45seventy

Going thru a 2003 F150. Reman engine and a lot of new wear items. Got it all back together to find fuel pump was dead. Fixed that and fired right up. Coolant dripping of back of engine, passenger side. Turned off, suspect heater core. Will bypass tomorrow. While checking the connections on back of head ( can't find leakage on metal heater core pipe / heated pvc) I saw this:

This is passenger side, back corner of manifold, against firewall.
Is that supposed to be open like that? Might pull manifold to compare to leaky original manifold.
This is a truck that I bought with seized engine. So starting it up is exposing other problems that were ignored.

manicmechanic007

That is normal and that port is not used
If you feel under that hole, or stick a pocket screwdriver in the hole, there is nothing there and it is a dead hole
Most likely the heater core leaks
That is a big job too, but you can do it
Get some help and film yourself taking out all the bolts and screws
That way you might get them all back in
Good luck

45seventy

Well, that's a job I'm not looking forward to. But I didn't expect the fuel pump either. This was supposedly a running truck that the former owner made a bad decision to drive home with a blown freeze plug. I guess it was more of a barely running truck. The more I fix, the less I will have to worry about.
I did fill my phone with pictures while I was taking the truck apart. Mostly for hoses and such, bolts I tried to keep with the assembly I was removing. The dashboard to get at the heater core is a whole different animal. Will do some pressure tests / bypass to isolate the problem.

manicmechanic007

That is all you can do
Fix one thing at a time right
Pretty soon you will have a decent truck again

mbb

I'd make darn sure I knew where the leak was coming from before I took out the heater core.
The connectors on the heater core hoses... Get brittle and break easily. Just touching hoses can break them off. Inspect all that well.

The engine is also slightly inclined so that manifold gasket leaks will run to the back and possibly drip off the back of the engine

45seventy

Drained the radiator to make the connections necessary to bypass the heater core. Started refilling and the radiator kept draining. New radiator. Goes back tomorrow. Only two items purchased from Autozone, both suspect. Radiator where the drain won't close and a fuel pump where the gauge don't work. Starting to look like the engine swap was the easy part.

45seventy

Well after bypassing the heater core - no leaks. So my duty is clear. Probably should look at blend door as well while I'm in there.
Since I bought this as a non-running truck, things that do work are a victory. Trans seems to work well as does the 4wd. Need to get the AC checked and charged and then tires. Quite a project but I feel better than monthly payments.
DMV is looming on the horizon as well.