Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Topic: Water pump gasket leak, maybe? (Read 4496 times) previous topic - next topic

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #15 – January 09, 2013, 01:23:53 PM

Normally i spend time cleaning the ELEPHANT SNOT off with lacquer thinner. But if you use very little it cleans up nicely. I never had a hard time cleaning it up but it takes TLC. Thanks

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #16 – January 10, 2013, 10:52:41 PM

No leaks :). The gasket was actually leaking between the pump plate and timing cover. There appeared to be a small tear around the water port gasket internally on the passenger side. I have no idea how that happened. Hopefully the Fel-Pros hold up better.

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #17 – January 11, 2013, 01:11:56 AM

Quote from: TOM Renzo;406533

Jay never mess with a damper. If they explode and they can it will ruin your DAY!!!

i will if i want,, redid the 20th, redid the coug, hell event he bronco's damper was pushing out the rubber so i redid it.

leather will last longer. ,, dont knock it,,, if your scared say your scared :)

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #18 – January 11, 2013, 05:37:43 AM

Quote from: jcassity;406684

i will if i want,, redid the 20th, redid the coug, hell event he bronco's damper was pushing out the rubber so i redid it.

Leather will last longer. ,, dont knock it,,, if your scared say your scared :)

Ok what do i know!!!

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #19 – January 23, 2013, 11:46:08 PM

Update: the SOB leaked again:mad:. About a week after I installed the new pump I looked underneath it and found a pea size drop of water at the bottom of the pump. It came from between the pump and plate gasket. I thought maybe I had not tightened the backing plate bolts all the way so I removed it and replaced the gasket with another Fel-Pro blue one (this time I used the plate to pump gasket that came with the pump). That was Saturday. I looked under the pump today and found no water. I touched the bottom of the pump where the pump and plate meat and I got a small amount of water on my finger. $%^& it. Either the engine needs to run a bit to seal up or it's going to leak again. I used NO RTV on the pump to plate gasket. I just used Permatex High Tack on the timing cover to hold the plate to timing cover gasket in place (that gasket, both the Fel-Pro and the one that came with the pump, have been fine). So if this thing is leaking again I'm going to exchange the pump for a new one. Then, to stop the pump from leaking again, I'm going to put a thin layer Permatex Ultra Gray sealant on both sides of the pump to plate gasket to keep the thing from leaking again. I'm including a picture of how it looks right now.

If it has to come off again it's not getting done any time soon. When I did the thing again on Saturday it was 40* outside, but about 55*-60* with a heater in the garage. Being that it was 15* here today and it's not supposed to get above freezing for a few weeks. I'll have to wait till it's warm enough to work in the garage without freezing to death.

Edit: I could just stick two of those GM stop leak tablets in the cooling system. It's good enough for Cadillac NorthStar V8s

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #20 – January 24, 2013, 08:57:33 AM

id go with making my own gaskets, they are thicker and its better no leak insurance.

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #21 – January 24, 2013, 10:09:19 PM

I'm going to exchange the pump for a new one and use some Permatex Ultra Black RTV on the gaskets to seal them up. I figure a brand new Motorcraft water pump shouldn't have issues with the pump to plate gasket sealing. The lower portion of the pump doesn't rely on the timing cover for a seal but instead those two bottom bolts. The new pump will get a skim coat of Ultra Black RTV on the pump to plate gasket because the third time better be the $%^&*#@ charm :hick:.

The thing is that it's not leaking right now. The bottom of the pump to plate gasket is just damp. The plate is probably just slightly warped at the bottom. My assumption is that, if I just leave it alone, it will get worse. As far as I know paper gaskets don't get wet and then magically seal with the next heat cycle. It's got to come off again. At least it's only a two hour job.

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #22 – January 25, 2013, 01:25:03 AM

with that small of a leak, i wouldnt worry more than a table spoon of pepper.
your leak needs a good hot motor to cook it up "if" the gasket you put on is good enough to cool down and hold the particulates in the coolant and bake them back into the next warm up cycle. sometimes small leaks like that do fix themselves.

it pays to use a belt sander to shave off an even layer of metal in one pass.

you would be very very surprised when you lay a tstat housing down on a belt sander and watch what happens. it will tell you where the metal is high and low.

stuff warps over time, things heat up and expand, twist and mis shape over all the years of use.. things just arent to oem specs with that many years of running,, hope you get it fixed though, it really looks like a clean motor.

my opinion.....just my 2c worth,,,,,, i really dont mind a minor leak because it all gets tossed on the bottom of the car preserving it.
I personally will fix it if it is bothering me ,, like hitting the headers ~now that cant be tolerated, or its really bad of a leak that causes me to have to constantly add fluids.
A drip,, yeah, that happens and ill let it keep on dripping.
too good / clean of an engine lets rust start to happen in all the wrong spots.

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #23 – January 25, 2013, 06:06:55 AM

Any leaks are bad because once the engine warms up and the radiator pressure rises it will leak more. See if you have room behind the 2 bolts to make a pressure strap. If memory serves me a 1/8" bridging plate can fit. I had an issue with this some years back and the fix was a bridging plate but it was many years ago. We never get in small ford engines much any more but if memory serves that plate can be bridged and the issue solved. I have a partial engine in the back and will look. Basically the plate is lifting in the center. Once again see if you can fit a bridging plate across the bolts. Years back i was working on an industrial generator engine and used 2 plates one on top of the other for strength. But i do not know who made the engine. It was not a car engine. The bolts are to far apart as i can recall. Do not add GOO to the radiator as this is not a fix. The GENERAL used BARS in a couple of engines and also SUBARU to stop leaks and basically this is nonsense as the original engine design was a BOMB!!

Good luck.

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #24 – January 25, 2013, 11:03:30 AM

I know the timing cover is flat (I laid a straight edge accross it) and it's not leaking from the pump plate to timing cover gasket. I think the mounting of the pump is slightly off or the plate is warped. I can't see a heat cycle sealing this thing. After all the gasket only got the wet spot after I ran the car to burp the cooling system. I'm gusiing the pressure is probably causing the coolant to seep by the gasket on one side. I'm going to be taking the car on a longish trip in the summer so I want to make sure that nothing leaks so I'm not stuck on the side of the road somewhere with a huge coolant leak :hick:.

This thing is really a piss poor design. I have no idea why Ford didn't just put two blind bolt holes in the timing cover and use two short bolts, facing the front, to secure the bottom of the water pump. It would solve the problem of those two little back plate bolts. I know the pump needs the plate to keep the coolant under pressure from eating a hole in the aluminum timing cover and entering the crank case, which would be bad.

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #25 – January 26, 2013, 05:50:45 PM

Well I did the last (hopefully:mullet:) attempt today. I removed the pump and exchanged it for a new Motorcraft one. Before I installed the pump I removed the back plate and coated the gasket surface on the pump with Ultra Gray RTV, spread out thinly over the whole gasket surface. I then put a Fel-Pro gasket on and then coated the surface of the gasket with Ultra Gray RTV. I then bolted the back plat on and tightened the bolts as tight as they would go. I stuck the plate to timing cover gasket on the timing cover with High Tack and then bolted the pump on, in a star pattern, to 18 ft/lbs. I went around twice and then let the gaskets relax for 5 minutes. I then went back and did it again, twice in a star pattern. The bolts all moved very slightly as the gasket had relaxed. A very small amount of RTV came out of the pump to plate gasket after I torqued it down but you can still see the blue of the gasket all around it. Since it’s about 32* today I’m waiting 24 hours before I add coolant and burp the system. I fill the system tomorrow, start the engine, and check for leaks. Hopefully I finally find none:D.

I will say one thing, High Tack is the shiznit for installing gaskets. When you have to remove them it makes getting the gasket off so much easier. Just get a corner of it up and it basically comes off in once piece. Do a little sing to get any bits left behind and clean the surface with brake clean. Bam done.

Water pump gasket leak, maybe?

Reply #26 – January 27, 2013, 03:46:16 PM

Well so far so good :D. I started the engine and ran the car for about an hour to burp the system and no leaks. I'll check tomorrow but being that it didn't leak while running I think it should be fine. I did look at the pump I took off and it appears that the back plate was slightly uneven, causing the leak. I think the original pump's leak was caused by a plugged overflow return hose. I had to replace it two years due to a plug in the line that allowed coolant in but not out. My guess is that caused the original gasket to fail.