Two weeks ago my mother dropped off her '97 Mercury Mountaineer (5L) for me to change the water pump, radiator, hoses, etc. Although it only has 135k miles, she neglects it soundly. An employee of hers (who really does know cars) told her that the water pump was leaking badly after he crawled under and took a look. It had been leaking a slightly increasing amount that suddenly went WAY up, and she doesn't have the money to pay a mechanic.
It took me a full weekend, plus a couple evenings to do the work. 5.0 fords are notorious for seizing two particular water pump studs and breaking them off, requiring timing cover removal and usually replacement, but I managed with patience to get them out in one piece. A V8 in a ranger chassis, though, is a bitch to work on and my arms look like I've been fighting drunken badgers. I filled it up to test it and it leaked exactly the same way it did before.
After much crawling and mechanic twister I located the actual source of the leak - the timing cover to block seal was gone. This is also a common problem with 302s.
Which means ALL the stuff I just replaced had to come back out.
So I spent all of last weekend taking out all the parts out I'd just put in. Got the additional stuff off to remove the timing cover and while I was cleaning the block surface I found a crack. The single bolt hole next to the leaking coolant passage was cracked top and bottom. I'm fairly certain mom let the antifreeze content of the coolant drop since she was constantly refilling the leaking truck. The coolant passage was leaking next to this bolt. Water gets in the threads and then the temperature drops. Crack. Luckily the system was probably low enough on fluid that whatever was in the water jacket either didn't freeze or had expansion room.
I tried to tack weld the crack (didn't help, of course) and reassembled everything with fresh gaskets and Optimum Gray RTV. After following the "finger tight, wait an hour, full torque" instructions on the timing cover and the water pump, I left the offending bolt for last. As I approached the 15ftlb torque spec I hear POP and the bolt free spins.
It cracked the ear of the block almost off. Now, I'm pretty sure it's just the bolt hole that's cracked and not the water jacket, but now I have no way to torque down the prone-to-leaking timing cover or one end of the water pump because that's the only fastener in the area.
After much head scratching I drove the shaft of a large broken flat head screwdriver between the cracked piece and a very close massive aluminum bracket and was able to get full torque on the bolt.
The next day I started to feel bad about this rigged fix. I was concerned that the screwdriver shaft might vibrate enough to fall out. SO I went back in, taking off the fan, shroud, belt, etc for access, and I JB welded the cracked area. I also cut the screwdriver shaft down, then coated it in JB Weld and drove it back in. I left it to cure last night and tonight I'll fill the system and see if it holds, or if we sell a 135k V8 for scrap because of a broken bolt hole. Pray for me.
Dontcha just love the wrench life? Wish I'd double checked dude's diagnosis a little more thoroughly.
