1971 Centurion

I'm new to the forum and looking for advice from those who know. My 455 V8 which I've owned for 1 year is leaking radiator fluid and it's pooling in a collection area just below the distributor cap and also spilling onto the garage floor. The car has been running rough lately and I suspect the fluid in and around the distributor and plug below is the cause. Is this a common leak problem with this motor? What is involved in curing the problem?

 

Have you opened the distributor cap and looked for moisture or corrossion inside the cap. If it's clean check your oil to see if its milky or wet at the end of the dip stick, and or if moisture is coming from your exhaust pipe after the car is warmed up, you may have a blown head gasket If there's no coolant in the oil or moisture in the exhaust it may just be leaking where your Radiator hose connects to your intake manifold or between the heads and the intake manifold. Clean the area and start your car let it Idle and come up to temp inspecting the suspect areas. Hope it's something simple, good luck:Comp:

 

Thanks. I didn't find the oil to be milky but I did find the radiator fluid to be oily? I'll run the car and see where the leak originates. I may have a head gasket problem.

 

Check the gooseneck (radiator hose hookup on the intake) and the bypass hose under it. These are common areas of leakage. It's possible that you may have a head gasket blowing out on you, but not probable. The coolant would likely go into the piston and create a billow of white smoke behind you. I speak from experience on that one:gt:

Let's see some pics of the 71!!!!!

I'm a fan...if you couldn't tell:grin: :TU:

 

Thanks. I noticed nothing unusual with the exhaust and the oil dipstick looked clear. No white smoke of any kind. Perhaps it's just a water leak problem but I see no signs of leakage around the gooseneck. The fluid is collecting and pooling directly below the distributor. I'll run the car and watch where the water comes from.



It's a red convertible with black interior and a white top and a black boot. Not sure how to load a digital photo just yet. Any advice on how to do this?

 

Uhh err I agree with Adam somewhat, but check the thermostat housing, all hose connections there as well. My 67 Riv (used to own) leaked where the housing met the motor. I think was due to high heat a few times after blowing a hose. Anyway the fact is it could be slightly warped, just a little bit will cause coolant to seep out and pool here. I know mine did it so there ya go. A good way to check this is take the housing off completely and lay it on a flat surface. (Glass, top of a metal table saw, if your lucky granite block, look for areas where the housing isn't flat against the surface)

The fix after looking around for a housing at the parts stores ended being mounting the housing in the vice and being extremely careful with a file and filing it flat.

Hope this works for ya.

Birge :Brow:

 

I do think the leak originates from where the housing meets the block. This weekend, I'll pull the housing off and check for a warp. Thanks for the advice.

 

No Problem

Not a probelm, just make sure you use a fine file if you go that route, it may be possible to find a housing some place I'll admit I only looked at like autozone so who would know.

Good Luck Hope that does it
Birge :grin:

 

A new gasket and some permatex (used sparingly) will do just fine.

Both my LeSabre and Centurion would leak from that point and pool on the timing cover like you described. Both problems were results of leaking hoses on the thermostat housing.

 

Hmm

Yeah could just be the gasket , or out of the hose but honest mine was warped a bit. :Brow:

Birge