fresh motor...coolant leak

[thedriver33]

ok, trying to figure out what route to go on this

85 f150
302 ho engine.

just put a fresh engine in the truck....everything went good.

noticed last night a small dollar coin size puddle of coolant near where bell and motor bolt up. traced it back up to the driver side of block where head and block meet....looks like the back 2 bolts didnt seal (the ones that go into the waterjackets).

3 OPTIONS

should i try and pull the studs out one at a time, re seal, reinstall and torque them.

should i pull the whole head, re seal studs, new head gasket and re-torque.

- leave it alone...and just keep an eye on the coolant level.

[thedriver33]

hate to let it leak since it was a leaky sob when i got the truck.

[Z06killinsbf]

Sounds like a mis aligned intake gasket to me. Pull the intake and re do it, let it set over night before adding fluids.

[thedriver33]

manifold was installed with alignment studs then torqued... back of head is dry and clean.

coolant is coming down the side of the block from the headstuds.. wish it was intake manifold, that would be easy.

but i will recheck it tonight when i get home.

[turbostang]

It's worth a try. I'd drain the water from the block first, flush it with plain water a few times, start it up and try to evaporate anything that's near that problem area. Let it sit overnight with the cap off and then pull those affected bolts and reseal.

At the very worst, it won't work and you'll have to pull the heads anyways.

[thedriver33]

haha, sounds good.....think i try that in a week or so.

buddy just told me to put a rtv cup cake on those 2 and keep going, lol.

thus why i dont askin him to come help me work on anything.