1989 Ford F150 leaking coolant, other issues

[minor stirrup]

could try buying an exhaust gas detector kit for coolant and use that if you suspect its a head gasket

[terse zealot]

Im about to just do the rubber glove truck and go from there.

It's just so weird that it'll disappear overnight and there won't be a puddle on the ground or anything.

[minor stirrup]

Have you checked your heater core? Only other place i can imagine coolant disappearing/building up

[terse zealot]

I sure did, it's clean and no problems

[minor stirrup]

Do you have a radiator pressure testing kit at hand?

[terse zealot]

I should be able to access one this weekend

Im taking my car to Firestone Saturday morning to get them to diagnose my problems. I'm gonna double check whatever they find and fix it myself because I'm a cheap son of a bitch. If the sending unit is bad, I'll find a mechanic to replace it and anything else that requires dropping tanks

[minor stirrup]

lol idk about ford but i fixed a '90 suburban sending unit. Ground strap was rusted off so i just pulled it out and cut it down to good wire, then crimped it

thankfully the old connection was rusted so bad it just fell off, so i could easily get to the wire without dropping the tank

[terse zealot]

Once I get access to the self serve auto shop on base I'll be able to get my truck on a lift and actually be able to see shit

[minor stirrup]

yeah, generally i just snake under em without a lift. thats how i did the suburban, too big for the lift i use lol

[terse zealot]

Gotcha

Ill see if I can check it out from the ground

[terse zealot]

@minor stirrup it's got a be the water pump actually

I finally found it leaking, while the engine was still running.

I think it's mixing with grease, I believe all the moisture you see is grease and/or coolant since it's orange and smells sweet when I hold it to my nose

The shit on the bottom of the oil pan by the drain plug especially is a bit suspect, it could actually be oil but it's hard to say, it's all so fucking grimy down there

[minor stirrup]

Oh fun

[minor stirrup]

Definitely coolant. Nothing else smells sweet

[terse zealot]

Yup

[minor stirrup]

Think you have a winner

Is the water pump difficult to access on ur truck?

[terse zealot]

Not really

I'll have the mechanic go over the truck tomorrow as planned, particularly for the engine codes, and then fix whatever I can by myself. If there's stuff I don't want to mess with I'll buy the parts and just pay them for labor when I can.

Broken fuel gauges are pissing me off

[minor stirrup]

Aight

[minor stirrup]

Understandably so

[terse zealot]

Firestone said the leak is from the water pump and lower radiator hose. Engine code is for AC clutch or neutral safety switch

[minor stirrup]

wdym or? and?

[terse zealot]

Either lol

[minor stirrup]

lol wtf

[terse zealot]

It's the same code for my truck, 67

Since my AC isn't working.....I can take an educated guess what it is

[minor stirrup]

thats kinda silly, well if the AC works and you dont have issues with the transmission i would simply not care. my A8 throws intermittent AC clutch codes too

oh yeah lol

[terse zealot]

I figured my ac needed charged but uhh, this tracks lol

[shell elk]

GG @terse zealot, you just advanced to level 11! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!

[minor stirrup]

if the AC is easily accessible you should be able to rebuild the clutch without removing it

[terse zealot]

Bet

Lemme check rq and then head to Autozone

[minor stirrup]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgNBsfvCwKQ

you need to get a puller on it tho it seems

[terse zealot]

Luckily I have access to one

[minor stirrup]

if its R12 then i would do everything in my power to not open the system

[terse zealot]

What's R12

[minor stirrup]

the gas in the system, was used until 1994 or so iirc

its HIGHLY ILLEGAL today so can be a bitch to get your hands on

but it works sooo much better than the modern alternative, R134a

[minor stirrup]

idk if this applies for older A/Cs tho but usually the principle is similar or the same

[terse zealot]

I will figure something out

[minor stirrup]

lower rad hose is piss easy to replace, id imagine you can find a new one seeing that older f150s are still plentiful. if the water pump is pulley driven then that should be easy to do as well, just make sure you clean off the mating surface well

[terse zealot]

AutoZone sells all the shit I need. Pump is indeed pulley

I should just buy a whole new AC thingy for 200

[minor stirrup]

that involves opening the system

theres prolly some boomer bubba out there who still owns R12 and a machine for it but theyre not cheap

[terse zealot]

I could pull that thing off

[minor stirrup]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlKMSezTJvg

idk if this is of any help but

[minor stirrup]

idk why he removed the belt before undoing that bolt tho wouldve helped lol

[terse zealot]

They sell drop in R12 system replacements, I'll talk to a few people and see

[minor stirrup]

yeah you can replace R12 with R134a fairly easily but R134a isnt as good as R12 was

[terse zealot]

I'ma go hit up the parts store and then the shop, I'll keep updating as I inevitably break more shit

[minor stirrup]

aight lol

but yeah obv if the system has been converted or has already been discharged then knock yourself out

[terse zealot]

I'll make it illegally in a trap house or smth

[minor stirrup]

if you end up replacing the compressor itself, i would have the system vacuumed first and replace the A/C drier while youre at it, its crucial that you do not get contaminants inside the system

have the PAG oil serviced too and itll ensure that it lives for long. but truthfully those chinese knockoffs are worse than the original A/Cs so if i were you id do clutch only if possible

[terse zealot]

Aight. And I have an OG and aftermarket oil pressure gauges, one is maxed other at 0. Should I replace the sending unit @minor stirrup?

[terse zealot]

What about being able to get a hold of R12?

[minor stirrup]

sounds like a sending issue problem yeah

that was a brainfart, sending unit problem

[minor stirrup]

idk how or where you can find R12. maybe some of the US members can help you with that

[terse zealot]

They don't have just the clutch so I bought an R135 unit, I'll see what can be done. Maybe cannibalize parts.

[minor stirrup]

yeah you could probably tear the clutch off and install it

[terse zealot]

Well I got the lower radiator hose replaced

I did not let the engine cool down (it was overheating too 😭) and won't be making that mistake again. Priority for tomorrow is just to get it drive able, I have 4ish hours to get that water pump replaced.

I got the top two bolts off, couldn't for the life of me get the fan off but I'll pull the whole thing out and go from there.

[minor stirrup]

i really hope it didnt overheat much. otherwise the engine is toast

[terse zealot]

Yeah it's overheated several times

it's fine once it cools down. I might have just gotten unbelievably lucky.

Either I'm completely tripping and it's not actually overheating or my engine is quite literally invincible.

[minor stirrup]

does it have a steel head? if so you should be fairly alright

or, heads

[terse zealot]

Probably tbh

I don't think it was overheating I must be having some other issue

It's happened twice now, my engine once ate shit in the middle of a highway. I waited a few minutes, started it up. Died again. Waited longer, started up and made it home fine. Had a hard time starting in the parking lot today, turned over a few times and eventually started. Then I moved it, turned it off, immediately tried to start again and it wouldn't.

[minor stirrup]

hopefully nothing bad. i mean ive heard of situations like that where the head is warped enough to cause low compression

[terse zealot]

Always starts right back up tho

The AC is low priority rn, I'll fiddle with it over this week. When I get paid I need to buy fuel tank sending units, and probably the oil pressure sending unit too