anyone tell me what this part? how big is this gasket job?

 

[aeorn]

Here's another angle

 

[Hamfisted]

Pull the intake manifold off to reach the bolts. Other than that it's not too bad. Very common coolant leak area on the Triton motors.

Coolant Crossover Gasket Set at Rock Auto

Intake Manifold Gasket Set at Rock Auto








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[engineer1]

Be prepared when you remove the intake manifold that you may find more than a gasket issue. My '03 EB had the same leak, but I discovered the gasket is more of a formed O ring seal that sits in a channel molded into the plastic manifold. My manifold had cracked/broken so it no longer contained the seal. I cleaned up the damaged area very well, put some mold release on the old seal and put it back into the channel as a mold. I was then able to reinforce it with some steel (paper clip), and epoxied it with JB Weld. After it cured I installed a new seal, liberally added silicone rubber sealer, and bolted it together before the rubber set up. It seemed to have worked. Much less expensive than a new manifold. Good luck.

 

[aeorn]

You guys think this sound is a gasket? I overheated on the way home from work today. Water on the ground and this sound (engine off): https://youtu.be/r6lKA0DqpAA?si=01jGxG4SN8RYto0h

 

[Hamfisted]

You never replaced that crossover gasket ? Could be worse now. Because that joint on the intake manifold to crossover likes to de-laminate along the gasket sealing area if the gasket is not replaced early, and that requires a new intake manifold. Again, buy a pressure test kit and pressure test the system with the engine off. But don't delay that repair.






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[whtbronco]

With the fluid present, I guess it's coolant, it very well may be a gasket, hose or the intake manifold leaking. Though if all I had was the audio I would say it's a vacuum leak.

 

[aeorn]

There's water in the ignition coil wells

 

[aeorn]

Thanks for the tips. Went ahead and replaced the whole manifold yesterday. So much water in the valley and ignition coils. Gaskets were useless. It smoked a lot when I started because so much fluid drained into the cylinder when I pulled the spark plugs to dry them out. Running well today though. So far no leaks.

Btw, the new manifold is smaller and gives me a lot better access to the valley. I wonder if there's any performance difference.