I'm having my normal mechanic take a look at this now that winter is mostly (i hope) over. There was a slight seep from the passenger valve cover the shop that did the work noticed. It was very slight and never dripped to the ground or caused a burning smell. After the new covers and gaskets were installed I now have a drip. Somewhere lower front on the engine center to passenger side. Is there a common failure such as the front crank seal. It's got 149,000 and for the first 100k it was a highway patrol with street appearance. I just had what looks like the power steering high pressure hose replaced Metal and rubber line. Which was leaking though i am still getting something onto the ground that did not before.

It could be leftover "drippage" from the previous leaks. Clean everything up in the area using Brakleen or similar. It'll make any fresh leaks easier to spot.

Thanks yeah I wasn't thinking he may not have gone to crazy cleaning anything off besides the line. Especially given the weather at the time. I'm trying to figure out what seems to be a miss. I notice it occasionally at idle and increasingly more often under light to mild throttle. Last year or maybe the year before I had a similar thing which eventually tripped the eng light. Was the coil pass side near the cabin. Replaced just that one plus all new boots/spring for the others and all new plugs. It's a flex capable car so I used the OE motorcraft same as it had. I'm going to replace all the cop's this time. Since where I live you would be looking at half the price of Motorcraft coils just to diagnose. After I find someone with a scanner capable of live data and adept at analyzing the live data. For an example I had Reinhart had to give instructions to the tech at a ford dealer. How to pull the hex code for my ecm using an actual ford scanner. Turned out someone at ford flashed an upgrade. But failed to note it anywhere at all.

Some folks recommend a dab of black silicone at the joints where the valve and timing covers come together, as that seems to be a common source of leaks. Also, a dab on the harmonic balancer key way if reinstalling the timing cover without a seal replacement.

When I replaced the timing guides/tensioners on my 99 MGM, I later got a leak at the bottom corners where the oil pan joined with the timing cover.

Can be a task finding where they originate from, but certainly agree that cleaning everything helps find the spots.

Bingo.



Arrows denote areas where extra RTV is required.
Also, not pictured, RTV required under valve covers where the timing cover meets the cylinder head.

Excellent thank you very much.

Best of luck!