By engine cover...I am assuming, the large l/4 round-ish covering over the engine that I removed from inside the van? That's where I could look at the valve covers, etc. That is how I saw it being wet on the left side, below where the valve cover meets the head. There's a bit of a ledge under that, part of the block, where I see it is wet. Which would explain why coolant is on the trans below. However, how would explain coolant on the front axle? The two are just too far apart it seems for what is dripping on the front axle to be from the engine? Ran it for half hour, twice today, and not leaking. Maybe the bar's leak is working afterall. We'll see.

Fixed one other problem. Pin was stripped holding calliper on. Son drove up and said it sounded funny. LOL, was hanging there. Found a repair part made by Motormite that is an oversized pin/sleeve. $25 worked great! Too bad son forgot to tighten lugs after he put wheel back on. (This is not the mechanical son!). Called twenty minutes later, tire fell off while driving. Towed home. But, gotta say, the young lad is very lucky. No damage it seems. Rim is a bit marred up and I'll try to find a match at junk yard. But all seems well. Expected more problems. Found matching lugs at local auto parts. Love those guys! For a mom, I'm having to learn alot! Grrr!

 

lol, u sure have a load on your hands lol, it all comes with doing it, hope the bars leak holds, but if not the intake gasket is the item to change, and it can leak at the front and the back, the coolant flows at both ends

 

Where are you located? Some members have been known to pay others visits to help with diagnostics and repairs. I have offered phone support to many others that live beyond a reasonable driving distance. Kinda fun. My number is PMed on request.

 

I'm in Michigan, approx. one hour north of Detroit. I wish one of you guys were nearby like that! I don't mind getting dirty, but I sure wish I'd learned more about cars years ago. Putting approx l/2 gal of water in overflow bottle every 3 days.

And, turns out there must be some damage from the wheel incident. Whenever son steps on brakes, it veers left. At what point do you start giving up? LOL Car is 1998 with 130,000 miles on it with great sounding engine and good trans. Is it worth fixing whatever this wheel issue and the coolant issue?

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the rotor was damaged when the wheel fell off.

1998 w/ 130k, that van is just getting started. As long as the body is in good condition and you are doing the repairs yourself, I have found that it's cheaper to fix them.

 

You have to remove the engine cover to replace the intake manifold gaskets. Most mechanics use RTV sealant instead of gaskets as it works better. It will take about 4 hours to do the job if you know what your doing - double that if you don't.

You should get a vehicle maintenance and repair manual (Haynes)- most of your questions would be answered and they have lots of nice pictures plus step by step instructions.