I have had an intermittent waterleak towards the rear of the engine for a while now and decided to do something about it before the up and coming warmer cruising season.I had replaced the freeze plugs, 2 on either side of the block a while back and could find no more. The water seemed to be leaking from the back of the block out of the clutch dust cover. After inspecting a spare engine i found a plug at the back behind the flywheel. So out came the gearbox, clutch & off came the flywheel. To my surprise the plug was in good condition but as the thing was in pieces i decided to replace it anyway. Upon returning from the local auto shop with said part in hand i started to remove the old one. To my SURPRISE oil came out on the plug. On further inspection i found it to be the plug at the back end of the camshaft, bugger. I had considerd posting the question of the water leak prior to commencing the repair but decided it was a bit silly. HAH how wrong was i.

I suppose the moral of this story is that there is no such thing as a DUMB question

At least i know my clutch plate is in goon condition

Hang loose and enjoy the ride.

Brisbane Australia

but did you find the water leak in the end.

moz. geelong victoria australia.

graduate 1980, bus, truck, car, hot rod, boat, submarine, hovercraft, hydrafoil, firetruck, mobile home, jet, helicopter, cruise ship, motorcycle, bicycle, santa's sleigh, clock, alloy bullbar, alloy fuel tank, lens, dr who's tardis, matter - anti matter warp drive buffer & y-block lover

WOW!  "Up coming warmer cruising season" indeed!  Took me 2 seconds to look and see that you are in the Southern Hemisphere.  Supposed to be 103* F (39-40*C) today and hotter tomorrow in this part of Texas.  We're looking forward to the upcoming cooler crusing season.

TC

You gotta have the right tools and know how to use 'em.

TC - Austin, Texas

Effie, Sure sounds like rushing in blind! have you checked possible sorces of water leak, maybe freeze plugs at rear of heads if early heads, or the small welch plug at rear of intake surface near distributor, or leaking thermostat housing gaset or hose dribbling down and running back along valley pan?  Did you actualy find the leak as moz asked? we are all curious. aussiebill.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Another question. Is the vehicle actually losing radiator water or just making puddles occasionaly? The valley pan is a great place for water to collect and the run off if parked on an angle. Also, aren't there a couple of freeze plugs on the back of the block near the cam plug? Chuck in NH

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Moonshadow:

There are no water jacket freeze plugs in the back of a Y Block.  You must be thinking about some "mystery" motor.  I once worked on a guy's '61 scrub 348 who had taken the car to a couple other places to work on a water leak.  He told me to pull the engine if necessary, but FIX THE LEAK.  It was a freeze plug behind the flywheel, and he got upset when he got the bill for pulling the trans to fix the water leak.  Guess he forgot about his original statement, it cost him less for me to pull the trans than the engine.

John in Selma, IN

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Hi Moz, have not put the thing back together yet, have to go down the back shed and turn up a clutch aligning tool. I did check all the usual things first, temp sender, the freeze plugs on the sides and did a thorough search for any other suspects.When none were found "out came the box". It is defenitely coolant as it is leaving a residue when it evaporates. I will pull the temp sender and check it while the coolant is out. Dont think it is the inlet manifold as there is a lip around the valley cover that would catch any fluid.

Hang loose and enjoy the ride.

Brisbane Australia

John, Just wasn't my day for giving advice! So whats new? I missed the one piece Ford O Matic reference too. Chuck in NH  See you soon! New motor sounds good. I'm having the tranny tunned up now.

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Chuck:

Wasn't trying to make you look bad, just wanting to keep someone else from taking the trans out to find there are no freeze plugs there.  Looking forward to seeing your new combo run at Columbus.

I have deemed my car ready, but I wanted to fix a little rust hole in the left door of the hauler.  Then I realized how bad the paint was looking, etc, etc.  So now the door is off and repaired, stripped, the hood off and stripped, about 2/3 of the cab is stripped, trim is off, etc.  I may have to haul the car with the truck in primer or painted and not buffed.  Oh wait, I still have three weeks.  No problem?????

John in Selma, IN

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

The earlier model Y heads did not have ‘blind’ threaded holes for the four studs holding the intake manifold down which means coolant can leak from these particular threaded holes.  If sealer is not put on the threads before installing the studs, then some coolant weepage can occur at this spot and it will run down alongside the valley cover and leak at the back of the engine.  This particular leak is typically hard to find because it's such a small leak to begin with and typically shows up as a puddle under the vehicle at the back of the engine.  Sometimes looks more like a head gasket leaking than what it really is.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)