Ok everyone im new to the forum and need some suggestions. My 3.0 auto 4x4 looks like its leaking water possible around timing chain cover. I have talked to a mechnic and the guy at the ford place and both say around 800 dollars to fix. They say motor has just about be pulled out due to torsion bars. I just cant see putting 800 dollars in it for no more than its leaking. Its not puddling underneath truck and you can only see it leaking down the side of block near timing chain cover when cold. Is there something on market i can put in raditor to solve issue or will that mess up my cooleant system. Anyone got any suggestions. Im retired and on fix budget and cant really afford 800 buck repair.

 

Hi,

Sounds a bit steep for a coolant leak.

All "V" motors have coolant passing thru the intake manifold, passing from head to head, common leak point is front of engine between intake and head, which leaks down near timing cover.
Intake needs to be pulled and gasket replaced to fix this leak, but no "torsion bars" involved, and not $800.

3.0l has a "T" coolant pipe on the front of the engine, this is a common rust out point, and a pain to remove and reinstall a new one, you have to pull off a few brackets so you can unscrew the "T".
This would also leak near the timing chain cover, but again no "torsion bar" and certainly not $800 fix.

Water pump is also common failure on all engines, also near timing chain cover, not $800

Has anyone actually pressure tested the engine to find the exact leak location?

No nothing on the market that will "solve" the issue, you can use a leak stop product that can do what it says, stop the leak, but these can fail at any time.
So you will need to watch the temp gauge more than usual, many don't like to take the chance, because an over heated engine will crack the heads and it will run more than $800 to fix that.

The newer stop leak products generally don't block up the heater cores and radiators like the old stuff did.
But I would flush out the system first, then refill with new coolant, make sure all the air is out of the system, then add the stop leak and follow the instructions.

 

When I purchased a 2000 Ranger 3.0 off of a Ford used vehicle lot, it had a service record indicating a replaced water pump and radiator (the odometer had 213K when I purchased it). That dealers service department did the work, and the bill (to themselves) was under 800 bucks. Dealerships usually have higher price markups for their parts; the labor rate is usually set for all service establishments for a given location.
At the very least, get a couple of different estimates. I don't see what torsion bars have to do with lifting an intake, or changing a water pump. I'm not aware that the 3.0 requires engine removal to perform the mentioned common water leak problems it has.

 

The timing cover is known to leak on the 3.0's with the symptoms you are describing mine did at 150k i did it myself in the garage motor fully in the vehicle. You do have to remove all the accessories from the front of the engine because pretty much every mounting bracket has a bolt through the timing cover. Its not a hard job just time consuming which is where the price comes in parts cost me about $100 with new water pump and timing cover gasket set and i threw a new t-chain on for good measure since i was already there. The labor is what gets at a shop we would probably bill that job at 6 hours at $70 an hour so if you figure that plus dealer markup $800 sounds about right but if you feel pretty handy there are quite a few youtube videos that detail the fix because its pretty common. You could probably run bars or similar stop leak but I'm not a huge fan of those because its basically a glue so not only will it plug the hole but it can gum up other stuff as well (thermostat to name one common one) usually its cheaper to fix the problem correctly in the long run because it will eventually leak again and you never know what collateral damage the stop leak will do. If its a high mileage or a weekend around the house errands vehicle then sure go for the stop leak but i would never run it in a daily driver.

 

Vehicle has not been pressure tested yet but thats next on list. Its in shop now checking why 4x4 wont engage. But will have it tested while in shop depending on what it cost on 4x4. Thanks for info.

 

Vacuum leak in the PVH hubs
They only used that design in '98, '99, '00 models

Here is an article on how to permanently lock the hubs: Permanently Lock Your 1998-2000 Ford Ranger PVH Pulse Vacuum Hubs

 

Well ranger has been in shop going on 3 and a half weeks trying to trace down why 4x4 wont engage. Last week it was module behind radio which i bought of ebay for 90 bucks but they called and said that didnt fix problem. Now they say it may be a relay switch that runs from module to a switch on transferr case. Wish I had never bought this truck.

 

Well I would take it to another shop.

If you are paying someone to diagnose a problem and they come back with "I think the problem is........."
Then it should be a no charge check up, they are "going to school" on your vehicle.

Normally a student pays when they learn something new, they do NOT charge for learning something.

Plumbers, electricians and mechanics learn there professions then charge customers for that knowledge.
You always "learn on the job" but you do not get paid as much during that period of work, a trainee.

If you and a friend are just swapping out parts to find the problem that's fine.
Mechanics shouldn't be doing that in the first place, or they at least shouldn't be charging you for doing that.

I don't see the vehicle being the issue in this case, yes it may be broken, but all vehicle break, issue here is the diagnostic being done on it.

 

Agreed throwing parts at a problem was always a big no-no at the shop i worked for. They sell diagnostic tools for a reason. If the tech you are using is to cheap/dumb to buy/use them id be looking for a new shop/technician. Any backyard fool with a wrench can throw parts at it.

 

A very common type of troubleshooting or fix is done on these types of forum sites too. Whenever someone posts a problem, there will always be the "mine did that too; I replaced the <enter part here>, and it fixed it". Following all the suggestions can be successful, but at a huge cost. Tossing parts at a problem will eventually get it repaired.

This sounds to me what your mechanic is doing. Show him this link so he can learn about it:

4WD System FAQ's - The Ranger Station Forums

 

True but RonD said that earlier none of us here claim to be professional mechanics its the equivalent to his comment of you and your buddy swapping parts hoping it fixes it. Thats fine in that case. What were saying is if i was doing that and then turned to you and said you owe me 4hours labor i think you would have a problem with that because you came to me under the impression that i knew what i was doing and could diagnose it not guess and then charge you for it.

 

Your correct! What my point was, is that your mechanic is acting like most of what can be seen on forum sites; good advice on swapping out a part, but no garrantee if it corrects your symptoms. In the case of taking a vehicle to a shop as RonD states, you are now paying for that mechanics education and experience. They should not be doing the same as what might be done here.

RonD is one of the best forum people I've come across in years. He knows his stuff.

I'd like to get RonD to move to the States so we can elect him into politics. We can trade Justin Bieber to Canada for RonD if that sweetens the deal!

 

My ears were burning, thank you for the positive comments.

I am from the US, born in Calif.

No thanks on the Bieber trade, unless you will take Rob Ford(crack smoking Toronto Mayor)

 

We have enough of the drug taking, crackheaded polititions as it is. I guess we will just have to settle for how things currently are.

 

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but I was wondering if this is what a timing gasket leak looks like? If not, then what the hell is leaking on my truck?


Angle of pic is taken from the bottom, passenger side.

 

Well ranger in shop for 5 weeks and still not fixed. Thought I would put it in shop and see if I could get 4x4 to engage but after 5 weeks gem module and 4x4 relay module still no 4x4. Took to another shop and after 3 days still no answer. My last resort will be the local ford place. Dont know if Im just getting run around or these guys just dont what they are doing. Has anyone else having touble with 2000 ranger 4x4 not engaging?

 

looks just like my leak and everyone ask if i have had radiator pressure tested ,but i cant get it out of shop checking 4x4 long enough to get it tested.

 

I'm 90% that your hubs are toast or you have a vacuum leak on the lines that engage them. There's a link above in a post that shows how to permanently lock your stock hubs OR you can swap them for manual locking AVM/Rugged Ridge hubs.

I'd personally just lock em permanently and see what happens since it won't cost you anything due to the simplicity of the mod.

my old 99 had the 4x4 clunking because of a vacuum leak and then eventually had no 4x4. Swapped to manual hubs and never had an issue again

 

Hubs are getting vacum and in good shape .I replaced cv axle and coplete 4x4 parts on passenger side whe i bought truck. Thanks for info anyway.

 

There are excellent write ups on how the 4x4 Rangers work both on this forun, and another. I printed out the entire thread of this one, as it does a great job of explaining each component that makes it all work:

Transfer case troubleshooting:

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...shooting.shtml

Locking hubs:

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...iagnosis.shtml


What part of your 4x4 system is inoperable? 4x4 low? 4x4 high? Front wheels don't turn?

If you put it in 4x4 low or high, is the front drive shaft spin? If so, it narrows down the problem to the front hubs not locking, and that has been answered for you. If the transfer case is not shifting itself into 4 wheel low (or 4 wheel high), then the most suspect culprit points to the electronic motor used for these transfer cases. Again, the thread mentioned above does a great write up on how to take this step by step to identify the problem.

 

thanks for advice just got it out of shop installing gem module and 4x4 gear motor on transfer case.

 

Just got it out of shop they replaced 4x4 gear motor on transfer case. But now they say hubs are locked in even in 2 wheel drive. Said I had a vacum leak causing hubs not to release. Thinking about going to manual hubs.

 

You can leave them locked while in two wheel drive....no harm, no foul. Many do exactly this (as RonD suggested to you in an earlier post #6). Some may argue that with the front hubs always locked, even when the transfer case is in 2 wheel drive, you loose a bit of MPG, or that the CV joints wear faster on the front axles.

Or you can buy manual hubs for just over a hundred bucks, and drill out the center hub cap so those clear.

 

Thanks sounds like a good idea. Think i will see about manual hubs later.

 

Finally found out where my water leak is coming from my 3.0. Took alternator and bracket off and cleaned behind it. After cleaning i could see where it was leaking. Its between timing cover and block. Now does any one have any suggestions on what it would involve to fix is it major or minor?