leaky stang :(

L

lucky bagels

New Member

Jul 24, 2007

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Dec 10, 2007

#1

• Dec 10, 2007

• #1

hey any1 no where all the freeze plugs are on a 89 lx 302? im leaking anti freeze from somewhere and i cant figure out from where. i check the two hoses on the rad. and the two for heat there all fine.

if anyopne nos of any more hoses to check or where the freeze plugs are thanks a lot

 

NKau

Founding Member

Dec 15, 2001

1,346

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37

Jefferson, WI

Dec 10, 2007

#2

• Dec 10, 2007

• #2

Check the waterneck that houses the thermostat, and the waterpump first.

 

Darkwriter77

Resident Ranting Negative Nancy

5 Year Member

Jul 1, 2005

314

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Apache Junction, AZ

Dec 10, 2007

#3

• Dec 10, 2007

• #3

Same problem here. I just changed the T-stat on the '86 a month or so ago. Either I didn't seat things right, or I didn't quite get all the old gasket crap off there, but it took me awhile to figure out that it's leaking from the thermostat housing.

Two bolts, two hose clamps, some blue RTV silicone, a cheap gasket, and a little bit of antifreeze will fix that.

 

adidas

Member

Apr 3, 2004

123

0

16

Liberty, Mo

Dec 10, 2007

#4

• Dec 10, 2007

• #4

i just had to replace my waterpump a couple of weeks ago, it took me a while to figure out where the leak was coming from becuase it leaked all over everything!

 

1.8kmint

New Member

May 31, 2007

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Middletown, CA

Dec 10, 2007

#5

• Dec 10, 2007

• #5

My bet is its the overflow bottle itself. My bottle has a crack in it that can't be seen unless its taken out and its empty almost all of the time. You should be ok as long as you have constant freeze in the radiator and aren't overheating. If you are overheating its more than likely a hose if you aren't I put my money on the overflow leaking. Mine drains quick when I fill it and the crack is extremely small.

 

D

Daggar

New Member

Jul 19, 2004

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Dec 10, 2007

#6

• Dec 10, 2007

• #6

Darkwriter77 said:

Same problem here. I just changed the T-stat on the '86 a month or so ago. Either I didn't seat things right, or I didn't quite get all the old gasket crap off there, but it took me awhile to figure out that it's leaking from the thermostat housing.

Click to expand...

Heya Dark... My fail-safe fix for this is to seat the t-stat in the housing then hold it in place with two tiny dots of superglue.

It beats the string method, hands down.

 

Darkwriter77

Resident Ranting Negative Nancy

5 Year Member

Jul 1, 2005

314

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134

Apache Junction, AZ

Dec 10, 2007

#7

• Dec 10, 2007

• #7

Hmmm ... hafta try that this weekend. Good tip.

 

K

KlrSnk

New Member

Jun 21, 2006

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Dec 10, 2007

#8

• Dec 10, 2007

• #8

Fixing to replace the waterpump on the 90 this weekend.

 

L

lucky bagels

New Member

Jul 24, 2007

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Dec 10, 2007

#9

• Dec 10, 2007

• #9

its not the water pump i check it. i poor water into the water pump and it goes in then after about 1/4 of a gallon and a few seconds it leaks out, on the drivers side. the only water i see is underneath, and its running down the oil pan...thanks for all the tips, and please keep them coming .

 

NKau

Founding Member

Dec 15, 2001

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37

Jefferson, WI

Dec 10, 2007

#10

• Dec 10, 2007

• #10

Freeze plugs are located in the side of the block. See if you see anything leaking around them. There is a chance that you actually have a headgasket failure that is allowing coolant to leak out between the heads and the block. Did you have an overheating problem before this all came about?

The only reason a freeze plug should "leak" is because you had a low amount of anti-freeze in your system, the water froze, and pushed the plug out.

 

L

lucky bagels

New Member

Jul 24, 2007

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Dec 11, 2007

#11

• Dec 11, 2007

• #11

well i had half water half aint-freeze then the weather dropped real quick. a day or two later i noticed it...its not a head gasket, there not anti-freeze in the oil. do i have to take my headers off to get to the freeze plugs?

 

Darkwriter77

Resident Ranting Negative Nancy

5 Year Member

Jul 1, 2005

314

281

134

Apache Junction, AZ

Dec 11, 2007

#12

• Dec 11, 2007

• #12

Funny, my '86 started leaking from the T-stat when the weather got cooler here, too...

 

ill advised

Member

Apr 29, 2003

656

10

19

West L.A.

Dec 11, 2007

#13

• Dec 11, 2007

• #13

I don't know if someone mentioned it, but have you checked the egr hoses? More specifically, the hose leading towards the firewall side of the manifold. When that small hose went bad I went crazy looking for the leak. It's not easy to spot because there's so much clutter behind the manifold. The water tends to puddle towards the back of the engine which also makes it harder to locate the source.

 

Jaswir

Member

Mar 31, 2005

578

0

18

Orlando, FL

Dec 11, 2007

#14

• Dec 11, 2007

• #14

check heater core weap hole... while engine is hot and running... i had a leak for months and could not figure it out for anything! thats what it was

 

L

lucky bagels

New Member

Jul 24, 2007

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0

Dec 12, 2007

#15

• Dec 12, 2007

• #15

dark writer-where is there t-stat

ill advised- do i have to take the upper manifold off to get to this hose?

 

8

89StAngerlx

New Member

Nov 19, 2007

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2

Dec 13, 2007

#16

• Dec 13, 2007

• #16

Your t-stat is behind the t-stat housing which the upper radiator hose goes to in front of the upper intake.

 

ill advised

Member

Apr 29, 2003

656

10

19

West L.A.

Dec 13, 2007

#17

• Dec 13, 2007

• #17

lucky bagels said:

ill advised- do i have to take the upper manifold off to get to this hose?

Click to expand...

No, just follow the small hose leading from the left side of the t-body (I'm assuming you haven't bypassed your egr) and you'll see where it leads: next to the heater hoses on the firewall side. I developed a leak right at the base of the manifold where the hose had dry-rotted. It's not easy to reach back there but you definitley don't need to pull the upper.

#52 on the diagram.
http://www.cjponyparts.com/NewTechFBengine.aspx