Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #30 – February 25, 2011, 08:35:05 AM

Are copper washers going to seal better than the nylon/fiber ones?

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #31 – February 25, 2011, 01:01:08 PM

I run the factory drain plugs from the Ford dealership for the 99 explorer 5.0 engines. They have a o-ring molded into the plug. I havent had a leak since!

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #32 – February 25, 2011, 11:26:51 PM

That pretty

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #33 – February 26, 2011, 01:08:37 AM

Quote from: Haystack;353896

Checker "o-riley's" had some copper washers that you would use on brake line fittings in the dorman/help section.

yeah, typically used on banjo fittings.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #34 – February 26, 2011, 01:12:34 AM

Quote from: jpc647;353900

Are copper washers going to seal better than the nylon/fiber ones?

save the lid on your milk container and make one.
better yet, make one from an old piece of leather from the tounge of a boot or something. leather expands when it gets wet and its strong.
got an old belt? thats actually leather?
people think they gotta go buy something every time something breaks. I just fix broke stuff till i have to buy something.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #35 – February 26, 2011, 11:19:05 AM

Quote from: jcassity;353588

you can catch your old oil easy enough with a plastic bag in your old drip pan to keep it clean so it can be re-installed.

What!? I don't understand. I mean catching the old oil in this case would help, considering I changed it 200 miles ago.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #36 – February 26, 2011, 11:32:12 AM

Quote from: andrew beedle;353910

I run the factory drain plugs from the Ford dealership for the 99 explorer 5.0 engines. They have a o-ring molded into the plug. I havent had a leak since!

My local ford dealership said they have one in stock. It's $12, which seems like a lot, to me. But if it works for a few oil changes, hey, I guess it's worth it. I might shoot over there today and try it.

**EDIT. I went over to the Ford dealership today and found out the one for the explorer was a 13mm thread, and the one for the 5.0 in my car is for a 1/2 20 thread. Wouldn't forcing the other thread into my pan create problems?

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #37 – March 09, 2011, 10:37:39 PM

Well, I'm almost thinking maybe my leak is not in the bolts. The reason being, my battery cable the one that runs down the front bottom of the motor near the front of the oil pan is full of oil(the loom around it). So, I've done some looking tonight. I cleaned all the smeared oil away,and ran the car in the driveway, it ran for at least twenty minutes. Granted it was on a jack, about a foot up, but there were no leaks. I lowered it and decided to take it for a drive. Right before I turned onto my street, I floored it, getting a little sideways coming back onto my main street. I pulled into my driveway, jacked it back up, and sure enough it was leaking. But it doesn't appear it could be coming from the drain plug. I took quite a few pictures.

This is the front drain plug. Looking at the puddle of oil and then the smear, it looks like the oil is running towards the drain plug, not away, right?

And it seems to drip down onto the front sway bar(Ignoe the yellow paint mark, thats been there for ages, no one knows what it is).

This is the battery cable, coated in oil

I checked the harmonic balancer area, it looks bone dry.

This is looking up towards the timing cover, besides some splay of antifreeze, it looks oil free from above(ie, not the timing cover)

I think this is the timing cover. The bolt is the bolt that holds the battery cable and tranny line bracket to the block. The area in the middle was a little damp with oil. almost looks rusty, but it seems solid.

This is where the antifreeze is coming from. I obviously need a water pump.

So now I'm asking all of you, the masses so to speak. What could this be? Am I looking at a timing cover? It's obviously not the rear main seal, and I don't see how the oil could move from the drain plug and get into the wire loom around the battery cable. Why does it only leak when driving, an worse sometimes than others? Could it still be the drain plug? Am I over buttstuffyzing this? I'm not sure I can do a timing belt by myself. Between the disassembly, and everything, I think it's out of my league. Do ya'll know of any ways to test or dial in to see if it is actually the timing chain cover? I've been pricing parts and with everything it's going to be pricey.

What do you guys all think? What should I do/test to figure this out. The car is averaging about a quart of oil a week, so it's a problem. But I definitely definitely don't want to replace the timing chain, cover/gasket, and any other associated parts to find out it's not the problem.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #38 – March 09, 2011, 11:15:33 PM

cheap fix.........
go get a Mass state inspection and have them list everything that needs fixed..........and show you where the leak is.

or..
presure wash the motor off again and look for the source of the leak.

your bottom weep hole isnt leaking on the water pump,, it only looks like a gasket to me.

you have a water and oil leak...like you didnt know that already.
So where is the pic of the rear oil plug hole.

Which is it ,, you think you need a timing belt and a chain?
v8 - timing chain
I4 - timing belt

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #39 – March 10, 2011, 07:37:50 AM

Is your power steering pump leaking. i had a similar leak on the eng i pulled from my car and it was one of the power steering lines.

Just guessing.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #40 – March 10, 2011, 08:24:05 AM

Quote from: jcassity;355003

cheap fix.........
go get a Mass state inspection and have them list everything that needs fixed..........and show you where the leak is..

State inspection stations don't check for "small oil leaks, etc". I have to go to a certain place for my inspections, as it has the v8 but still registered as a v6. It's more trouble than the car is worth to get this changed. Secondly, I've tried this route. With the intake leak, I asked two local shops to take a look at the car and tell me what was wrong with it, neither of them would. They said they weren't going to diagnose a problem without the "okay" to go ahead and fix it. I can understand it I guess, they don't want kids like me coming in having them tell me what to fix and me doing it myself.

Quote from: jcassity;355003

or..
presure wash the motor off again and look for the source of the leak.

I sort of did this last night. I didn't pressure wash it, but I scrubbed and cleaned all around the base of the motor, and this is how I got these pictures. The bottom of the pan, the crossmember, even the bottom of the tranny pan had oil on it. This is how I've mildly determined it doesn't seem to be the drain plug. The car doesn't leak when idling in the driveway, which is weird.

Quote from: jcassity;355003

you have a water and oil leak...like you didnt know that already.
So where is the pic of the rear oil plug hole.

Yes, I do have both leaks, lol. I don't have one of the rear plug, I'll get one for you though. It was dry when I took these.

Quote from: jcassity;355003

Which is it ,, you think you need a timing belt and a chain?
v8 - timing chain
I4 - timing belt

It's a v8, and I was thinking it may be coming from the timing chain cover? It seems to be coming from above the drain plug. It's not from the harmonic balancer shaft, so I don't know what else it could be?

Quote from: jcassity;355003

your bottom weep hole isnt leaking on the water pump,, it only looks like a gasket to me.

Yes, I agree. But replacing the gasket involves removing the pump, and while the pump is off, it should be replaced. the $50 insurance to not have to tear it apart again is probably worth it. No telling how long the pump will last, it already makes noise sometimes.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #41 – March 10, 2011, 08:27:04 AM

Quote from: 88CougarGT;355020

Is your power steering pump leaking. i had a similar leak on the eng i pulled from my car and it was one of the power steering lines.

Just guessing.

It's funny, I did notice the return, non pressure line clamp was a little loose and there was a little fluid around it. I cleaned it and tightened up the clamp. but there is definitely an oil leak, I'm adding 1-2 quarts a week depending on how much driving I do. Power steering fluid is still right where it should be.

These are the sorta idea i'm looking for. I've chased different washers for the drain plugs, 3-4 times now, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm chasing the wrong thing. Hoping someone had a similar problem and can advise checking something, etc. I'm out of my own ideas, lol.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #42 – March 10, 2011, 04:09:23 PM

Does the pan have a low oil level sensor? If so they like to leak in the middle of the sensor unit. I ended up replacing mine with a bolt. It solved the problem of the sensor leaking.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #43 – March 10, 2011, 04:33:07 PM

Quote from: thunderjet302;355049

Does the pan have a low oil level sensor? If so they like to leak in the middle of the sensor unit. I ended up replacing mine with a bolt. It solved the problem of the sensor leaking.

I bought a plug and plugged that. I checked that a couple of time, it's still bone dry.

Well it wasn't the drain plugs. See post 46 for culprit. :/

Reply #44 – March 10, 2011, 04:37:32 PM

Well that's one thing down