leaky water pump bolt

[floyd67]

Help! my 390 has a leaking bolt hole on the lower right side water pump bolt. The bolt hole goes right though into the water jacket fixed it 3 times with thread sealant and it still leaks i have tried everything any suggestion would be great

Thanks Tim

[fordman]

usually silicone is used on those bolts. but i have had mine off three tiems and didnt use anyhting at all on the bolts when i put it back in. funny huh. anyway. when using silicoen or other thread sealer products. it has to be completely dry and free of residues. or the sealants wont stick and do thier job. they make make a non water based sealant that could be used instead. maybe pipe dope of some sort.

[floyd67]

thanks

[george worley]

I make sure the threads on the bolt are clean and dry and use plummers pipe thread sealant on the threads and never had a water leak.

[NM5K]

I haven't looked at a 390 water pump in a while, but seems if a
bolt were leaking, that would indicate that the gasket was leaking
next to the bolt.
I always have used brown Permatex for water pump gaskets. Ditto
for fuel pumps, and a few other things. I don't I've ever had a leak
using that stuff. I totally coat the whole gaskets with it including the
bolt flanges, front and back.

[Dragon]

I use the Right Stuff anymore and I never have a leak and removal is not hard either.

[r71f250]

Replace the water pump gaskets and coat the bolts with plumbers dope. Let it sit over night. works every time.

Blessings,
Alan

[Dragon]

Right Stuff fire up and drive away

[floyd67]

i know it's not the gasket,you can see it's coming from the bolt. i have tried loctite thread sealent next i will try some plumbers dope and see if that works

[Alvin in AZ]

What I did to -the same non-blind lower-right water-pump bolt-hole- on my 360FE was...
...installed a stud and put a jam nut in behind it, -inside- the water jacket. :)

Told you I was a tinkering fool. LOL :)

Both the stud an' nut were slathered with ultra-black silly-cone. There's prob'ly better
stuff to use than that, but that's what I had on hand and it's been working for years.

Alvin in AZ

[floyd67]

great idea i never thought of that!

[Alvin in AZ]

Cool, thanks. :)

Used a typical Ford "lock nut" for some reason/s I don't remember. LOL :)
Also heated and bent two 9/16" open-end wrenches about 45 degrees,
as close to the head as I could bend 'em. Been saving them for the next
FE/FT I work on. :)

Hmmm...
Using a disc out of a computer hard drive as mirror, went out to look
an' see if the stud was a 3/8" Allen-head set-screw, it's not one, but it
is -weeping- tho. LOL :)

Next time, my plan was to use thick-old-brown Permatex.
Anybody here ever use epoxy/JB-Weld for antifreeze? :)

I do need to buy some Right-Stuff anyway, but would it beat Permatex
or epoxy/JB-Weld in this situation?

Alvin in AZ

[fordman]

you dont want to use jb weld on that area. permatex will work. it has to be clean dry to use it though.

[Dragon]

I have thrown everything else out except right stuff and real high temp Silicone. A friend use Brown permatex on his 300 I6 valve cover. Took me two hours to get it cleaned off. I sprayed it with carb cleaner to remove the oily residue on the valve cover flange on the head. I put a new gasket and the Right stuff on and in a couple of places it did not stick because of oily residue. I rubbed the right stuff hard onto the spots and it stuck right away right through the oily stuff. His cover does not leak anymore.

The other day I rearranging and wiping down my engine wiring from the firewall. Well my tach wire follows the harness until the back of the engine and then goes through the speedometer hole. When I could not pull up the wire to strap to the rest I saw it was oder the valve cover along the rear edge rail. The cover does not leak, The Right Stuff.

I use it everywhere oil, gas (yep when I open the top of my tank or move the hoses. I put it on the flange) vacuum fittings and water fittings and no leaks.

[floyd67]

took it apart again, waiting for it to dry again, what is this "right stuff" you speak of?