Im seeing coolant at the top rear near the water pump closer to where the timing cover is. Its seems like there is a gasket that is going bad right there, but im not sure. Is this possibly a crack in the block or a gasket that needs to be replace? Its not a huge amount but its very noticeable.

 

got a pic so we know exactly what we are looking at?

 

that sounds like the intake manifold gasket. if it was a head gasket it would be leaking from the top of the engine. I actually have the same leak for a while now haha but it never gets to the ground. I need to fix it - its ok short term, but eventually the coolant will slowly start eating away at the block.

Intake gaskets are a lot cheaper/easier to relace than head gaskets, so thats good news

 

Reading your desciption again, there's a good chance I'm wrong. It's hard to visualize where the leak is.

good luck man

 

without a pic, id say intake (common) or maybe the waterpump gasket. possible its the head gasket. if you can, get a pic for us.

 

if it was a head gasket, wouldnt there be oil leaking too? let the car idle and watch to see where it may be coming from. or after driving pop the hood and see if there is a trail or sign its coming from somewhere. u may also want to look at the coolant lines going into the throttle body. i do believe a leak there would drip down to where ur seeing coolant.

 

I have within the last year put new intake mainifold gaskets on the car. I also have replaced the coolant lines at the throttle body they are in good condition. I dont have the ability to take a picture and post it, but let me try to explaine better; there is no oil seeping from there only coolant, the water is on the top of the block were the water pump is placed and directly below the coolant lines of the throtle body. The water lines are not leaking for sure. The water is in the crevese and has a little puttle of coolant there after driving. It seems to me that its in the area of the timing cover. its right above the water pump and below the TB coolant lines, but in the creves on the block. If a person can provide a picture of the area, I will greatly appreciate it. The car dose not over heat at all from this. If it was the head gasket, what would i experiance? If its the head gasket, is it difficult to put another one on? Ive never done this.

 

sounds like the intake manifold gasket to me. did you use sealer on the corners of the head/block mating area? if not, thats probably where your leak is coming from. heres the only pic i have on my work computer for ya. if you can, circle the area its coming from, thatll give me a better idea. but from what youre describing, it sounds like the intake. it could be the coolant lines too though. see if it looks wet and is running down the intake onto the block after its been running.

 

Im not sure how to circle it, but its coming from the area were that black plastic line is by the bracket of the power steering but in the creves. How do I circle this image for most accurate vision?

 

manifold gasket. doubt it is a head gasket. could do alot of things, and no head gasket doesn't necessarily mean burning oil too. on of the big things is it would be hesitating ang missing.

 

yeah, id say intake, as long as your talking about where the black wire starts at, not goes behind the p/s pump.

 

should i re-change all the intake mainfold gaskets again?

 

id say yeah. make sure you RTV all 4 corners where the heads and block mate. and make sure its totally clean before you apply it or youll be pulling it apart again.

 

I had this problem too. The pipe coming out of the intake manifold going to the heater core is probably all eaten away. I touched the pipe and it just crumbled on me. I ended up draining the coolant system and drilling out the rest of this pipe in the intake manifold. I then threaded the hole and bought a brass fitting to go in there. Then i used a rubber hose to attach the brass fitting to the metal pipe going to the heater core.

The Fix costed me about 20 dollars and an afternoon worth of time.

 

I agree with Dusty. Mine leaked from that pipe when I replaced my head gaskets. It spins, but after being in one spot for several years and moving it. It tends to leak.fortunetly mine stoped leaking after a week or so. it wont leak a bunch but when it heats up and persure builds it will seep out.

I'm not sure if a new one can be purchased. Some of the strangest parts on these cars are dealer only items, and discontinued.

 

ya know from that pic of drdave's it looks like his pipe is leaking too.......see all the corrosion?

 

Her's what ya got
Ya got
POS
Previous Owner Symdrome
Meaning
All the lack of car that previous owner did, including Bubba the wonder mechanic, is catching up to ya.
Ya have to remove the timing cover & pump to repair "damage".
At same time ya need new chain.
AND IF LUCKY the timing cover is NOT eaten away by corrosion.
I had that happen at Vermont exit, 10 Freeway, heading east.
Water burst thru cover (corossion) at lower hose connection.
Niagara Falls under there.
Thank G0D for Pep Boys there on Washington Blvd., they fixed me up. Honest they saved me the effort about $100 or so. BUT this was 1990 prices.
Be prepared for hunting for new timing chain cover and possibly new balancer, also. You can find them at any East LA engine rebuilder place. I found a great used one when I did my 3.4 swap into my Blazer.
By time ya pull what ya got going on, apart, you'll see full extent.
And those prebent, preformed hoses right above & that pipe?
Ya need new pre formed hoses. Ask for Gates or Goodyear, only ones now making that hose. Pep Boys has them.
Pipe is aged & about ready to call it quits, too.
Take that water outlet pipe to a local radiator shop, have them resolder every necessary joint and you watch them pressure test it.
I had my original one fixed for $5! and it still works perfect. That was over 5 years ago. I'd go to East LA for that work, cause they have the best burritos to enjoy while ya wait.
Other option is to just replace those hoses & find out if the pipe is aged. Then get just that resoldered for the $5 and do rest later on. Cause ya still may need to.
Or use Stop Leak.
Let the bad stories of stop leak, begin

 

Karl,

The problem with that pipe is the plastic coupler that allows it rotate. I wish they didn't use so much plastic in the engine bay when they made these cars. Most of my break downs have been due to old plastic parts. Pretty pathetic when you think about. My engine has made it 340,000 miles, but have replaced all most every chunk of plastic at least once. Most 2 times.

Stop leak has bought enough time to get a pay check to replace the radiator twice. With no problems. I have no bad thoughts about it. Not a perment fix, but it helps buy time.

 

mines looked like that for 3 years, never loses any coolant at all. it may have at one time, but was aparently fixed before i got it. i dont lose a drop.

 

My water outlet pipe is all metal and a threaded nut on end. I do know of the plastic connections tho, the 3.4 has them.
I say give stop leak a try......

 

i am glad i only got 2 hoses......upper and lower rad

 

must be a 3.1L thing. I never bothered to look at the pipe on 2.8's in scrap yards. I have seen that dam plastic coupler on all on all 3.1's though. I can't say weather the 3.4's have them. None of the scrap yards in a 150 mile radius of me have 4th gen F-bodies.

yupitsdadsbird

Don't you have a heater control valve and a bypass hose????

 

nope don't even got a heater core.......or and a/c......OR the boxes......OR smog. still got the evap system though. lol. I stipped ALOT cause I planned to pull the 6 for an 8 to mostly just drag.......then thought better and wanted to play with the 6 some more