front cover leaking again

[DonaldSmith]

Three years ago I had a leak at the front cover. I removed the radiator, front engine mount, crankshaft pulley, front cover, cam gear, timing chain, and front plate, to get at those three leaking boltholes at the upper right (as viewed from the front) of the block. I had an awful time with the pulley. I gasketed and sealed everything, and it seemed to hold for a while.

But lately, the front cover would leak a bit when the engine was started, but as it heated up, the leak would stop. Now It leaks a lot, drip, drip, drip. So I have to go through the exercise again.

The water pump is sealed tightly, no leaks there, and I fixed the bolt that holds the generator arm and also goes into a water passage. I replaced that bolt with a stud, so it would not have to be loosened to let the generator arm pivot. I can just back off a nut.

Maybe I'll remove the motor mount to get at the three suspect bolts, and try sealing them, short of having to pull the pulley and remove the front cover and plate. Maybe I will see which bolt is leaking; maybe something loosened up. I hope it's not the welch plug. It was replaced when the engine was rebuilt several years ago, and I sealed it well the last time, I think.

This has been discussed before, with recomendations on special washers and what to glob the threads with. This time, I think I will put in studs, and drive them all the way in to where the threads stop. Maybe with the right glop, and the threads tight, it will seal like a pipe thread, and the stud would be less likely to loosen than a bolt would.

Wish me luck.

[1949P17BC]

As lame as it might sound, My engine builder recommends a can of stop leak after initial break in (try and find the obvious leaks) Try it and see how it works

[James_Douglas]

Don,

Try using the thick teflon tape that is used for gas pipes. I used ARP paste teflon on the ingine head studs and most of them leaked up. I used the thick teflon gas tape and they all are now dry.

James

[martybose]

Don,

Try using the thick teflon tape that is used for gas pipes. I used ARP paste teflon on the ingine head studs and most of them leaked up. I used the thick teflon gas tape and they all are now dry.

James

I too couldn't get my head studs to seal using the ARP paste, but had good success with the Permatex Aviation form-a-gasket as recommended by one of the other forum members.

Marty

[DonaldSmith]

Thanks, guys.

I vaguely remember putting Stop Leaks in the cooling system some time ago. Maybe it wore out or things opened up.

I've got the radiator out, and the next step is to remove the "FloatingPower" engine bracket, to get at the suspect bolts. In a way, I'm hoping to find a coolant trail from one of the bolts, and a loose bolt with a little sign on it that says "I'm the one that's leaking."

I'll think I'll use studs, tightened home and sealed with either the gas-grade teflon tape or the super aviation stuff. Then I'll cross my fingers and hope it's not the welch plug behind the hell-to-get-off front plate.

[DonaldSmith]

I got the front engine support off, and removed the three bolts that go into the water passage,two through the upper right of the front cover, and one that goes just through the front plate.

The bottom bolt was sealed real well; when I removed it, the coolant ran out. (Maybe the bars leaks sealed the drain fitting; very little coolant came out when I tried to drain the block.)

The upper bolt through the cover appeared normal.

The bolt through just the plate was short; when it came out, it was followed by a plug of fuzzy, fibrous stuff, maybe bars leak that had tried to seal the bolt. Apparently the bolt didn't even go the depth of the threaded hole in the block, and didn't have enough threads to seal well. That's what happens when you don't keep track of the different fastener sizes when taking someting apart.

I replaced the bolts with studs, using both the teflon paste and the gas pipe tape. I ran the studs in tight. That better not leak on me now!

With the radiator out, I took the opportunity to re-route the fuel line and bottom radiator hose, so I could move my auxiliary battery forward. (That's another story; I have a second 6-volt battery hooked up to provide 12 volt negative to a power outlet for cell phones, GPs, etc.)

Tonight I'll finish relocating the battery; tomorrow I'll button up the cooling system and check for leaks.

[steveplym]

This may have been mentioned to you before Donald, but check out this thread and note Normspeeds posts. It may answer your questions, but you could be talking about something different.

If this doesn't help or you've already tried it please ignore my post.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=4248