Weird (to me) coolant leak

[steve meltzer]

427 side oiler (2000 miles from new/Southern) and 250 miles or so from engine out rear main seal and intake manifold gasket replacement. I keep seeing drops of coolant that seem to be coming from the adapter block for the remote (front mounted) oil cooler. But I thought this was strictly an oil passageway. Is there coolant at that intersection, or is the coolant coming from above (?? head). No evidence that it's from the galley plugs or petcocks. The arrow in the picture shows a coolant droplet, that's not coolant on the large oil line going to the remove cooler. thanx. steve (if it is the adapter plate, does anyone know the Fel-Pro gasket number I'll need to fix it?)

[patrickt]

Every leak I have ever had on my FE, be it oil, coolant, or cash, has "trailed back" so that it looks like it is coming from a place that it's really not. When your engine is cold, wrap some white, nice paper dinner napkins around your hose ends, the curved aluminum tube ends, the water pump to manifold hose, around your weep hole, around the fittings that go down in the intake manifold, and the heater hose ends. Then warm the engine up good in the garage or driveway so the coolant system pressurizes. Then remove and check the napkins. A leak that "seals itself" when your engine really warms up can be a PITA to find. I like nice, easy to find leaks that leave obvious puddles.

[Tom Kirkham]

Steve,

No coolant in the remote oil block adapter, but for your info the Felpro gasket will work. The coolant leak is originating from someplace else.
Look at the water pump, thermostat housing, bypass hose, etc.

[steve meltzer]

thanx so much, Tom. I too, thought it was the t-stat, and tho' a PITA, i replaced it, but to no avail. I'll keep looking. thanx again. regards, as always, steve

[PeteF]

Since you just replaced the intake manifold gasket, you might check torque/retorque them. Could be seeping from there.....

[patrickt]

... and if you still can't find it, put some UV dye in your coolant and use a black light on it. It will jump right out at you then. Stuff like this (which you can't use on DEX-COOL for some reason).

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Interdynamics-375CS-Radiator-Coolant-Dye/dp/B002M4E0VC[/ame]

[steve meltzer]

thanx for the ideas guys. on my way out to start lookin' again. steve

[spdbrake]

We use a powder developer for NDT and finding minute leaks. White clingy powder. You can use any powder type antiperspirant just clean all the area fully with Elec contact cleaner or Carb cleaner.
The powder will show any wicking action for small leak paths. Washes off with water.

[steve meltzer]

Again, thanx so much. s

[steve meltzer]

I have yet to put the UV Dye in, but it's on my list. I did (yet another) careful inspection and retorqued the intake bolts on the side of the leak, as well as the others that didn't require foolin' with the fuel log. With the car just sitting, and never even started, the leak has recurred, coming over the remote adapter plate, pretty far to the left of the midline accessories like the WP, bypass hose and T-stat. I'm bettin' it's the intake, but would it leak without provocation? thanx steve

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

I have yet to put the UV Dye in, but it's on my list. I did (yet another) careful inspection and retorqued the intake bolts on the side of the leak, as well as the others that didn't require foolin' with the fuel log. With the car just sitting, and never even started, the leak has recurred, coming over the remote adapter plate, pretty far to the left of the midline accessories like the WP, bypass hose and T-stat. I'm bettin' it's the intake, but would it leak without provocation? thanx steve

Hmmm, if you can't find the source, it's got to be a damn small drip. Why don't you try some Bar's Leak and see if you can just make it go away?

[steve meltzer]

hmmm. that's an interesting thought! thanx. s

[FatBoy]

I had a troublesome water leak on my side-oiler that resulted in clouds of steam from the right hand exhaust. I changed the inlet manifold gasket, that didn't fix it. I changed the head gasket, that didn't fix it. In fact, when I refilled with coolant and before I even started it, coolant started running out the end of the RH exhaust.
It turned out that there was a tiny hole in #2 exhaust post through to the water jacket in the Edelbrock head.
I'm hoping I've now fixed it, but it was a real PITA for a while.
I've used K-Seal to great effect. It can stay in the water indefinitely and fix any leaks as they occur.

Paul

[steve meltzer]

most interesting. did you use the K-seal before discovering the hole in the intake?? is that stuff available in the states, and, is different than Barr's Stop Leak? thanx. s

[FatBoy]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

most interesting. did you use the K-seal before discovering the hole in the intake?? is that stuff available in the states, and, is different than Barr's Stop Leak? thanx. s

It's a long story, but the hole became evident when I had to completely drain the system and refilled it with plain water whilst on holiday.

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=K-seal[/ame]

Paul

[steve meltzer]

I think i'll try the K-Seal...if it works, great for $15, if not, i'll have to re-do the intake manifold. argghh. thanx. steve

[Young1]

70135 FELPRO number for the oil filter adapter to block gasket

[steve meltzer]

thanx so much. i'll put that in my data base. steve

[Danr55]

When you do find out where the leak is, would you please publish it to add to my collection of insignificant facts about the FE motor?
Thanks,

[steve meltzer]

Sure, but i'm first gonna take the coward's way out....since it's obviously a small leak, and since I don't really want to R&R the intake, i'm gonna try the coolant system stop leak suggested. So, if I'm really lucky, we'll never be sure, but i think it's the intake. thanx. s