Coolant leaking out passenger side of head

[toms.abpg]

Noticed some antifreeze under my 96 2.3 today and noticed a very consistent flow of coolant coming from the passenger side of the head where it meets the block. I’m guessing this means the head gasket is blown but I don’t see any water in oil, the truck has not overheated since I have owned it so I’m not sure of the cause. Any ideas? I guess it’s time to pull the head unless there is a possible other fix, any tips ?

 

[adsm08]

It is possible for the head gasket to fail in a way that causes an external coolant leak (runs down the side of the block) rather than an internal one (coolant mixes with oil).

If you can see it actually running out of that spot, or if there are no coolant lines above it I'd say yes, the head gasket is most likely the issue. At least yours is easy.

 

[tomw]

If you know the history of the engine care, and it has had good antifreeze coolant its whole life, you could try re-torquing the head bolts. If it has not had such good maintenance, you may find that the block or head surfaces have rusted, and re-torquing would likely not do too much to help.
I would bet that if you checked the torque on the head bolts that they might be a little looser than spec. Then again, maybe not. I thought I had a leak situation, and re-torqued my had bolts and they were all tightened a bit less than spec. I have owned since new, and kept up the maintenance decently, but I thought I saw seepage also.
tom

 

[telsar]

Perhaps it is a freeze plug.

 

[toms.abpg]

If you know the history of the engine care, and it has had good antifreeze coolant its whole life, you could try re-torquing the head bolts. If it has not had such good maintenance, you may find that the block or head surfaces have rusted, and re-torquing would likely not do too much to help.
I would bet that if you checked the torque on the head bolts that they might be a little looser than spec. Then again, maybe not. I thought I had a leak situation, and re-torqued my had bolts and they were all tightened a bit less than spec. I have owned since new, and kept up the maintenance decently, but I thought I saw seepage also.
tom

This is a good idea I will probably try, I do not know the history of the engine unfortunately, I am a decent home mechanic so I think I could do this job but haven’t decided yet, bought the truck for 100$ so yea