Engine leaking not sure where

[smykals]

Please forgive me in advance for sounding stupid. I know nothing about trucks and just bought my first bronco today.
I have a 89 Bronco II xlt 4x4. It has a 2.9 engine.

I bought it from a guy whom informed me that the engine is leaking. He said he thought it was a freeze plug or a cracked head. The place he pointed out was leaking and the only spot I could see leaking did not appear to be a freeze plug or a cracked head.

I uploaded some pictures of the area. It seems to be some type of plug on the left side of the engine that fits into a hole. I am able to lift it out and put it back in. It is very loose, and it does not seem right. What is this and could this be the cause of the leak?

The truck is in rough shape and due to the leak there is no coolant in the truck.

 

[Hitchner2009]

that lovely piece that you have found my friend is the PCV Valve(Positive Crankcase Ventilation) The part runs about $3-4 if even. You can check if its bad by pulling it out of the valve cover and shaking it, if you hear it moving back and forth and clicking, its good to go. If you dont hear anything, its time for a new one. You also have another Ventilation device on the drivers side valve cover, it will look like a black disk, that pulls out with ease as well and is also cheap. For them being loose, there all like that. Mine is the same way, and they seem inevitable to prevent them from leaking. Good Luck!

 

[SenorNoob]

It should be noted that unless something major is broken there is no coolant behind that part. So I'd keep looking if I were you.

That looks like a minor oil leak and a major vacuum leak to me.

 

[Hitchner2009]

that hose thats on the back of the PCV valve thats detached needs to be reattached or you will have problems idling and accelerating.

as far as the coolant leak goes, you need to test your radiator for a possible cracked head or blown head gasket. You wont be able to see the head cracked, because the areas that cracked are on the bottom of the mating surface for the cylinder head. My truck has cracked heads and i cant see them, thank god im swapping in the 4.0 on the 7th!!

Go down to the auto parts store and tell them you need a kit that tests for combustion gases in the cooling system. You can buy more expensive ones if you prefer that allow for the change of water color to detect combustion gases in the cooling system(which will tell you that your head gasket is blown or your head is cracked.) Combustion gases should never come in contact with the cooling system. Check for lots of "water" coming from your tailpipe, smell for a sweet smell thats coming from the tailpipe as well. Now im not saying stick your face near the tailpipe and huff it, you can just stand behind the truck with it idling and you will be able to tell if its burning antifreeze. If you smell a sweet smell from the exhaust, your heads are the issue or head gasket once again. Time for some in depth diagnosis on your part buddy to help, or you can go to a shop and have them run those tests. A shop will charge about an hour or two of labor for all the tests. Probably about $200+tax at a $100/hr shop labor rate.