Where does a failing front crossover leak?

[ktm525]

Noticed some old coolant (running pink but the stuff turns orange?) in the front area of engine. I immediately thought failing front crossover. Upon disassembly the valley is dry with no coolant and crossover is dry. There is old coolant near the front under the pump (back of pump) so I suspect 99% it is a failing pump. My front crossover is the "seam" style and likely original (from 2010 and 120k miles) so I will replace it while I am in here.

Not sure if I want to to do the pump replacement as it is more messy. Does the clutch fan have to come off for pump replacement? The old pump only lasted 4 years and about 50k kms...

 

[1badrover]

If you have the 5.0 V8, yes the fan comes out, the fan drive belt and pulley, the bracket with idler and fan bearing assy., primary belt and tensioner as well. Make sure that you have a new oil cooler pipe and two seals for it that goes behind the water pump.
Just finished installing water pump #3 (at 218,000 miles) and did the front crossover while in there...it was weeping pretty bad and broke apart when pulled. There's a new style hose kit that changes the way that little pipe attaches to the front of the water pump...highly recommend that you upgrade to that while you're in there. Google MR0273 BURGA for a good aftermarket Kit. The intake manifold has to come off to get to the front Y crossover T30 fasteners, so you might as well replace the rear crossover too while it's accessible. This caliber of project is not for the faint of heart....

 

[jlach993]

Its impossible to know honestly. It leaks in the valley under the manifold and when its finally noticeable to our eyes it soaks the the thermostat/water pump valley. Thats why if you do one of thise items, you must do all three. Including the rear crossover. Obviously if you just did the water pump/thermostat, its most likely the front crossover then

 

[ktm525]

If you have the 5.0 V8, yes the fan comes out, the fan drive belt and pulley, the bracket with idler and fan bearing assy., primary belt and tensioner as well. Make sure that you have a new oil cooler pipe and two seals for it that goes behind the water pump.
Just finished installing water pump #3 (at 218,000 miles) and did the front crossover while in there...it was weeping pretty bad and broke apart when pulled. There's a new style hose kit that changes the way that little pipe attaches to the front of the water pump...highly recommend that you upgrade to that while you're in there. Google MR0273 BURGA for a good aftermarket Kit. The intake manifold has to come off to get to the front Y crossover T30 fasteners, so you might as well replace the rear crossover too while it's accessible. This caliber of project is not for the faint of heart....

Just completed a front pump and front crossover. In the end I suspect the pump was the culprit although the front crossover crumbled on removal. Thanks for the link to updated assembly. In the end I ended up modifying the old system with part of the new kit. Pro tip to save time: Fan, and belts do not have to come off for a pump replacement. Saves a bunch of time.

Essentially take tension of accessory belt and then partially pull belt off. Remove tensioner and voila you have full access to the pump. No monkeying around with the fan or the secondary stretch belt. Doing it this way the whole job was less than 2 hours taking my time and a couple of beers.

Worst part of the operation was the air bleeder near the battery. 11 year plastic screw crumbles so I took the expensive route and sealed it with JB weld lol.

 

[anamorphic]

Oops! Just read that you fixed it all. Congrats! I wrote a whole reply that didn’t make sense after your last reply

 

[zgpablo]

Just completed a front pump and front crossover. In the end I suspect the pump was the culprit although the front crossover crumbled on removal. Thanks for the link to updated assembly. In the end I ended up modifying the old system with part of the new kit. Pro tip to save time: Fan, and belts do not have to come off for a pump replacement. Saves a bunch of time.

Essentially take tension of accessory belt and then partially pull belt off. Remove tensioner and voila you have full access to the pump. No monkeying around with the fan or the secondary stretch belt. Doing it this way the whole job was less than 2 hours taking my time and a couple of beers.

Worst part of the operation was the air bleeder near the battery. 11 year plastic screw crumbles so I took the expensive route and sealed it with JB weld lol.

You did this all in 2 hours? That’s the V8 though, right? The whole supercharger removal makes the V6 take 3x that long? Or more?

I’m afraid to open up my LR V6 for a month of Sundays.
At that point $2k at my local is starting to feel like a bargain.

 

[ktm525]

Yes the V8. Pump and front crossover is quite straightforward. Hardest parts for me was getting one of the rad hoses to release from old pump and modifying a new plastic elbow assembly that plugs into the front of the pump. As I mentioned if intake manifold is raised out of way to replace front crossover then pump access is also improved. Not removing the fan , front stretch belt and serpentine belt is a good hack. If you are replacing these belts then it will add time. Now I just hope for no leaks. There seems to be some residual damp moistness near the trans cooler (?) lines at bottom but I can live with that if it is just sweating.