Any Mechanics Out There???

[Sugarsprinkles]

We have a 1994 Ford Aerostar (Please...no anti-Ford jokes) and yesterday it developed an engine coolant leak. It's leaking from the transmission bell housing, and it's not just a drip...it's draining out. :(

We've never had a problem like this with any other vehicle.

Does anyone know if this is a busted radiator? A blown head gasket? Cracked head? Cracked block? Hubby's looked in his Hanes manual and his Chilton's book and neither seems to mention this problem. We really need to know what we're dealing with here. I'd appreciate any advice. Just don't tell me to buy a Chevy....we can't afford to buy ANYthing else right now.

Thanks in advance.

[imaginewithme]

I just had Mr. IWM read this, he's into cars and knows a lot about them...

He asked if it ran hot lately.

[Sugarsprinkles]

Yes, yesterday, that's how we were alerted to the problem. But other than that, no, it's been running fine, the temp guage has been showing it perfectly normal and on the same notch consistently.

Thanks to Mr. IWM for any help.

[imaginewithme]

We had a car at one time that this happened to. It ended up being a head gasket. So, unfortunately, it CAN be any of the things you mentioned above. Sounds like youre on the right track tho of ideas.

He's sorry that he can't help you more.

[Sugarsprinkles]

Thanks IWM and Mr. IWM.
I really didn't want to hear that...LOL. He's still out there trying to figure it out.

[PantyFanatic]

I am NOT an auto mechanic in any way. At least not with newer vehicles. My love affair with the automobile was over a long time ago.:( lol I can only share some basics of what it DOESN’T sound like to me.
…..It's leaking from the transmission bell housing, and it's not just a drip...it's draining out…….
If it is in fact engine coolant, draining from the trannie bell, it seems unlikely it is a radiator issue, which is (was) located at the opposite end of the engine and only connected by hoses. I assume the radiator coolant level has been dropping in relationship to the leak.

Head gaskets seal between the combustion chamber and the outer edge of the block, normally on top. If the internal portion of the gasket is leaking into the cylinder, giant clouds of white smoke come from the tailpipe when the water base coolant is vaporized into steam, so that seems unlikely. An outside gasket leak would be noticed at the top of the block, not from the bell housing. It would be the same for an external block crack, even around the freeze plugs. Maybe a closer look at the outside is needed to see if it is running back and down to the place from which it is leaking.

An internal block leak that didn’t go into the cylinder above the piston ring level, would have to be going into the crankcase. Coolant will show up on the dipstick if that is the case, but would still have to get past the rear main seal and the leak would also contain signs of an oil leak.

Good luck and I hope Mr. SS finds something simple is the problem. I’m sure the romance of crawling around under a vehicle is over for him too. :eek:

[Sugarsprinkles]

Thanks PF....I guess there's at least one hose he thinks may run from the radiator and could conceivable leak down into the bell housing area.

And head gaskets..........we're all too familiar with that issue. Have had them replaced on other Aerostars and on a Plymouth Voyager. He's also replaced one himself on an old Ford station waggon. It's not doing a lot of what a blown head gasket would do.

Don't know what to think at this point, but he's still out there putzing with it.

[Cobalt]

The hose that looks like it would be close to there is probaly a heater hose, which would go to the firewall or a duct chamber for the heater core. PF pretty much covered the rest of the possibilities. If it deffantly is coming out of the bell housing and not running down the engine from above it would have to be a frost plug or a crack in the engine block. Not easy to diagnose without acually seeing it. Good luck, doesn't sound good in any of the possibilities.

[Sugarsprinkles]

Hey, PF...........he just came in and he thinks there may be a couple of freeze plugs on the rear of the engine block and that it may be leaking from one of those. He can do the repair himself, but it's gonna be time consuming. He'll have to drop the trans to get to it. But at least it's not going to be prohibitively expensive.

[PantyFanatic]

I guess Cobalt and I think along the same lines about more than just Cheyanne. :grin: roflmao

Glad to hear it is something that won’t bankrupt you, but sorry to hear it’s going to be the $4 part that takes two days work to put in. Tell him to get some young-and-dumb-and-full-of-cum kid like we USE to be to give him a hand. ;)

[sad_sam]

There is a least one and maybe two freeze plugs back there. When he replaces them he needs to use some kind of sealant on them to make sure they do not continue or start to leak again. You only want to have to pull that trans once. it is a pain to have to di it a second time.

Best of luck

Sam

[smoothballs]

the core plugs we call them over here should seal fine with out sealent but if theres more than one i'd do them all while your there :rolleyes:

[PantyFanatic]

..... but if theres more than one i'd do them all while your there :rolleyes:
Good point. It is most common for them to rust thru from the outside. The others should get a good inspection and test if not automatically replacing them while you have access.

[maddy]

Tis the season for car repairs. I have no advice SS other than I feel your pain and I lack a Mr SS to putz under my engine. I was on my way to school today when I came to a stop and my car idled hard, nearly died, I looked down and saw my temp gauge was rapidly heading to the red danger zone. Then only moments later the service engine soon light came on. I cranked the heat on high to draw as much heat off the engine as possible and made it to school and back home. I didn't notice any puddles under my car. But I have had some strange things happen lately. Like when going from Reverse to Drive my gas pedal sticks a bit and I have to give it a healthy tapping to get it to go. And then on Friday night I made a quick right turn into traffic and left a large white cloud behind me. Of course I'm not one to budget for car repairs, and am fearful of what the dealer will tell me when I show up with it at 7am tomorrow.

[Sharni]

Hmmm this all sounds familiar SS

My mechanic reckons mine a head gasket on its last legs....a mere AU$1000 will fix it :rolleyes:

Mine heats up when sitting and loses fluid....but intermittently.....its a damn pain in the ass!!

[jennaflower]

I hope that this isn't an indication that Pixie driven cars are cursed...

Cuz mine is in the shop as well... dropped it off today... after it getting to the point where I literately fear for my life when I get in...

Anyone playin the Lotto?

[smoothballs]

maddy.
erm start saving that sounds very very sick
sorry to be bearer of bad news.

[Daft]

Sory to hear your having such trouble folks. I gotta sell my car, anyone want a 1995 3000GT SL? Its in great shape mechanically and was just waxed and given a little tune up by myself lol.

[maddy]

thanks for the great news smooth!

[PantyFanatic]

So what did the dealer have to say maddy? :confused:

[Sharni]

Well mine went into the shop today....not for the head gasket yet though....

The steering rack and castors had to be replaced :eek: Its on warrenty though...but still gonna cost us around $500

Makes me nervous everytime it goes in *LOL*...they always seem to find something else that needs fixing :rolleyes:

[maddy]

the dealer said it was bad, very bad! And gosh, they were right! Still not sure how I screwed it up so badly, hopefully I will find that out when I pick it up.

Sharni, I wish I had a warranty still!

[Sharni]

We bought ours second hand and paid extra to get the warrenty...the car is a 92 model (i think *LOL*) a VP commodore

I can tell ya the extra money was well spent *L*

[scotzoidman]

Gotta be careful about those extended warranties, I paid extra for the drive train warranty on my minivan, when the head gasket blew they told that didn't count as part of the drive train...kinda wish now I had put up a big fuss in their showroom...might not have saved me having to pay for the repair, but I sure could have hurt the sales figures of those bastards that screwed me...

[Sharni]

It's already paid for itself Scotz...so for us it was definately worth it

[Sugarsprinkles]

He's operating on the assumption that it's the freeze plug(s). But unfortunately we don't have a hoist, so it's going to be slow going getting it fixed. He only has a few hours every morning to work on it before he has to go to work. It's not expensive, just tedious.....a time consuming pain in the ass. Thank goodness he can get a ride to work and back.

Maddy,
Yours sounds really bad....and I really feel for you.

Sharni and Jenna
I hope they get yours fixed up and at not too much expense.

Thanks so much everyone for the advice. I posted the same question on a couple of Ford and Aerostar message boards yesterday, and didn't get any responses till late at night. You folks are the best....I really appreciate you all!!

[ozfuzz]

Sugarsprinkles there is a quick way to do welsh plugs using two hammers.
You put the handle of one in the plug and knock it into the block then just tap the new one into place.

The only problem is the old plugs corrode in the block but i have found that if you drain and flush the coolant every so often it is not a problem.

[Sugarsprinkles]

Ozzfuzz, the problem is not doing the plugs themselves, but removing everything, including dropping the trans to get to the damned plugs. But thanks for the suggestion. I passed it along to him and he does appreciate the suggestion.

[smoothballs]

er don't push them into the block they will cause problems with blocking holes etc if not now when they brake down (rust).
use a old flat blade screwdriver and hit the plug off centre this will either make the plug rotate so you can use grips or lever to get it out or go straight though so you can lever it out. rub the inside with sand paper to ensure a good seal.
then use a socket of slightly smaller diameter than new plug to tap it home making sure it goes in square. job done. :rolleyes:
if you want to pay for the travel i'll come and do it for you free of charge
.lol.

[Mercury_Maniac]

before ripping stuff apart, i would check the heater core and the heater core hoses, being such a compact frontend on those vans it could be leaking from there and running down by the bellhousing making it seem like its leaking from behind the motor,


you may wanna post here at this site and see what is suggested :D

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1084

[maddy]

Screw cars.. I want a bicycle! After the costly repair bill, my car wouldn't start tonight... dead battery.

[Sharni]

See i knew it....all 5 tyres had to be replaced *LOL*

They wouldn't release it to me until they were done....one especially had been rubbing for quite a while and was extensively damaged....so better they find it than me finding it the hard way!

[Daft]

Who needs a mechanic when you've got www.automotiveforums.com with 10,000 mechanics and wekend wariors who would love to fix your problem just to boost their egos.

[maddy]

all 5? I know it's late... I sure hope one is a spare or there is something that I am about to learn about Aussie cars.

[Sharni]

Yep 4 on the car and the spare *LOL* (spare had a screw in it)

[Sharni]

Who needs a mechanic when you've got www.automotiveforums.com with 10,000 mechanics and wekend wariors who would love to fix your problem just to boost their egos.
Alright to gain some knowledge on what the problem may be...

but I think i'll stick with the real thing for the actual fixing thanx

[Sugarsprinkles]

I want to thank everyone for their advice. He finally got the trans dropped today and got to the freeze plugs. And it WAS a bad freeze plug. He found one with a hole not much bigger than a pin hole in it. So now it's on to picking up the $0.69 parts and replacing the ones he can access and put it all back together. Hopefully I'll be mobile again by next weekend.

[PantyFanatic]

...So now it's on to picking up the $0.69 parts and replacing the ones he can access and put it all back together. ...
I guess it’s the trade-off of $$ or time on your back. :( I’m sure the pinhole acted like a garden hose when the water pump started adding pressure to the situation. I hope he is able to get at all of them. If that one rusted out (which they do) the others have to be checked very closely and the sad part is you can add to the problem just by cleaning them off enough to check them out. It’s a shame they can’t make them from a 316 Stainless Steel. I’d be willing to pay the $1.50 instead of the $.69. LOL

I’m just happy you were able to solve the problem for minimum $ even if it was maximum hours. The only good thing is they go back together much faster and easier than they come apart. ;)

[Mercury_Maniac]

cool, glad to here that it was cheap and somewhat easy fix :D

[LixyChick]

SS...so sorry I am late in replying to your plight! I just now read this and asked Mr. Lixy (he used to be a diesal mechanic) and he immediately said freeze plugs, head, block or gasket, before I could read the entire thread. We had a Dodge pick-up truck a while back, that spit out or rotted freeze plugs like they were a dime a dozen. Oh...wait...they are...lmfao!

So glad to read that this is your problem. Despite the labor, it's minimal in cost and great news for you guys!

((((((SS))))))