Leak visible near oil filter–What's causing it?

2000LS-3.9L

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Hi everyone,
I have a 2000 LS V8 with 110,000 miles. The car has been in the family since it was new and now, since I'm a senior in high school my Dad has passed the car down to me. For a while now the car has been known to leak coolant periodically, even though it has been well maintained over the years. Every once in a while we would just refill it.

Just recently we were doing an oil change on the car and noticed that the oil pan was covered in black grime/flakey crud. Looking through the space behind the oil filter we also saw more grime on the bottom half of the engine on the driver's side. We cannot identify the problem, but we think it might be a leaky water pump, an old oil pan gasket, or leaky lower gaskets. Could it also be that the coolant is somehow leaking down there? We replaced the valve cover gaskets 3 years ago and have never looked underneath the car since new so maybe this grime is from 3+ years ago when the gaskets were leaking?
Has anyone ever experienced these problems on their early model LS and tell me the costs to repair.

Also, is the coolant leak fix a DIY repair job and what is the price if I hand the problem over to a mechanic. I heard these cars have leaky degas bottles, but could there be something else causing the problem??

In advance, thank you for the help!
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Coolant leaks are well known and well understood on the LS. It is not too difficult to fix, and it is not going to be the water pump. Please search theses forums just a little. All of the plastic cooling system parts need to be replaced.
If you also have an oil leak, you'll have to clean it all off to find where it is. Suspects would be, valve cover gaskets (yes, it can leak down the front of the engine), front timing/engine cover (big pain), oil filter adapter seals (not too bad), between the block and the sump body (forget about it), ...
 
Since we have VERY similar circumstances (2001, bought from older lady with all receipts). I will chime in.

Your dad handed the car down to you when it is right at the point of needing serious love. Not saying that is bad, but browse through the threads. There is several to help you with things that you need likely:

- Complete plastic refresh on cooling (I am sure a must from what you say)

- The A/C compressor is likely leaking, mine had grime like that and when I replaced it had them wipe it ALL off to start fresh. My shop took a U/V light to the grime and I saw fluorescent was all over. But that could be A/C coolant on oil, but so far no fresh oil.

- The oil leak traceable from valve covers off the back of the engine was solved by a complete replace of them. Of course a bad Mech had hacked mine up and over half the bolts gone or spun. I do hear these warp and can leak, so the gasket alone is not enough possible. Thus I didnt mind (sort of) replacing with new.

That being directly related to what you need. Here is what else I have done and can be found in more detail in my threads.

- Tranny Valve Body rebuilt due to hard shifts. Springs intact, until they 'crumbled in his fingers' as he pulled them out.

- Total replacement (happening Dec 28th) of the Timing chains, Oil pump system to the upgraded Post May 2001 system. This because when I went and did the plastic tensionors, my mech pointed out the rest of the system was worn badly (100k miles too)

- Clockspring is now on the plans as well as sway bar.


Dont be overwhelmed by this, just saying be prepared, and dont hit or miss it. Do like advised here, ALL the plastics, ALL the cops, etc. It will be less headaches and your family can still love the car.
 
Thanks for the help joegr and grizzlyls, I appreciate it. I know the whole cooling system including the AC system needs to be replaced at some point, but right now the coolant leak can be fixed with just a new plastic degas bottle (the one near the firewall) and new lower coolant hose (as seen in this thread: http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?75746-Degas-bottle-replacement-with-pics), am I right? Grizzlyls, you said a "complete plastic refresh on cooling", but what else besides the degas bottle and lower hose would need to be replaced to stop the leak? Also do you guys advise that I do this replacement job myself or buy the parts and get it done by a mechanic? How much would this cost in labor if it was done by a mechanic? Thanks.
 
Upper hose has a plastic tee, the Thermostat housing can be changed to an aluminum one made for jags, and the crossover pipe is the most common bad boy. Thats the odd shaped piece right at the top by the radiator fan. I tend to do mechanics, just because I lack experience. I had lincoln do my tstat housing, but should have gone to an independent to be cheaper. I changed the crossover myself, and have since removed two from junk lincolns that were new and near new. I also have removed the upper an lower at junk yards, but never found one satisfactory to keep.

That said, I would say Mechs would see this as a piece of cake job. I feel confident I can manage it, but would have my mech I use inspect it just to be safe. It is up to you if you have the skillls to do it. I dont think anyone has done a detailed plastic refresh thread like the Gen2 one that is hear, but trust me, from what I hear if you tackle that degas from the post on your own, the rest (except maybe the thermostat housing) is a easy.
 
Hi guys,
Thanks again. The car already has the Jag thermostat housing and aux. coolant flow pipe. I will check the coolant outlet pipe for cracks and order a new one if need be. For the degas bottle, I can't find one with the attached lower hose that looks like the one in the diagram (main hose with the a smaller vertical hose branching out of it), can anyone refer me to a replacement parts website that has the correct degas bottle and lower hose. And I know this is probably a stupid question but where does the lower hose connect to (it’s a little unclear on the diagram) and is it accessible without having a lift?

Also, in the diagram, there appears to be a hose on the open valve near the coolant bleeding valve but in real life, there's not one on the car. Is that something the manufacturer put on the cooling system diagram but not on the actual car?
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The lower hose attaches to a metal pipe that joins with the return line for the heater cores. This is on the firewall and is accessed from under the hood. You are looking for the Ford degas bottle with a simple hose attached to the bottom of the bottle. It also comes with a new heater bleed hose that clips to the top of the bottle, but does not "attach" to the bottle. Only two hoses attach, the bottom one, and the engine air bleed at the top. All Lincoln LSes use the same degas bottle.

The part you see on the diagram, "main hose with the a smaller vertical hose branching out of it", is the metal pipe assembly that is on your car that the degas lower hose attaches to. It doesn't come with the degas bottle, it's not a hose, and it doesn't need to be replaced.
The diagram is correct and your car is correct. You are misinterpreting the diagram.
 
... Also, in the diagram, there appears to be a hose on the open valve near the coolant bleeding valve but in real life, there's not one on the car. Is that something the manufacturer put on the cooling system diagram but not on the actual car?

View attachment 828477090



Clearly, from that pic of mine you used,

attachment.jpg


.... anyone can see it does NOT have a hose coming from it, it's closed on the inside, it only serves purpose as a "hanger" for that bleed valve line.





In your diagram, where #13 points to, is in fact the Air bleed Valve. It routes below that nipple, it only hangs from the nipple.


This image here from the repair manual, clearly illustrates it.

attachment.gif
 
Thanks joegr and RigLS. I just placed an order for the correct coolant reservoir with the lower hose and heater bleed hose clamped on.
 

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