Coolant leaking into #5 plug well, 5.4L 97 F-150
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Coolant leaking into #5 plug well, 5.4L 97 F-150
Hi, I'm chasing a problem and wondering if anyone else has seen this. Coolant is accumulating in the #5 plug well (front plug, driver's side). At first, I thought it was the thermostat housing leaking, so I changed the seal and tightened it to spec (a few months ago).
But last night, it started missing, and I got a P0305 code along with a flashing "check engine" light which eventually quit flashing and stayed on.
Checking the plug this morning, I found the plug well full of coolant which I assume was shorting out the COP and causing the misfire.
Has anyone ever seen this before? I don't know my way around this motor very well, so I'm not sure what all it could be. I need to check the thermostat housing again, altho I didn't see any signs of leaking from it. What else might it be? Could it be an intake gasket? Is that possible? Or, barring the thermostat housing, does this imply a head gasket? Thanks.
Doug
.
But last night, it started missing, and I got a P0305 code along with a flashing "check engine" light which eventually quit flashing and stayed on.
Checking the plug this morning, I found the plug well full of coolant which I assume was shorting out the COP and causing the misfire.
Has anyone ever seen this before? I don't know my way around this motor very well, so I'm not sure what all it could be. I need to check the thermostat housing again, altho I didn't see any signs of leaking from it. What else might it be? Could it be an intake gasket? Is that possible? Or, barring the thermostat housing, does this imply a head gasket? Thanks.
Doug
.
#4
Senior Member
Yep, - Gasket went, - at the front left (D-side) water jacket most likley. V8's are known for this. Once you remove the intake, the gasket will look smashed at both front water jackets. Takes quite a few miles for them to get bad enough to leak there. The aluminum intakes and heads also have a pitting problem. I'm sure you'll see that one as well.
Anyway, yea, that's it.
Get those gaskets from Ford ONLY. Ford has the correct revision for your model year. Be specific when ordering, specify early/late builds. Reason being, Ford moved location pins (dowels) around allot in these models, - twice in some model years. Some years have a thickened gasket on one side.
So dealership item only if you only want to do this once.
Doesn't take allot of know-how, but doe require some. Matting surfaces have to very clean, flat and dry. shove rags in the ports, then hit the surfaces with a palm sander. Finish up with fast dry lacquer thinner, then set the oil free (no fingerprints or RTV) Ford gaskets in place. Tie the manifold down in at least two torque stages (3 is better yet). Torque to yield, - not much torque..I can't recall what finish torque is (26" lbs maybe).
Also, -if the heads are pitted (bet they are), use an aluminum filler to fill the pits after prepping with a blaster or wire brush. Permatex sell a metal filler compound that works and is usually stocked at 3rd party parts suppliers.
That's all there is for know how, - those steps are important, - no cheating lol.
If you need the numbers (spec) , I suppose someone will have those for yuh, - or I could look them right quick. could look them up. Let me know.
Anyway, yea, that's it.
Get those gaskets from Ford ONLY. Ford has the correct revision for your model year. Be specific when ordering, specify early/late builds. Reason being, Ford moved location pins (dowels) around allot in these models, - twice in some model years. Some years have a thickened gasket on one side.
So dealership item only if you only want to do this once.
Doesn't take allot of know-how, but doe require some. Matting surfaces have to very clean, flat and dry. shove rags in the ports, then hit the surfaces with a palm sander. Finish up with fast dry lacquer thinner, then set the oil free (no fingerprints or RTV) Ford gaskets in place. Tie the manifold down in at least two torque stages (3 is better yet). Torque to yield, - not much torque..I can't recall what finish torque is (26" lbs maybe).
Also, -if the heads are pitted (bet they are), use an aluminum filler to fill the pits after prepping with a blaster or wire brush. Permatex sell a metal filler compound that works and is usually stocked at 3rd party parts suppliers.
That's all there is for know how, - those steps are important, - no cheating lol.
If you need the numbers (spec) , I suppose someone will have those for yuh, - or I could look them right quick. could look them up. Let me know.
The following users liked this post:
chaztor (05-01-2018)
#5
Member
Thread Starter
Yep, - Gasket went, - at the front left (D-side) water jacket most likley. V8's are known for this. Once you remove the intake, the gasket will look smashed at both front water jackets. Takes quite a few miles for them to get bad enough to leak there. The aluminum intakes and heads also have a pitting problem. I'm sure you'll see that one as well.
Anyway, yea, that's it.
Get those gaskets from Ford ONLY. Ford has the correct revision for your model year. Be specific when ordering, specify early/late builds. Reason being, Ford moved location pins (dowels) around allot in these models, - twice in some model years. Some years have a thickened gasket on one side.
So dealership item only if you only want to do this once.
Doesn't take allot of know-how, but doe require some. Matting surfaces have to very clean, flat and dry. shove rags in the ports, then hit the surfaces with a palm sander. Finish up with fast dry lacquer thinner, then set the oil free (no fingerprints or RTV) Ford gaskets in place. Tie the manifold down in at least two torque stages (3 is better yet). Torque to yield, - not much torque..I can't recall what finish torque is (26" lbs maybe).
Also, -if the heads are pitted (bet they are), use an aluminum filler to fill the pits after prepping with a blaster or wire brush. Permatex sell a metal filler compound that works and is usually stocked at 3rd party parts suppliers.
That's all there is for know how, - those steps are important, - no cheating lol.
If you need the numbers (spec) , I suppose someone will have those for yuh, - or I could look them right quick. could look them up. Let me know.
Anyway, yea, that's it.
Get those gaskets from Ford ONLY. Ford has the correct revision for your model year. Be specific when ordering, specify early/late builds. Reason being, Ford moved location pins (dowels) around allot in these models, - twice in some model years. Some years have a thickened gasket on one side.
So dealership item only if you only want to do this once.
Doesn't take allot of know-how, but doe require some. Matting surfaces have to very clean, flat and dry. shove rags in the ports, then hit the surfaces with a palm sander. Finish up with fast dry lacquer thinner, then set the oil free (no fingerprints or RTV) Ford gaskets in place. Tie the manifold down in at least two torque stages (3 is better yet). Torque to yield, - not much torque..I can't recall what finish torque is (26" lbs maybe).
Also, -if the heads are pitted (bet they are), use an aluminum filler to fill the pits after prepping with a blaster or wire brush. Permatex sell a metal filler compound that works and is usually stocked at 3rd party parts suppliers.
That's all there is for know how, - those steps are important, - no cheating lol.
If you need the numbers (spec) , I suppose someone will have those for yuh, - or I could look them right quick. could look them up. Let me know.
Thanks, everyone, for your replies.
Special thanks to Jbrew for the detailed repair description.
I'll stop by the dealer and order a set of gaskets. I've done intake gaskets on a couple of GM 3.4's and a 3.8, so I have a little experience doing this sort of stuff. And I've put some plugs in the 5.4, so I've got a little familiarity with it.
Using the metal filler doesn't sound too tricky - I worked with some years ago. It was similar to Bondo in how it was to work with, and how it needed a hardener to activate it. Hopefully, the pitting won't be bad.
It's a long reach under the cowl, but I should be OK if I pull the wheels and set it down in front. (I use 4x4's under the lower control arms to keep the rotors off the ground.)
I probably won't be doing this repair for a few weeks - it's a very slow leak - but I'll post back here with some details when I do it.
Thanks again for the replies.
Regards,
Doug
.
Last edited by plano-doug; 03-04-2015 at 03:31 PM.
#6
Senior Member
No problem.
I repaired these before the picture was taken, but you can see the darkened areas where they were pitted -
Not the greatest of pics, but you can see what I'm referring too. Heads and intake both pit. This engine was a V8 97 or 98 NPI set up (5.4L). If I recall, it was at about 165,000 miles. There was a coolant in this one, but it leaked behind the water-pump (heater core hardline connect). The intake gasket problem was realized during the repair/modification or the heater core hardline.
I repaired these before the picture was taken, but you can see the darkened areas where they were pitted -
Not the greatest of pics, but you can see what I'm referring too. Heads and intake both pit. This engine was a V8 97 or 98 NPI set up (5.4L). If I recall, it was at about 165,000 miles. There was a coolant in this one, but it leaked behind the water-pump (heater core hardline connect). The intake gasket problem was realized during the repair/modification or the heater core hardline.
Last edited by Jbrew; 03-05-2015 at 06:18 PM.
Trending Topics
#8
Senior Member
Yep, - a DA or palm sander are nice to have , come in very handy. I use a little blue Makita for the heads. You know, those little square pad under powered Makita sanders lol. Perfect!
I used both type sanders for body work in the past. Dependent upon what your doing, between the two, -makes it easy. As far as labor intensive anyway.
Crazy, - what have you use for filler (heads) ?
I used both type sanders for body work in the past. Dependent upon what your doing, between the two, -makes it easy. As far as labor intensive anyway.
Crazy, - what have you use for filler (heads) ?
#9
Member
Thread Starter
Did you use the Permatex? I've seen that online, and it appears to be a one-part product - that is, it air dries, correct? How long did you have to wait before sanding?
I've found a couple of 2-part metal fillers (both aluminum). PepBoys has "US Chemical Fuzion Premium Metal Body Filler". And I found Evercoat Metal-2-Metal(tm) aluminum body filler on the web.
Neither of these vendors is familiar to me. But Permatex is, although I'm not as comfortable with a 1-part filler.
So please share what you used and any comments you have. Thanks!
Doug
.
Last edited by plano-doug; 04-16-2015 at 06:07 PM.
#10
Member
Thread Starter
Update - new gaskets working great, 200k miles
I'm late to post a follow up, but I repaired the leaking intake gaskets last February (2016). And the truck has been doing great since then. It doesn't leak a drop of anything.
This week it rolled over to 200k miles, and I post the attached pic to celebrate
BTW, here's some of the info I garnered doing the repair. For my 1997 Ford F-150 Supercab with 5.4 motor, the following parts were used:
Upper intake gasket part number (2 required): XW7Z-9439-AA
Lower intake gasket part number (1 required): F65Z-9461-AB
Permatex Liquid Metal Filler, p/n: 25909
The filler was used to repair the pitting on the mating faces of the intake and heads. I sanded it smooth using 320 grit paper and a piece of hardwood I milled flat on my belt sander. I wanted the perfectly flat block to ensure even sanding with no rounding.
Thanks to Jbrew for the tips about the metal filler and getting the gaskets at the dealer. I got the filler at Autozone, I think.
Hope this helps someone else some time.
Doug
.
This week it rolled over to 200k miles, and I post the attached pic to celebrate
BTW, here's some of the info I garnered doing the repair. For my 1997 Ford F-150 Supercab with 5.4 motor, the following parts were used:
Upper intake gasket part number (2 required): XW7Z-9439-AA
Lower intake gasket part number (1 required): F65Z-9461-AB
Permatex Liquid Metal Filler, p/n: 25909
The filler was used to repair the pitting on the mating faces of the intake and heads. I sanded it smooth using 320 grit paper and a piece of hardwood I milled flat on my belt sander. I wanted the perfectly flat block to ensure even sanding with no rounding.
Thanks to Jbrew for the tips about the metal filler and getting the gaskets at the dealer. I got the filler at Autozone, I think.
Hope this helps someone else some time.
Doug
.
Last edited by plano-doug; 03-24-2017 at 10:40 PM.
The following users liked this post:
chaztor (05-01-2018)