Ok, so I've been doing a little maintenance work to this truck. 87 f150 5.8

Changed Heater Core, Rad, Thermostat, hoses, etc. Have a coolant leak. Thought at first I wasn't getting the thermostat housing sealed back properly. Now I realize I have a leak down near the water pump but it doesn't look like the pump itself. The following picture shows where it actually is leaking. I thought the coolant was just running down from the thermo housing but I actually saw the coolant spraying from this location last time I ran the engine. Please tell me this is fixable.

 

Perhaps the timing cover gasket is no defective, attachment bolt (pump to block is broken) or even the cover itself has a pin hole. Time for a tear down and investigate further.

 

My truck is leaking around the same place and I have no clue where else it is leaking from. I changed the thermostat and re-sealed it and the water pump is dry.

 

Don't get me wrong i'm not a believer of stop leak, but could it be possible that the P.O. used it because they had this leak, and since I've flushed it, and changed all the parts its started leaking again? The old coolant was brownish rust color and the block is stained the same color in that area.

 

Sounds like a leak

 

Remove it and put a small bead of silicone on the gasket. Either that or the bolt is bottoming out.

 

If that don't work get a new gasket and put a bead at the leaking spot and 1" on either side to ensure a good seal. I wouldn't use a old gasket no mater how long it's been on.

 

IIRC, that's a coolant passage that flows through the timing cover. You'll need to pull the waterpump and the timing cover off. I'm not gonna lie, 9 out of 10 times, the bolts break off when doing this.

 

What kind of work am I looking at to remove the timing cover? I'm down to the timing cover now, got all the accessories off. Am I looking at anything else to remove or am I looking at a straight shot to the timing cover? Thanks

 

Hmm timely subject. I just had all the same symptoms you speak of... I ended up needing a new water pump. timing chain, t-stat, and oil pan gasket.