Was at a cruise night on Friday. Car was running great. On my way home, I think I catch a whiff of burning coolant. Look at my floorboards, dry, temperature gauge right at 180 as usual. Get home, look underneath, coolant dripping very steadily on the passenger side. It's dark, I look to see where it's leaking. Definitely not the water pump, pulley isn't wobbling, no noise, weep hole dry. I put it in the garage and shut it down. Next morning, I look a little more carefully. I see it looks like it's coming out of the top of the timing cover. Unbolt the coil and move it out of the way. looks like the gasket split and pushed out, and it's seeping out of there. I am tempted to drain the system, clean the area really well, and try and push some right stuff in there, but i know the cover needs to come off. Ordered gaskets. Thoughts?
I wouldn't even bother trying to seal it from the outside,..it will just travel to ends of the new seal and piss there,...may even have developed some corrosion in the sealing surface,..its a TA cover so maybe not,...but its been on there a while too,...
I wonder what pushed the gasket out like that. Whatever it was, you'll worry about it if you don't pull the cover and put a new gasket in. I think if it were mine, I'd replace the radiator cap to make sure the cooling system pressure is correct, or at least I'd rent one of those pressure testers to check the cap.
Yes, definitely replacing the radiator cap. It's a CARS reproduction, and it has been on there for awhile. I already started taking things apart. Weather looks crappy for the next 3 days. What do you guys use for thread sealer for the long bolts? How about resealing the front section of the pan? Weatherstrip cement, or right stuff, I have both?
Only 3 of the 5 long bolts go into water,..but Ive just always used black permatex on all of them out of habit myself...the pan seal ..if the gasket stays in place just wipe it clean with alchohol or brake clean on a rag and smear some rtv on,.. I'm sure the "RTV USE" Police will be along shortly,..but ive ALWAYS,..for years and years,..put a thin smear of black permatex on both sides of the gasket
just make sure you dry fit the cover and it "snaps" in place and doesn't rock,..ive seen a few that don't sit 100% flush and had to work with them a little,..being a TA cover im sure its fine tho Don't forget sealer on the pan bolts and the two short bolts behind balancer little under the head there as they will piss oil occasionally
Geez Larry, your inspiring me to pull my cover to fix a balancer leak. Maybe this winter. I use only a few dabs of rtv where the cover gasket meets the pan. I install the cover gasket clean and dry.
Also here is a good thread to help you reset the distributor. http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/power-timing-your-buick-v8.63475/
We’ve all been there; something like this happens and we think “what’s the easiest way to solve this?” But the perfectionist in us screams loudly: “do it right, do it once!” and we get out our tools. You’ll sleep better knowing that the work was done by an exacting mechanic with OCD tendencies.
That part is easy. I locked out the distributor years ago. I run constant timing with a start retard.
Larry is making the whole thing up, just to give us the feeling that there are Buick related issues, even he still has questions
I wish I was Even I have issues. Motor has been together for 8 years now. The only thing I have done to it is take the intake off to change the lifters, that's it. I suppose something happening was inevitable. It is a car after all, things break.
Have you ever re-torqued the intake Larry? Amazing how much they take after many heat cycles..... I had a whistling vacuum leak...torqued it while motor was running so I could hear the whistle stop.
