F-22 Raptor SHO
New Member
Keywords: Coolant leak, water pump, gasket, freeze plug, motor mount, lower radiator hose, oil pan.
I am posting this thread as a solution to those who are searching for answers to mysterious coolant leaks on the passenger side.
History: I had a strange leak on the passenger side of the motor. It was apparant that it was not from the water pump which had been recently replaced. The leak left a trail of coolant on the front motor mount and the oil pan. Upon checking the radiator hose, it was apparnt that the leak was from further up. I suspected the water pump downpipe gasket pictured below.
I stripped the front of the motor down to the timing belt at which point I could see that a puddle of green gell had collected below the gasket (circled in red). I removed the entire pump from the block (4 bolts), separated the pieces and removed the paper gasket. It seemed as though it has been leaking so I used permatex black rtv gasket maker, cleaned up the mess and reassembled....whew, one full day of work.
About 3 weeks later I noted the coolant leak reappeared. Crap I thought, shouldnt have used gasket maker and eliminated the paper gasket.
I removed everything again and checked my seal.....bullet proof, not leaking in the least. Upon closer inspection, I saw the freeze plug behind the same point of the water pump was a bit corroded. Hmmm...is it that plug that is leaking? No way did I want to take that project on if I didnt have to...besides, what's to say my new plug will hold up? I am about to go on a 4,000 mile convention trip, better now than on the side of the road. I took a dental pick to the surface to scratch it a bit to confirm that the metal was good.
Like a dentist hitting a bad tooth, I snagged the pick on the middle of the plug and boink...the pick went right into the freeze plug. There was great mourning and gnashing of teeth.....
To remove the plug, you take a small chisel and hit the inside edge causing the plug to rotate 90 degrees....though the block is iron, you do need to take care not to scratch the mating surface. It takes some elbow grease. The plug eventually rotated after repeated hitting, but during this fervent hitting session I failed to immediately stop in time and accidentally hit the plug into the block...holy crap. Hmmm..perhaps that 3.2 swap is closer than I think. Luckily the original plugs are steel instead of the replacements which are brass....a magnet fetch the plug from the cooling passage.
After Removal:
Trotted up to Checker and bought a 35mm plug for 2.60 put a thin film of permatex on the lip and reinstalled it using 2 sockets as anvils....first one that recesses into the plug to tap it in straight, the second one that is oversized and flipped over to hit the outer edge evenly so as not to deform the brass plug.
Old plug and new plug:
Note the smaller hole from my dental pick, now note the corrosion on the block side of the plug.
Here is the plug after installation...yes it was tough, but not impossible.
Reassembly with the help of my 2 assistants:
I replaced the thermostat while I was in there....and added one more polished part to the car for more bling:
A shot of one very clean sho motor complete with powdercoated subframe, battery tray and black painted timing belt covers.
Time: About 2 1/2 hours to strip the car down to the pump on a friday night. Saturday from 10 am to 9 pm putting everything back together and driving it away (included 2 trips to the parts store, some cleaning, some thinking, cursing, then praying).
Figure this post will be easy to find and bring answers to those experiencing the same problem.
I am posting this thread as a solution to those who are searching for answers to mysterious coolant leaks on the passenger side.
History: I had a strange leak on the passenger side of the motor. It was apparant that it was not from the water pump which had been recently replaced. The leak left a trail of coolant on the front motor mount and the oil pan. Upon checking the radiator hose, it was apparnt that the leak was from further up. I suspected the water pump downpipe gasket pictured below.
I stripped the front of the motor down to the timing belt at which point I could see that a puddle of green gell had collected below the gasket (circled in red). I removed the entire pump from the block (4 bolts), separated the pieces and removed the paper gasket. It seemed as though it has been leaking so I used permatex black rtv gasket maker, cleaned up the mess and reassembled....whew, one full day of work.
About 3 weeks later I noted the coolant leak reappeared. Crap I thought, shouldnt have used gasket maker and eliminated the paper gasket.
I removed everything again and checked my seal.....bullet proof, not leaking in the least. Upon closer inspection, I saw the freeze plug behind the same point of the water pump was a bit corroded. Hmmm...is it that plug that is leaking? No way did I want to take that project on if I didnt have to...besides, what's to say my new plug will hold up? I am about to go on a 4,000 mile convention trip, better now than on the side of the road. I took a dental pick to the surface to scratch it a bit to confirm that the metal was good.
Like a dentist hitting a bad tooth, I snagged the pick on the middle of the plug and boink...the pick went right into the freeze plug. There was great mourning and gnashing of teeth.....
To remove the plug, you take a small chisel and hit the inside edge causing the plug to rotate 90 degrees....though the block is iron, you do need to take care not to scratch the mating surface. It takes some elbow grease. The plug eventually rotated after repeated hitting, but during this fervent hitting session I failed to immediately stop in time and accidentally hit the plug into the block...holy crap. Hmmm..perhaps that 3.2 swap is closer than I think. Luckily the original plugs are steel instead of the replacements which are brass....a magnet fetch the plug from the cooling passage.
After Removal:
Trotted up to Checker and bought a 35mm plug for 2.60 put a thin film of permatex on the lip and reinstalled it using 2 sockets as anvils....first one that recesses into the plug to tap it in straight, the second one that is oversized and flipped over to hit the outer edge evenly so as not to deform the brass plug.
Old plug and new plug:
Note the smaller hole from my dental pick, now note the corrosion on the block side of the plug.
Here is the plug after installation...yes it was tough, but not impossible.
Reassembly with the help of my 2 assistants:
I replaced the thermostat while I was in there....and added one more polished part to the car for more bling:
A shot of one very clean sho motor complete with powdercoated subframe, battery tray and black painted timing belt covers.
Time: About 2 1/2 hours to strip the car down to the pump on a friday night. Saturday from 10 am to 9 pm putting everything back together and driving it away (included 2 trips to the parts store, some cleaning, some thinking, cursing, then praying).
Figure this post will be easy to find and bring answers to those experiencing the same problem.
