Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Help diagnosing wheter is the head gasket or leak

I have a question. I am loosing water (coolant that is) and it started to progress lately (refill about a pint every two-three days) depending on the driving style. Drive harder drinks more fluid, city slow stop-go, drink less. No smoke, at least no on start up 'cause it will smoke more already due to condensation (cold weatehr is here). I just changed the oil (about 3000 miles) and no sludge. I checked for visible leaks but could not find any. No fogging up of the windows and no wet passenger side floor (ergo no heater matrix leak). No puddles under the car (altough I had to be more methodical about it and place some clean cardboard under the whole engine to check for this). It does not miss (only very slightly when on idle, but the wires are Ford original, 8 years old so that may be the reason) and pulls good. About a year a go it threw a upper radiator hose and got oveheated, but not by much and I had it stopped and coled off, but one never knows). I will take Mag Lite and check for leaks more thoroughly. So give me your opinions 'cause I am about to start thinking about getting a "donor" car for an engine swap. I have heard that is rather tricky to do the heads on a DURATEC,and used Mondys are dime a dosen in Germany so I can salvage her (cheaper to get the whole car than the engine alone,go figure). I am almost certain that the head gasket has gone south, but I would not bet my money on it 'cause I am not getting all of the usual symptoms so help me here guys. Oh yes the WP has been replaced last year and the pump and the thermostat work as advertised.

Ed

So, if I understand your post correctly, your loosing lots of fluid, and you can't figure out why. Clearly it's either leaking internal into the crank, exhaust, or is an external leak. The trick is finding it.

I believe you can get your oil analyzed, but I have no details on this. Typically coolant leaking into the crank case will show up as a white goo on the filler cap and/or stick.

As you look for external leaks, check for a yellow/greenish color on surrounding components. This is the stain left for dried coolant.

To check the head gasket, I would suggest doing a compression test.

Methods are:

• Compression test
• Pull plugs and look for clean cylinder
• Cooling system pressure test
• UV inspection

Got it! Found today that my WP is leaking at the shaft! Didn't had decent flashlight untill today so it was kind of weird to see. The PO had the WP changed last year, just before I bought it so I thought I was OK and safe. Wrong. At least it's not the worst case (shivers) scenario. Now I need to get the WP and had it installed. My dad (retired driver of 40 years of experience) says that it may be that the "O" ring had failed and that it may be possible to replace it separately. Sounds kind of farr out idea today. It does seem that Ford would design the WP that can be fixed in such way. Anyway I will take it appart and have a look se at the WP. Anything I should know before I open it? Does the WP gasket comes with the new pump or I need to order it separately?

Backflush the cooling system thoroughly and change the thermostat while you have it apart. The previous pump impeller may have exploded, and leftover pieces can cause early failure of new pumps. If the heater core or bypass line are partially clogged, the pump will experience raised head pressure which can cause the seal to leak. I have had this happen, and one guy had something like five pumps in less than two years.

Do yourself a favor and take out the air filter, intake duct, and battery for plenty of room. Gasket normally comes with pump.

Quote:

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Found today that my WP is leaking at the shaft!.... may be that the "O" ring had failed and that it may be possible to replace it separately

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If water is leaking at the shaft most likely your WP bearings are either shot or will be. Most water pumps have a pressed in bearing assembly that contains a ball bearing and often a needle roller bearing as well. The pump shaft is an integral part of this bearing assembly. There is a seal inside between the impeller shaft and the cavity where the impeller is, to keep water out of the bearing assembly, and another seal at the pulley end of the shaft to keep dust dirt and other crap out of the bearing. The pulley end seal is usually part of the bearing assembly itself and can't be replaced on its own. If water is truly leaking past the shaft at the pulley end, it means it has traveled all the way through the bearing(s) to get there! The bearings days are numbered! Yes you CAN change the bearing/ shaft assembly and internal seal, but you need a press and a special fixture tool to push the bearing/shaft out. You could BEAT it out, but you can't hammer the new one in without ruining it! So unless you have access to the proper tools/equipment, it just aint worth it! Best bet is buy a new pump and consider changing the tensioner as well.

Good luck.

I think you guys are right, the new WP it is. And so will be the thermostat while I'm at it (the old one works but they're cheap). Yest it makes no sense to go all the way to fix something that is, in fact the most expensive part of the pump (the bearings and all that) while the rest of it is just metal and plastic castings. The question was more of a rethorical one rather than practical, inspite the fact that I do have acces to the mentioned tools. And yes removing all of the stuff that was recomended is certainly a necesisity rather than anything else. I did it when I had to replace the upper radiator hose so it's a procedure I know well. And it would make the coolant change so much more easier. Thanks guys you were a real help.

Just found this:

Pick-pro parts, WP 45.66$, gasket 2.32$ and the WP is with a metal impeller! Anyone got this one, any words of caution?


link: http://www.pickproparts.com/PartsList.aspx?SubCategoryID=23

A new and weird development with the WP issue. The damn thing stopped leaking! Now I don't know what to do or what's the matter. Is it a (highly unlikely) misterious case of self-repair or I am about experience a WP failure of cathastrophic proportions? But one thing is certain it leaked three days a go and it does not leak now. The engine is not overheating and there is hot air at the vents. Confused.

The leak could be related to the ambient outside temperature? Anyway, if it were me, I'd wait an see what happens. Make sure to watch your coolant level, and, keep an eye on the temperature gauge at all times.

Yeah that's what I'm doing, makes me uneasy 'cause these babies overheat in a flash! But no other way I guess. But strange, don't you think? To loose almost a pint of coolant evry other day (I'd say every 50 miles or less), to acctually see the leak (pretty strong one) going down the pulley, and on to the front engine mount, and then nothing! Total stop. And I need to change the coolant soon! What a drag. What do you think about that 45$ Wp (looks like one with metal impeller)?