Cooling System Refresh Tips (2 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

If you get a bubble in that big top hose temp will go way high. I’ve seen it.
Burp as @micruz60 said w/ rear heater blasting and nose up on an incline. You may need to do it multiple times.
 
OK thanks. Its definitely acting like its got a few bubbles in the system. I drove it some again after posting last night. It runs cool and never overheats. Just not as cool as before. Its minor considering whats been done to the truck. I'll try and burp this weekend and see if I can improve the cooling. Just super happy I don't see any leaks. Some may show up but as of right now its good to go.

This engine always had this funny clunking sound when idling. Not like a rod knocking or anything but just this clunking/ticking sound. I always thought it was the PS pump but after swapping that it remained. As part of this I got one of those smog pump delete pulleys and now the clunking is gone. Engine has never sounded better since I have owned it, so that's another win.

I plan on doing a post mortem write-up on what I learned here. Most folks on here know this stuff but might help another first timer. Thanks all for the suggestions.
 
So I spent about an hour on this today, trying to get the engine to run cooler. I put the funnel back and ran the engine for about an hour at varying speeds. I could never get any bubbles to come out. I was squeezing the upper hose to try and get the system worked a bit. What would happen is when I squeezed it, I could see the coolant in the funnel bubble up on each squeeze. I am not sure if this is air coming out or just the pressure of coolant getting forced into the radiator forcing coolant out the top into the funnel. Engine never got hot.

In searching mud for tips on burping this thing, I ran across a post by @OSS that stated this:

A missing top gasket on top of the thermostat won't cause the engine to run too hot. It will cause it to run too cool.

So when I pulled the old thermostat out of there, I remembered there had been no top gasket installed. I installed the top gasket when putting new thermostat in. So I think for the first time since I have owned it, this truck is actually running at the temp it should now that the top gasket is installed in here and the guage is reflecting this new temp. Without the top gasket in there, the truck ran cooler. Now that it is in there it runs slightly warmer.

Unless anyone thinks otherwise, I am going to call this thing good and just let it roll. I'll take another look if the engine starts to run really hot, but its never done that since starting her up Tuesday. Just runs warmer than before making me think there was something wrong with what I had done. Nope, just runs like it should now.
 
Sorry to resurrect this one from the dead, but a couple of issues have come up in the few months since doing this work. Nothing major but wanted to include it here to sort of show how things went over time.

I got under the truck a few weeks back and noticed there is some light seeping of oil where the two lower timing cover bolts are on the cover. Oil seep is right where the timing cover seal contacts the front engine plate. The plate seal is right there creating sort of a seal sandwich in this area. The plate seal leaks a bit too but I don't think this is from that as its lower than the crank pulley seal and any leaks would need to defy gravity to be able to get engine oil where I see the seepage. The oil seep is not big enough to cause a drip, just I can see it seeping out a bit. Looks wet. Looks like it might coming actually from the bolts themselves. The seep is not big enough to warrant me tearing into the truck again to fix it. Wondering if I should try just torqueing the bottom bolts a bit to see if I can get the seep to stop. Worried about splitting the gasket there making things worse. Also wondering if I put enough thread sealant on the lower bolts. So question here: With the crank pulley on, is there enough clearance to be able to get the lower bolts out of the engine if I wanted to try and re-seal them on the next oil change. I could just try and re-torque them I guess but worried I'll break the sealant on the threads and make things worse.

Also when getting under here, I noticed some green coolant spots on the timing cover. I cannot for the life of me see any leaks anywhere that could be the source. Hard to see in there with everything in place. I just don't see any visible drips. Everything looks dry to me. I understand there are a ton of source possibilities in this area, but just wondering if there are some known areas I should concentrate on to find the leak source. These drops look like splatters on what would be the right(driver) lower side of the timing cover of looking at the engine head on. Not the front of the cover but on the side of it where the cover curves down toward the bottom. Like its being sprayed by the fan. I'll get photos next time I see it. Thought maybe a leak on the thermostat housing where it meets the engine block but I just don't see it. It also looks like the maybe some coolant stains are showing up on the little vacuum temp things in the thermostat housing (forget what they are called right now). Seems like a leak here would line up where I see the drips. But with the engine running I cannot see them.

Anyway just wanted some guidance on if there is a common location to check for coolant drips on this part of the timing cover. It also seems intermittent. Sometimes I see the coolant and sometimes not. Its quite cool here at the moment, but the truck does stay nice and cool at highway speeds. All coolant hose clamps seem plenty tight. As always thanks for any help here.
 
Sorry to resurrect this one from the dead, but a couple of issues have come up in the few months since doing this work. Nothing major but wanted to include it here to sort of show how things went over time.

I got under the truck a few weeks back and noticed there is some light seeping of oil where the two lower timing cover bolts are on the cover. Oil seep is right where the timing cover seal contacts the front engine plate. The plate seal is right there creating sort of a seal sandwich in this area. The plate seal leaks a bit too but I don't think this is from that as its lower than the crank pulley seal and any leaks would need to defy gravity to be able to get engine oil where I see the seepage. The oil seep is not big enough to cause a drip, just I can see it seeping out a bit. Looks wet. Looks like it might coming actually from the bolts themselves. The seep is not big enough to warrant me tearing into the truck again to fix it. Wondering if I should try just torqueing the bottom bolts a bit to see if I can get the seep to stop. Worried about splitting the gasket there making things worse. Also wondering if I put enough thread sealant on the lower bolts. So question here: With the crank pulley on, is there enough clearance to be able to get the lower bolts out of the engine if I wanted to try and re-seal them on the next oil change. I could just try and re-torque them I guess but worried I'll break the sealant on the threads and make things worse.

Also when getting under here, I noticed some green coolant spots on the timing cover. I cannot for the life of me see any leaks anywhere that could be the source. Hard to see in there with everything in place. I just don't see any visible drips. Everything looks dry to me. I understand there are a ton of source possibilities in this area, but just wondering if there are some known areas I should concentrate on to find the leak source. These drops look like splatters on what would be the right(driver) lower side of the timing cover of looking at the engine head on. Not the front of the cover but on the side of it where the cover curves down toward the bottom. Like its being sprayed by the fan. I'll get photos next time I see it. Thought maybe a leak on the thermostat housing where it meets the engine block but I just don't see it. It also looks like the maybe some coolant stains are showing up on the little vacuum temp things in the thermostat housing (forget what they are called right now). Seems like a leak here would line up where I see the drips. But with the engine running I cannot see them.

Anyway just wanted some guidance on if there is a common location to check for coolant drips on this part of the timing cover. It also seems intermittent. Sometimes I see the coolant and sometimes not. Its quite cool here at the moment, but the truck does stay nice and cool at highway speeds. All coolant hose clamps seem plenty tight. As always thanks for any help here.
No there isn’t room to pull those two big bolts. My seeps oil too same place. It’s what it is. I’m not fretting over it. And very similarly of coolant too but not along that curve more to the other side of the block. You can get a wrench in to tighten the WP bolts, try that. Also check your hose clamps as well as the tstat housing bolts.
Yesterday I did an oil change and today after work this is the drips that I saw after a 9 hour shift. The darkest spot which is a tad over quarter size. I’m okay with it.

8518BD86-F023-4453-B307-906D954391F0.jpeg
 
OK thanks. I'll try the WP bolts. Either issue is not too big a concern. The oil seep is not really even causing drips at this point so like you say, it is what it is. I guess its just what these beasts do and not worth tearing it down again. The coolant leak is not too big a deal but just noticed it and cannot see anywhere its coming out. Obvious place would be water pump but I can see under the pump and just don't see any evidence of coolant on the block anywhere that would line up with the drips. I'll just try the WP bolts and keep an eye on it. Can the WP bolts loosen with miles? Bolts have lock washers on them so would think they would stay put but perhaps not. Thanks for the help as always.
 
So I recently tightened the WP belt as it has stretched since installing it. Soon after I noticed this coolant issue. Any chance I have the belt too tight now and its causing the WP to leak through the weep hole? Not sure that's even a thing here but thought I would ask?
 
OK thanks. Looked tonight around weep hole and just don't see anything there at all. The little VSV (I think that's it) in the thermostat housing looks like maybe its leaking and leaking down onto the WP housing. Mine are not used from desmog. Can those start to leak? I tried to snap some pics but was hard to get a good one to illustrate what I mean:

IMG_4288.jpg


This is a shot looking up from the bottom of engine under the WP and thermostat housing. I circled the only thing I could see where there might have been coolant. Weep hole looks fine to me. I also checked the belt tension and I think its right on the money. Does not seem too tight at all to me with 1/2 deflection at longest point. I did discover the upper oil cooler hose was loose and leaking a bit (the one on the top of oil cooler, not the little one near the WP)so handled that. Other than that this thing looks clean to me. I'll just keep checking it I guess and see if I can spot anything. Would appreciate opinions on pic if anyone sees anything obvious. Hard to see I know but thanks in advance for any help.
 
Last edited:
Yes them VSV’s can leak. Try tightening it just a bit. I had a leak that was driving me crazy. It turned out to be the thermostat housing and then that vsv.
 
OK thanks. I'll give it a go. When I did all this cooling system work I was actually gonna get the VSVs out of there and replace with some properly fitted plugs. but I decided not to press my luck with what I was doing and left them in. I'll keep an eye on them and see if I can spot a real leak from there and decide what to do then. Thanks all.
 
Sorry to resurrect this one from the dead, but a couple of issues have come up in the few months since doing this work. Nothing major but wanted to include it here to sort of show how things went over time.
I got under the truck a few weeks back and noticed there is some light seeping of oil where the two lower timing cover bolts are on the cover. Oil seep is right where the timing cover seal contacts the front engine plate. The plate seal is right there creating sort of a seal sandwich in this. The plate seal leaks a bit too but I don't think this is from that as its lower than the crank pulley seal and any leaks would need to defy gravity to be able to get engine oil where I see the seepage. The oil seep is not big enough to cause a drip, just I can see it seeping out a bit. Looks wet. Looks like it might coming actually from the bolts themselves. The seep is not big enough to warrant me tearing into the truck again to fix it. Wondering if I should try just torqueing the bottom bolts a bit to see if I can get the seep to stop. Worried about splitting the gasket there making things worse. Also wondering if I put enough thread sealant on the lower bolts. So question here: With the crank pulley on, is there enough clearance to be able to get the lower bolts out of the engine if I wanted to try and re-seal them on the next oil change. I could just try and re-torque them I guess but worried I'll break the sealant on the threads and make things worse.

Also when getting under here, I noticed some green coolant spots on the timing cover. I cannot for the life of me see any leaks anywhere that could be the source. Hard to see in there with everything in place. I just don't see any visible drips. Everything looks dry to me. I understand there are a ton of source possibilities in this area, but just wondering if there are some known areas I should concentrate on to find the leak source. These drops look like splatters on what would be the right(driver) lower side of the timing cover of looking at the engine head on. Not the front of the cover but on the side of it where the cover curves down toward the bottom. Like its being sprayed by the fan. I'll get photos next time I see it. Thought maybe a leak on the thermostat housing where it meets the engine block but I just don't see it. It also looks like the maybe some coolant stains are showing up on the little vacuum temp things in the thermostat housing (forget what they are called right now). Seems like a leak here would line up where I see the drips. But with the engine running I cannot see them.

Anyway just wanted some guidance on if there is a common location to check for coolant drips on this part of the timing cover. It also seems intermittent. Sometimes I see the coolant and sometimes not. Its quite cool here at the moment, but the truck does stay nice and cool at highway speeds. All coolant hose clamps seem plenty tight. As always thanks for any help here.

Robert,
I’m having this exact same oil seep from the timing gear cover. This is after doing it twice. I too am wondering if I didn’t tighten the 2bottom bolts enough. I bought brand new bolts that come with sealant pre installed on the bolts. I just recently bought (after I did the job a second time) a small tourqe wrench from harbor freight and wondered if I can try and tighten it down a bit more or if it’s to late because of the sealant. Once I re do my oil pan this weekend I’ll know better if the timing gear cover is just sweating a bit at the bottom or actually leaking.

Glad to know I’m not the only novice out here stuggling through these similar issues. Starting to think I’m crazy.
 
I just recently bought (after I did the job a second time) a small tourqe wrench from harbor freight and wondered if I can try and tighten it down a bit more or if it’s to late because of the sealant.

Yes I am wondering this same thing. If I were to turn the bolts now, would I risk breaking any seal there is left on them? Since I was doing these by hand without the use of a torque wrench I fear I may have split the gasket a bit. But I was super careful about not too much torque and may just have it wrong. What is everyone using to get a torque wrench in there behind the pulley? Crowsfoot wrench attached to a torque wrench?

So thinking back on this and how I did it, I am wondering if maybe there was some residual oil in the threaded holes leaking out from the crankcase, which caused the sealant not to set properly, thus causing a leak. One thing I do not recall doing, was cleaning those holes out with some brake clean or some such to try and get the holes clean and dry before putting the bolts back in. Maybe that's where I screwed up. I may have done it but cannot remember. I found that procedure to be somewhat chaotic where you needed to do everything at once. I also did not use any sealant on mine, so maybe that was a mistake. Dunno.

My issue is really not an issue with the oil bit. Its just a seep and does not even drip on the ground. The front plate gasket leaks way worse than the timing cover gasket so for me this is more of an observation rather than anything that needs taking care of. Not worth tearing into the truck to handle this minor thing. My 2F has plenty of other oil leaks and like @NeverGiveUpYota, I am gonna let that one ride. It just does not seem to be any way to get at this stuff after its all put back together very easily.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom