coolant leaking under engine by transmission, i think :(

[Scallywag]

After searching a bit, I've came up with these results, 1 2, which don't really give much insight, perhaps because i didn't use the correct search phrase/s. In any event....

I have a coolant leak coming out from under the engine of the BA Mark VIII, and not just any leak, but one that's coming out rather profusely.

It started yesterday on my drive home when at 2 or 3 stoplights I would notice smoke minutely coming from under the hood even though the temperature needle was still normal. I pulled over immediately thinking it was coolant seeping out from the intake where the crossover tube goes into as I explained in this thread, but the crossover-intake was not the case (Vaseline worked ) as I noticed a leak from under the car.

Getting down on the floor I was able to notice the coolant was kind of pouring out from the center back of the engine, almost as though it were by where it connects to the transmission. The only thing that felt wrong, or sounded wrong rather, was during the first few minutes of the drive that I heard something like a loud pop right before i started noticing the smoke. I'm not at all mechincal savy in the slightest, but my amature guess would be that I either somehow popped a cylinder drain plug(or freeze plug, if you will) or perhaps the coolant line that runs into the transmission.

My question is, where on the block are the drain plugs located so that I can give a better eye to that area? Also, whatever other scenarios you guys can think off, is it a job that I can do myself?

Thanks to LVC and the other websites dedicated to the Mark, I've been able to tackle by myself the tune up, lower balljoints, brakes/calipers/rotors, crossover tube, serpentine belt, thermostat and other rookie jobs that are pefect for newbs like me. However, this seems like it's going to be the biggest hurdle that I've had to jump by myself concerning cars as I understand it could be something much more costly, so I hope I don't screw it up some more.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks to all!!!

 

[beerdog]

There is a coolant hose/tube under the intake. Maybe that blew. The colant will leak down the back of the block. or maybe your heater hoses.

 

[chausse420]

There is a tube that comes from the bottom of the degas (coolant) bottle/resevoir that goes behind the engine and very well could be dripping onto your tranny. I relaced my hose and my degas bottle that was cracked all over a week or so ago. Does it only leak when it is warmed up or even when the engine temp is cold??

 

[Sapperfire]

;( aww that sucks

 

[Sapperfire]

There is a tube that comes from the bottom of the degas (coolant) bottle/re
sevoir that goes behind the engine

You'll need to remove the intake and fuel rail to fix this one, you'll need a new upper and lower intake gasket set and might as well buy an injector rebuild set since they're out

Check the heater core hoses and pipes that are attached to on the engine, the seals corrode if good coolant maintainance wasn't always practiced

 

[Scallywag]

Does it only leak when it is warmed up or even when the engine temp is cold??

hot and cold. As long as it has liquid it will leak.

;( aww that sucks

lol

You'll need to remove the intake and fuel rail to fix this one, you'll need a new upper and lower intake gasket set and might as well buy an injector rebuild set since they're out

Check the heater core hoses and pipes that are attached to on the engine, the seals corrode if good coolant maintainance wasn't always practiced.

I know right!! Those blasted low maintenance owners don't worry about squat until it's too late! X(

Whatever the case is, i wonder if it is related to the overheating the car underwent that recently prompted me to replace the thermostat, crossover tube etc.

Perhaps a bit of the coolant leak dye might help as well to affirm your suspicions.

Thanks a lot

 

[Sapperfire]

I bet even the wet area would be an indicator, why would you need dye for a coolant leak?

 

[Scallywag]

Why would I need the dye? LoL Captain Obvious isn't your friend i take it when I've already mentioned that I'm noob when it comes to this and because of that I want to make sure of what I'm looking at before getting my hands dirty.

Is that too much of a preposterous notion to you ?

 

[Sapperfire]

Well I guess its not sooooo preposterous if you can't tell the difference between wet or dry

And my horse does not do drugs

if you'd use COOLANT instead of just water, it would already be "dyed" and your coolant system probably wouldn't corrode

 

[Scallywag]

My vision isn't the best to say the least and the coolant leak dye seems more of a definitive method to locate the leak due to the varying possibilities. After all, it was only $5 and I just wanted some ideas on where else to look beside just under the block.

lol I contest however that your horses are inebriated to some degree since you condescendingly postulate(playfully, I hope...) improper cooling maintenance due to your extrapolation of coolant as water. You actually exhibited this same syndrome in this thread so maybe it's not playful.

Either way, once it dries up here I'll take a closer inspection where you guys suggest as it's been raining the past few days.

Thanks again!

 

[Sapperfire]

"We the Willing, Led by the unknown, have done the impossible for the ungreatful. We have done so much with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing -Sappers"

Captain Obvious however was not in my chain of command

 

[Cypress]

Hi everyone. I found this site and thread with a quick search. I have a very similar problem to that of Scallywag at the top of this thread.

Two nights ago I was pulling my 98 Mark VIII into my garage after a trip to the store and noticed a large spot on the floor where my car is normally parked. I checked out the spot and it appeared to be engine coolant but I wasn't certain. So I parked the car in in its normal spot, popped the hood and let the engine run for a bit but nothing further leaked out and I could see no smoke or fluid on the top of the engine. The spot on the floor is right where the engine and tranny meet and right off to the driver's side by maybe 2-3 inches. The spot is approximately 12 inches in diameter. The plastic coolant reservoir was down a few inches.

I placed some white cardboard under the car where the spot is and left it. Several hours later I went out and checked the cardboard and nothing new had dripped down on it. However, today with the engine completely cold, there was a new spot on the cardboard about 2-3 inches in diameter and green in color and when I pulled the cardboard out to check it, in the few minutes I had pulled it out, another drop had dripped onto the concrete.

I looked around as best I could under the car and sure enough there is some liquid on the driver's side bottom very rear of the engine. but I could not find an "active drip" - you know a drop waiting to drip down. I don't have the equipment to safely jack the car up so I can't get underneath it yet.. I just looked around with a flashlight.

Any help would be appreciated - in particular what the problem most likely is and how much it would cost to have it fixed or if it is possible to fix it yourself without a bunch of specialized tools. The car has 145K miles and I was told it never had a mechanical issue outside of normal maintenance. I can't speak to how much maintenance was actually done to it as the car is part of my parents estate.

Thanks.

 

[Sapperfire]

Hi everyone. I found this site and thread with a quick search. I have a very similar problem to that of Scallywag at the top of this thread.

Two nights ago I was pulling my 98 Mark VIII into my garage after a trip to the store and noticed a large spot on the floor where my car is normally parked. I checked out the spot and it appeared to be engine coolant but I wasn't certain. So I parked the car in in its normal spot, popped the hood and let the engine run for a bit but nothing further leaked out and I could see no smoke or fluid on the top of the engine. The spot on the floor is right where the engine and tranny meet and right off to the driver's side by maybe 2-3 inches. The spot is approximately 12 inches in diameter. The plastic coolant reservoir was down a few inches.

I placed some white cardboard under the car where the spot is and left it. Several hours later I went out and checked the cardboard and nothing new had dripped down on it. However, today with the engine completely cold, there was a new spot on the cardboard about 2-3 inches in diameter and green in color and when I pulled the cardboard out to check it, in the few minutes I had pulled it out, another drop had dripped onto the concrete.

I looked around as best I could under the car and sure enough there is some liquid on the driver's side bottom very rear of the engine. but I could not find an "active drip" - you know a drop waiting to drip down. I don't have the equipment to safely jack the car up so I can't get underneath it yet.. I just looked around with a flashlight.

Any help would be appreciated - in particular what the problem most likely is and how much it would cost to have it fixed or if it is possible to fix it yourself without a bunch of specialized tools. The car has 145K miles and I was told it never had a mechanical issue outside of normal maintenance. I can't speak to how much maintenance was actually done to it as the car is part of my parents estate.

Thanks.

Look down behind the alternator, you'll need good flashlight. If its a Gen2 there will be a plastic cover over the valley of the block. If so, remove the Alternator and pull that plastic cover out from under the intake. There's a coolant tube that runs from the backside of the water pump back to the rear of the engine and then connects to a heater core hose. The coolant tube in the engines valley has a short section of hose connecting the rear of the water pump housing to that tube

 

[fordknutt]

I agree that it is almost certain the coolant hose underneath the intake that runs from the front of the block right behind the water pump to the back of the block that ends up going to the heater core. If it leaks, the valley underneath the intake dumps the coolant down the back of the block, looking like it is coming somewhere between the tranny & engine. This happened on my Gran Marquis, just as you described. It is not a hard job, just a little time consuming. Good Luck

 

[Stangman]

I too had coolant drops hanging on the back side of my engine, however I think they were running back from my coolant/oil adapter gasket. But, I will pull my intake as a precaution and check the valley hose. Plus it gives me an excuse to paint stuff.