Almost ready to fire up the newly rebuilt 312, when I notice antifreeze dripping from the bottom of the bellhousing, any ideas on the problem or solution? thanks in advance.

Sparky Check the temp sending unit. Can be a real fooler. Try a little sealer,but don't get carried away, has to get ground!!!   Hope this helps.  Good Luc   God Bless    Eddir

Eddie

Lake Forest, Ca. 92630

Sparky,

I had the same problem with a fully rebuilt motor . First thought was a leaking freeze plug ??? I couldn't figure where the heck it was coming from .Turned out to be coming from under the bypass hose on the water pump ,running down the valley cover and dripping from the bellhousing .You never seem to look in the easy places first ?? That had me worried for a good half hour before I could find that leak .

Regards Lon

yblocksdownunder

 

Same thing for me, it was a slight trickle from the upper hose (I could barely see it) it hit the valley pan, ran down to the back end of the engine, and was dripping off of the bellhousing.  

A.J.

South Jersey

SMSgt USAF Retired 
1955 Ford Ranch Wagon & a couple of old guitars...Life's Good!

It happened to me too!  The leak was seeping from between the thermostat housing and bypass tube, and took a good, frustrating two hours to figure out.

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.

The earlier model Y heads did not have the ‘blind’ threaded holes in the heads for the four studs holding the intake manifold down which means coolant can leak from these particular threaded holes.  If sealer was 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 very small puddle under the vehicle at the back of the engine usually after the engine has been shut off.  Sometimes looks more like a leaking head gasket than what it really is.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I have had gaskets "Weep" a little on a fresh engine before and all you have to do is run the engine a while, let it warm up, and most leaks take care of themselves. Also I have been sent bullitens from some gasket co. that it is best to break-in an engine with Water before adding coolant, this helps the gaskets swell.

Tim

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Ted, I think you're on to something, I removed the intake yesterday and looks like a water trail coming from the two studs on right side. I got one stud out but the other one won't budge, any ideas how to get it out and what to put on them when I do. Should I mess with the left side or leave them alone since they don't appear to be leaking. Also,do I need some kind of sealant on the new intake gaskets? Thanks for all the replys.

You can remove the studs by double nutting the top portion of the threads and then unscrewing the studs with a wrench in lieu of not having a specific stud removal tool.  Almost any kind of sealer will suffice on the threads but my sealer of choice for this is either a thin film of RTV or some K&W CopperCoat on the threads.  Removing the studs that are not leaking and putting some sealer on those while you have the intake off would be highly recommended.  Might save you some grief later.

I also use K&W CopperCoat on the intake gaskets but if I know I’m doing a series of intake manifold changes (dyno testing) then I’ll simply coat the gaskets with white grease on the intake manifold side so I can reuse them.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I sealed the studs today, and new intake gaskets. Still have water running between head and valley pan on right side. I'm convinced water not coming from either one of these or t stat housing or bypass hose, whats left?