It runs and a question about bars stop leak

Well this morning I was the Windshield!!!!! I finally got the mustang running. Fired up on the first try. Managed to get the valve cover bolts under the intake manifold tight and installed all the other junk. Connected the battery and it fired up. IT went to 1200 RPMs and then slowly settled back down to 600.

However I have one small problem. I have a leak at the water pump. The way these things are designed they have a steel tube that goes to the heater core that is slip fit in a hole in the water pump it is sealed with an O ring (yes I installed the O ring). Water is leaking our around the hole in the pump where the tube goes in. I suspect that there Si a pin hole in the tube just above the O ring. So what to do. Taking it all apart again means I have to take the upper intake off. Not what I really want to do. Or I was thinking of trying some of the bars stop leak. This is my 3rd car that just sits most of the time. It makes the occasional kids to school run and goes to the parts store.

I have not used Bars in at least 7 years it use to be the standard for this kind of thing. Is there better ones out there? Will it clog the new rad I just put in?

Drain the coolant, dry it all off, JB Weld beotch in(!), and reassemble.

I always preferred K&W Nanotechnology stop leak. It's less likely to clog up your system from my experience. Comes (or at least use to come) in a neon green bottle that looks kind of like a quart of oil.

Ranger50 wrote: Drain the coolant, dry it all off, JB Weld beotch in(!), and reassemble.

One problem with this is that the instructions called for using a little lubrication on the hole so the O ring slides in. I wonder if I can just hose it out with break cleaner to get a decent bond.

dean1484 wrote:

Ranger50 wrote: Drain the coolant, dry it all off, JB Weld beotch in(!), and reassemble.

One problem with this is that the instructions called for using a little lubrication on the hole so the O ring slides in. I wonder if I can just hose it out with break cleaner to get a decent bond.

that's the route i would go. or acetone, lacquer thinner, etc...

I would try the JB weld first, it will probably work, but if it doesn't then I would try the stop leak. I like the thin silvery bars leaks, the stuff with the big lumps scares me.

I had double success with the "liquid aluminium" Bars Leaks product. A loose wire got into the fan and broke off all the blades which put a puncture in the radiator. I borrowed a spare from someone as a "just in case" and also put in some Bars Leaks then headed to a rallycross. It sealed up the radiator without any problem.

Several months later, I put a heater core back in the car. Before I put it in, I had to solder up some of the tubes because the previous owner of the parts car had run just water and let it freeze, bursting the pipes, as it were. When I fired it up, I got coolant all over the floor pan pretty much right away and my assumption was that I'd have to pull the heater core again and replace it. I let the car sit for a week or so, but when I went to fire it up the next time, no more leaking and it's been fine since (several 50 mile round trips to work, a few in-town parts runs, 4 or 5 rallycrosses, and the drive to and from the Challenge).

I'm positive that the Liquid Aluminum fixed up the radiator, and it's the only plausible explanation that I have for the heater core.

Here are some photos of what I am dealing with.

A quick Video I took. At the end I get a close up of the thing leaking.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22169868@N03/8059777782/

I have used the standard bars leak "Radiator stop leak" in the silver bottle before with success(A weeping head gasket on a GM 2200).

Alternatively, you could cut the tube preventing you from just pulling it out and repairing properly and splice it with heater hose after fixing the problem.

Well I sucked it up and pulled the upper intake and pulled the tube out. Turns out that the seat where the O ring sits is perforated. I was thinking of fixing it but I think I will get another one and just be done with this once and for all. If I have time I will get to the junk yard a they have 3-4 mustangs in the lot at the moment. I just hope that they don't have the same problem. I may go to the local ford dealer and see if it is still a part I can get. The down side is that the manifold gasket between the upper and lower manifolds came apart so I will have to get another.

Speaking of this has anyone noticed that fel pro gaskets seem to have some sort of coating that really bonds to the silicon gasket goo. I noticed this when I had to pull the lower intake as well to swap the head gaskets left to right.

SlickDizzy wrote: I always preferred K&W Nanotechnology stop leak. It's less likely to clog up your system from my experience. Comes (or at least use to come) in a neon green bottle that looks kind of like a quart of oil.

I actually saw that when I was at the parts store and read the directions. You have to flush the entire cooling system clean of all antifreeze. It is also serious $$$$ the local NAPA wants almost $20 for it.

dean1484 wrote:

SlickDizzy wrote: I always preferred K&W Nanotechnology stop leak. It's less likely to clog up your system from my experience. Comes (or at least use to come) in a neon green bottle that looks kind of like a quart of oil.

I actaully saw that when I was at the parts store and read the directions. You ahve to flush teh entire cooling system clean of all antifreez. It is also serious $$$$ the local NAPA wants almost $20 for it.

Yeah, it is not quite a "put it in and forget it" solution, but it solved a blown head gasket on my old '88 Saab 900 turbo. I beat the piss out of it for 20k after the K&W with no ill results. It was well worth the $14 (this would have been 2007). I know the kid that has the car now and it's still going, for what that's worth.

I've never used the silvery Bar's Leaks but the pellet crap is just awful.

If you can't get another tube maybe you can solder the one you have....

noddaz wrote: If you can't get another tube maybe you can solder the one you have....

IT is the seat where the o ring sits. I am also suspicious that when I pulled it out (I had to apply some serious force) that I widened the grove where the O rings sits as well. Thus it is not getting the correct compression against the side walls of the hole. Instead it is expanding outward due to the groove being wider. I am either going to get a brass fitting and use a set screw and some JB weld or get a new piece

If a new part is available from Ford or Autozone, I would buy one. A used part will be in similar condition.

So have people had pretty good luck w/ the Nano Stopleak?

I have a Ford Ranger w/ the 4.0 SOHC that is just starting to trickle water out the head gasket on the CS. Basically from what I'm told these motors are throw-aways, so if I can extend the life a little while that would be awesome. The truck runs strong, sounds fine, you would never know it had an issue??

Re the truck 4.0L those have intake manifold gasket issues. The problem is that they will run ok with the manifold leaking but this develops air pockets in the heads. This I guess could result in HG failure but I have not seen that. What usually happens is the trans overheats first. The issue with the Intake manifold seal failing is that the water level will settle to a level in the block below the level of the leak. This then results in the level being lower in the radiator exposing the trans cooler in the rad and the trans does not get enough cooling. This results in your trans overheating. The transmissions behind the 4.0's do not stand for any overheating at all. They like between 180 and 225. Get them up to 235 for any length of time ad you will cook the trans.

So in short are you sure it is a HG and not the intake? I have not heard of the HG failing on these but the intake gasket is a known problem.

IF you have this problem I would get an aftermarket trans cooler and mount it in front of the radiator / condenser directly behind the grill and bypass the trans cooler in the rad. I learned this trick from a local trans rebuild shop that does this to every 4.0 ford trans they rebuild and warranty. I then did it on several explorers I had and no matter how hot I got the motor the trans was good to go.

That was my first thought, but it coming from the head gasket, spilling on to the exhaust manifold, and then running down the side of the block and behind, making a huge mess along the way.

The truck has the factory aux trans cooler mounted just like you mentioned, it does a really good job of keeping it cool. I have also been religious about changing the trans fluid, knowing they are a definite week link.

carczar_84 wrote: That was my first thought, but it coming from the head gasket, spilling on to the exhaust manifold, and then running down the side of the block and behind, making a huge mess along the way. The truck has the factory aux trans cooler mounted just like you mentioned, it does a really good job of keeping it cool. I have also been religious about changing the trans fluid, knowing they are a definite week link.

All of them have that trans cooler in frount of the rad. It will do you no good if the trans fluid is running through supper heated steam in the radiator. You have to upgrade the frount mount cooler to somthing 2x the size and bypass the cooler in thr radiator all together.