An afternoon under the truck

[Sporin]

With the mild weather today I decided to see if I could track down my little oil leak. Pulled the "skid plate" off the bottom of the engine, looks like it's coming from the back of the big, lower pull on the front of the engine. (is the the crank pulley?)

To my surprise I discovered a fairly good coolant leak. It's brand new for sure as I am diligent about keeping track of that oil drip and never saw coolant before. Can't tell where this is coming from but it's dripping down from the front of the engine somewhere and heading to ground at the front, p-side of the oil pan.

I'm making arrangements to drop it off to my Toyota-tech buddy Chris and have him put it all right. The truck is still for sale but I would like to keep it in top condition regardless as we still drive it regularly and I don't want to sell it with a problem that might come back to haunt my karma.

I've got a sweet freelance design job in the pipeline so for once I'm not fretting about this as I usually do. What an odd feeling.

 

[green40]

Glad you had a good time! Found some problems but you are still smiling!

 

[KLF]

I'm betting if you swapped out the rear axle for one from an IFS truck it would sell in a heartbeat...

(ps: I have one that I'm selling really cheap)

 

["N8"]

Dave if its the passenger side and a coolant leak ide check the hoses and bolts on the watter pump intake. it feeds into the back of the "valve cover" diagonally left and down about 6 inches from the power steering tentioner pully (far upper left hand pully) If you stand directly in front of the battery you should be able to look down and see it behind the watter pump.

 

[Sporin]

Thanks Nate, I'll check there.

Ken, How cheap?

 

[KLF]

Oh I don't know... maybe $75? The brake backing plates are really rusty, so they'll have to be replaced, but I assume the brake guts are all OK. I have a pair of MINT brake drums and cylinders I'll let you have too.

I have the longer e-brake cable that you'll need too.

I had to cut the U-bolts, but I'll also toss in the u-bolt plates.

Come down to pick it up, and I'll show you how to change the crank pulley seal, it's really easy.

 

[Leaping Deer]

I don't want to sell it with a problem that might come back to haunt my karma.

Its nice to see some people actually think like this.

 

[Sporin]

I buy and sell old trucks too often to mess with karma.

 

[Sporin]

well... my truck has just been sitting while I wait for my buddy to try and find a spare weekend to work on it, hasn't happened so I made an appointment with the local garage. He has 4 kids and just can't find the spare time.

Going to take another look myself tonight and see if It's something obvious like a loose clamp.

Will plan to do the crank pulley seal myself (with you guys' help) at some point in the near future.

 

[Sporin]

Spent some time staring at the truck. ) Cold out tehre tonight, but even after a2 weeks of just sitting out there int eh cold the old girl fired right up. Thank you Optima!

Anyway, can't see where the coolant is coming from but it is dripping pretty good. Doesn't drip when parked. The front of what i think is the waterpump looks wet, though no obvious riverlettes. I was hoping to spot a loose hose or somethign but whereever it's coming from, it's not readily visible.

I filled up the overflow bottle and should be able to get it to the mechanic on Thursday without issue.

 

[Sporin]

My coolant leak was from the coolant bypass hose where it goes into the timing cover. They resealed it and pressure tested it and said it's all good. Said it was a pain to get to. {shrug} Also had them adjust(tighten) up the front wheel bearings which should do away with the slight wandering I was dealing with. The $damage wasn't too bad all in all.

The mechanic was sort of gushing about how sweet the truck is for an 85, I made sure to mention repeatedly it's for sale.