Ok I'm an idiot or something. I'm under the jeep, motor running and I'm trying to find where all the coolant is coming from. It appears to be coming from the engine/tranny seal so I'm assuming it's coming from above the tranny. Can somebody please tell me where to find the damn freeze plugs? Illustration or pics would be helpful as I have no idea where to look. This is an 86 2.8 V6. Oil looks good, no steam from tail pipe but water flows freely when it gets warmed up and the thermostat opens up. Everything I read points to freeze plugs. I'm not opposed to pulling the heads as it probably could use new gaskets all around but if this is a cracked block i'd rather not put the effort and money into it. Just want to replace the freeze plugs first. Help! SOS! Wife is getting anxious!

 

round circles behind exaust manifold in the block

 

Ok, so I definetly need to drop the exhaust right? The plug kit I picked up at NAPA has about 12 pieces in it. Do all of the pieces (including the threaded ones) go there? Are there any plugs in the rear of the block?

 

no you have acomplete engine plug kit they make rubber ones the are easir to put in tight space first thing you have to find the leaky one and get it out then youinsert the rubber in and tighen the nut in the center of it there about three dollars

 

Ok, I took the exhaust manifold off and have a really good view of the left (drivers) side of the engine. Man, now I see where all the oil goes. I wiped everything down and the plugs loo like their in good shape. Niether is more discolored that the other. No seepage either. It really looks like it's coming from above somewhere.

I did find a hole in the back of the head that has threads. Could this be a threaded freeze plug that has come loose and went missing? I was able to stick an allen wrench about an inch and a half into the hole to see if there was something deeper that I couldn't see.

I believe NAPA gave me the wrong kit. It has six large plugs in it. I am only seeing one large plug in the block. There are several medium plugs in the block also but they are backwards of the large plug.
How many plugs should I be looking for? Are there any in the head it's self?

 

freeze plugs will drip water all the time post pic of the area water is coming from there are freeze plugs in the back of motor between transmission and motor there are many places water can leak in the area you describe

 

i'm not familiar with the 2.8 but most V style engines have a few on either side of the block 1 or two inside the bellhousing and sometimes one under the front cover as well as in each head......but you said you are leaking water?? now you say oil too...i think there is a water jacket that crosses over in the intake on those engines it could be an intake gasket

 

Thanks for all the input, it is sure filling the gaps left by my Haynes. I feel like I'm getting closer to the problem but it is looking like a bigger and bigger job. Maybe I'll just keep it in the garage for the winter and take care of the other stuff that needs done as well.

Stand by for more questions. I'll post pics as I go.