Hey All,

I hope this is not the end. I've had this ol' gal almost 20 years...

So I've been slowly bringing her back to speed and building trust back after a long battle with a no-spark issue. The time came, had a major blowout in my daily driver and suffered enough body damage to make me decide to take the Monty to ATL from Birmingham for school. She's been doing great for the last few weeks. (Reunited and it feels so good...).

But yesterday I noticed smoke coming out of the hood. Upon further investigation I noticed the smoke (sweet smelling) is coming out from below the manifold somewhere on the driver's side. I can't tell where from. There is definitely a coolant leak of some kind, as its slowly dripping onto the ground (8" diameter damp spot on the driveway after sitting overnight).

Relevent Info:
-Engine oil looks clean
-I THINK the coolant is ok. Hard to tell for sure bc radiator needs to be replaced, its corroded inside.
-Recent coolant flush (Jan 2016?). Old coolant was badly rust-stained.
-Truck has been intermittently hard to start 1st thing in AM on cooler mornings. Starts instantly after that for rest of day.
-Truck runs smooth, aside from valve tick
-As far as I know...the engine has not run hot. HOWEVER, the temp guage is intermittent since my no-spark workaround.
-212000 miles
-Overdue for timing belt and water pump

So I'm stuck in ATL, on a student budget (I've gone back to school, my house, wife and kids are in Birmingham and I've been commuting weekly). I'm hoping maybe someone on the forum can tell from the description, pics, and video what the cause is. I'm assuming its either the head gasket, water pump, or water pump gasket. I'm underqualified to do all of these. I can do simple stuff -- brakes, change an alternator, some electrical stuff, but engine work is over my head.

I need to know whether the dream is over. If its time to let her go. We've had a long and great run, and it will hurt. BUt if its something major like a headgasket I just don't have the money now.

If there is anyone in the ATL area (I'm in Marietta) that might be able to take a quick look I'd be so appreciative (and would have beer waiting for you).


I attached some pics and a couple video links. In the 1st one you will see at around 30sec (once the manifold gets hot) the smoke starts coming out from below the manifold toward the rear of the engine. The 2nd one just shows the smoke with better lighting.

https://youtu.be/fQWCrAc3pag
https://youtu.be/7aPq5zxkXWs

Pics: 1st one is same location seen in video, 2nd shows A/F covering motor mount on drivers side, 3rd shows view from below

I'd start with the flashlight inspection of the gallery between the heads. The weep seal on the waterpump and the o-ring for the transfer pipe are always as likely a suspect as Col. Mustard with the pipe wrench in the study.

Ha! I suspected Col Mustard after reading through all the pots here. If it is the weep seal or o-ring I think I may try to make it the 120 miles to Birmingham where all my stuff is, as I just have rudimentary tools here. Stupid idea? I wish the temp guage was working more reliably right now. Is the engine temp sensor on the thermostat housing?

Thanks for the response!

See here: https://gobdp.com/

Worked for me on water pump gasket leak after extensive timing belt/water pump service. I'll get to it, just not now.

It'll get you through until you're better off in money/time.

Thx for that, PCC. You're the 2nd person to recommend the BD stuff. I think I'll try it. Does it make the proper repair more difficult / messy? What if my heater core is clogged (I suspect it might be, as sometimes the heat never cthe air doesn't get warm inside with the heater on.)

If you search "Mystery Coolant Leak" there'll be a discussion on my experience.

I was originally told by Blue Devil the sealant was a "permanent" fix and that I could either leave it in or take it out. I chose to take it out so did a coolant flush. It held for about a month then started to leak at the same location.

Under warranty I got a new bottle and it sealed again - I have since left it in and no further leaking.

It's against my nature to "fix" something this way, but I had spent a ton of time already with the truck in the garage and needed to move on with other stuff. I will attempt a proper fix in the spring as I suspect an aftermarket gasket failed. I already have a new OEM to replace.

The Blue Devil seeks out air, so when a leak goes outside the engine to air, it forms a seal. It will not clog anything in the engine and does not contain copper particles like other sealants. It only seals leaks less then 1/32".

I'm not sure how their head gasket sealant works. You should do some tracing to determine what type of leak it is. I used a dye to help me trace the source as the leak was way up behind the PS pump.

Yeah I feel the same about "magic" potions and short cuts, but I dont have much else I can do right now. I'll have some time over Christmas so I'll dig into it and do it right then...off the leak seal works. If it doesn't...

I saw your thread when I was reading up on this. It was very helpful. I'm leaning towards water pump gasket or o-ring based on symptoms and what I am able to see.

Thx you guys. I'll let you know how this turns out.

Still looking for a kind Atlantian to swoop in to the rescue :-)

Holy shite. I'm running the BD right now and I think it's working. When I first started pouring it in the smoke was billowing out from under the manifold as it had been. After a couple minutes it stopped. No dripping under the truck. Temp is stable. The engine even seems to be running smoother (perhaps that part is my imagination).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Does anyone know off top of your head which sensor on the thermostat housing goes to the dash? There is a 2 prong one and a one prong one. It occurred to me that maybe it got cruded up when the radiator started getting rusty inside.

One prong is dash gauge, two prong is ECT (engine coolant temp sensor)

Thx for that! And great call on the BD!

So it looks like when she saw me drive my daily to and from work each day she got all jelly inside. (See pic)

https://goo.gl/photos/JcZpuAWQAYgMaVKe7

So maybe she did overheat at some point. Cant imagine the cooling system worked too great with that stuff in there. Going to drainnit and put fresh stuff in there. Now a radiator too. List keeps growing. No time to dig any further for now...