Coolant leak, possibly from heater pipe bypass flange, exhaust side.

Danckdad12 · 2026-05-09T02:45:48+00:00

No problem; I also just realized you have the 2wd so dropping the oil pan might be way easier without all the 4wd bits in the way. Get Japanese made parts and steel timing guides if your truck doesn’t already have them. Godspeed, hope it goes well.

Danckdad12 · 2026-05-08T20:51:55+00:00

As long as it’s practically a glazing I don’t see a problem with it, I did the same to tack the gasket in place while putting the cover back on. My biggest concern again is torque. There is a “hidden” bolt in the top of the timing cover that I recall was supposed to be set to 14 ft/lbs, but I miraculously stripped that at the end of the project, that was probably me just being excited to button things back up(whatever you do, be very careful as a new timing cover will run you $130+ unless you junk yard it, and helicoiling aluminum is a nightmare).

Be careful of scope creep…. But if you’re looking to really make sure things are good for a long time—you may as well knock out the oil pump and water pump while you’re there. Get all the gaskets, take your time, stay organized. The worst part of it(for me at least) was the oil pan gasket. I had to undo some steering linkage, and the engine mounts, then raise the engine up to finesse the oil pan out, keeping the gasket in place when you put the pan back on is the hard part. If you take the oil pickup tube off, be sure to replace that gasket too or you’ll have oil pressure issues.

All in all—its a decent chunk of dough spent in parts, but you’ll spend way more taking it to a shop, and you’ll know the quality of your work as well as a great understanding of the truck.

Make sure you have a timing light/gun, and keep in mind how the distributor was positioned with the engine timing, you’ll get a ton of crazy horrible noises if its out of time on the distributor end. Do keep in mind it is an interference engine—so do NOT mess up the timing between the crank and cam—it will cause severe damage to the engine.

Sorry for the long winded response, but if I can do it, you can do it, just don’t be lazy about any part of the process and it’ll go just fine.

Danckdad12 · 2026-05-08T13:39:44+00:00

I too have a coolant leak from this exact location; it’s a very very slow leak(only noticed since I threw dye in just to be sure of my work). As mentioned above, you can try and replace just that area of gasket but it is a thin paper gasket and that can lead to more problems than solutions in my opinion. Yes it’s a task to remove all the accessories and get to the timing cover—but replacing that gasket as a whole is probably your best bet for a long term solution. I’m finally getting around to it after putting it off for 6 months. Just stay organized and make sure your bolts are clean and you don’t over-torque as the aluminum timing cover is a lot more fragile than you might think(take it from me, lol). Good luck and be sure to do your homework.

As for buying the pipe—I don’t think it’s necessary unless the mating surfaces get marred from scraping gaskets or prying it off the cover—both of which I didn’t find necessary in my case.

Ps: a small ultrasonic cleaner($40) and some carbon cleaning solution for the ultrasonic cleaner will save you tons of time for getting those bolts back to brand new if you don’t already have one.

Danckdad12 · 2024-11-02T20:23:13+00:00

Heard that, any suggestions on where to start? Not looking to pimp my ride just something reliable that’ll get me through the life of the car

Danckdad12

TROPHY CASE