I'm finally getting back to work on this coolant leak issue. I removed the fan and shroud and the water pump pulley and can see coolant resting on the top of the passenger side of the timing chain cover. I picked up a Powerbuilt cooling system pressure testing kit on loan from my local Advance Auto Parts yesterday. Unfortunately none of the adapters in this kit fit the radiator neck of my car. I'm a little surprised by this as I thought a 5.0L powered Fox body is far from exotic. Anyway, what kit have you guys used to diagnose coolant leaks on your cars?
Nothing to report yet. Between work and holiday demands I haven't had much time to devote to the car not to mention we received a light dusting of snow last week that was met with a triple dose of salt on the roads killing some of my urgency to get this fixed. The car is garage kept so I'm not at the mercy of the elements and expect to have some time available closer to Christmas to work on it.
My car only has 68K miles on it so I wouldn't think I'd need to worry about the timing chain yet. The original water pump was replaced with a Motorcraft pump about 2-1/2 years ago so I'd expect it to be ok too. I agree that dropping the oil pan would be better than cutting the exposed part of the gasket out and replacing it with a separate piece. That sounds like a leak waiting to happen. I'm guessing I would need to lift the engine off the motor mounts to get enough clearance to remove the oil pan? Is this possible with a floor jack? If so, where would the lift point be?
Thanks, Kyle! I'll get a pressure tester to confirm the location of the leak. I've had a few drips here and there and would simply top off my coolant level too but now I'm losing too much to safely drive the car anywhere beyond my immediate neighborhood. This really sucks since we're having exceptionally mild weather around here and my car is just sitting in the garage.
I haven't moved the PS or AC out of the way yet but the passenger side of the engine is all wet below the valve cover. I'm leaning towards a failed timing cover gasket as the culprit. Any helpful hints from others that have performed this repair that would make this job a little easier?
My car still has its original 5.0L engine. I'll check the area around the thermostat first and pray that's the source of the leak. If it's due to a bad timing cover gasket is it necessary to raise the engine or is there enough room to drop the oil pan without raising the engine?
Pulled the Thunderbird out of the garage this morning and checked the pressure of the tires while letting the engine run for a bit. When I finished adding some air to the tires I noticed I was loosing a lot of coolant and there was a large puddle on the ground! I turned the car off and tried to see where it was leaking. All the hoses are in good shape and appear to be dry around all the clamps. The water pump was replaced about 2-1/2 years ago with a Motorcraft replacement just before I bought the car (I have a receipt for reference). There's no play in the water pump pulley shaft and no strange noises from the water pump. I did notice some pooling of coolant on top of the water pump between some ribs in the housing. I kind of thought a leak of this degree would be fairly obvious to locate but that's not the case. Has anyone else experienced this kind of issue?
I replaced the headliner in my '84 earlier this summer and was able to do everything myself. Removing the headliner board wasn't difficult at all. It was necessary for me to remove the front seatbelts from the B-pillar. I found a nylon bristle brush made quick work of the foam without damaging the headliner board. I reinstalled my headliner myself but it would have been nice to have a buddy to help me. I found reattaching the sunvisor hardware the trickiest part of the whole process! I had to use a jewler's screwdriver to search for the holes in the body where the hardware attached. Just be patient and you'll be happy with the results!
Thanks for your reply, Haystack. Took some time to test but it turns out the problem was the relay. Fuel pressure looks good so the pumps are ok. Glad it was a cheap and easy fix.
My Tbird started right up this morning and I drove it about 30 miles to work with no issues. This evening I went to start it and didn't hear the familiar fuel pump hum before I cranked the starter. I tried a couple more times but still couldn't get fuel to the engine. I pressed the reset button on the inertia switch but still nothing. Since I suspect I would have experienced some issues from the fuel pumps before they quit I'm looking at the fuel pump relay as the culprit. What do you guys think? Mine is an '84 5.0L CFI car.
I like the 83 - 88 cars for their smooth, graceful and simple lines. The designers knew when to put the pencil down when they created these cars. They still look good today.
