brotherGood

So, it's been over-documented but over the winter we pulled the front cover off and degreed the cam on my 400G. We reinstalled everything. Fired it up, noticed it was leaking coolant out of the bolt holes. So we removed everything again realizing the issue was the seal between timing cover and block. We cleaned and reinstalled everything a second time, using more sealer and being more attentive to ensure the gasket didn't shift (it did the first time). The constant each time was the nightmare of the front seal. We felt relatively confident it was in there solidly, and didn't notice any leaks.

Well, the last couple of times I've been in the garage/having driven the car I've noticed a small puddle underneath the front part of the engine. I climbed under last night and could see the silicone where the cover and oil pan meet (ran small bead along joint on exterior) is now wet. I then looked closer and noticed a pinhole, when once I pushed against it..it would squeeze out coolant.

I know in theory coolant shouldn't come out of there..so is there somewhere else to check first? The pump is as new as the engine, and I wouldn't think it'd be a drastic leak otherwise I'd see it as I'm driving.

jmos4

Hi,

Just because it's a new pump doesn't mean it won't leak.

I had a similar issue on a nailhead that leaked from 1 of the holes around the snot between the impeller and flange inside the water pump pulley.

So went to NAPA bought new one and after 7 of them all leaking from the same location. Could only figure they all sat on the shelf too long .

Get a pressure tool and pump it up with the water pump pulley off and you should be able to find the leak

Good luck

Regards,,
Jim

brotherGood

I agree. The QC anymore for "new" stuff is amazing..or lack of QC, really.

I will say though, I didnt have any issues until this extravaganza began. Lol

brotherGood

Alright, so I picked up a coolant pressure tester kit and hooked it up to see if I could find anything.

Well, I found a leak (a couple actually) but not anywhere near where I'd expected. It it's pooling at the bottom of the core support and running down off of the valence (I'm sure there's a more appropriate name for it) it's also leaking slightly where the upper hose and outlet meet at the radiator.

The spot where the front seal is was more clear this evening-its oil. As much as I want to just clean the silicone off and do a better job of reapplying..im sure that's not the right way to go about it.

The radiator really bothers me though. It was recored and was fine up until this extravaganza.

brotherGood

slept on it, still couldn't understand the radiator leak.

I checked the lower hose/radiator clamp and was able to tighten it a good bit. Oddly, I didn't loosen it, but we did kinda bend the hose out of the way so I wonder if it distorted a bit and loosened up. I hooked the tester back up and it held pressure MUCH better, but still had a bit of a leak (heard, but no fluid). I tracked it to the upper hose/thermostat housing area and when I went to snug it up a bit, the clamp loosened up. So, I tightened it back to snug and tested again-no more air releasing and the gauge held steady for a good bit of time (enough ttime to get the dog cleaned up and let inside). So, that's checked off thus far.

I'm going to grab another tube of Ultra Grey and reapply around the joint where the cover/oil pan meet. It came from the engine shop with a bead along there, and when I tried to replicate it I did a terrible job. If it gets me through the season, I'll be happy. In the meantime, I'll just hunt for a trustworthy shop again and get set up to have them reapply that seal correctly.

jmos4

Hi again,

Glad you tracked down the leak. Oil leaks on old cars are pretty common especially if it sits. I had a 65 Buick that seeped from everywhere, as soon as I daily drove it all the leaks went away.

Regards,
Jim