Coolant leaking out between rear iron and trans...
 

I have a half-brige old-style 4 port 13B I am messing with and we noticed just sitting cold that it is dripping a little coolant out between where the rear iron and rx-4 bellhousing mate. What could be causing this?

Also I did note that the way the engine is installed the rear of the engine sits noticeably lower than the front so any liquid would flow towards that point when stationary.

If it is truly leaking from between there, it can't be good... :(
You've basically got two possibilities:
1) tension bolt / washer is not sealing
2) freeze plug is loose
There is #3...cracked rear plate.

I'm hoping it's leaking from somewhere on top of the engine...?
Then any myriad of coolant hoses running in and out of the intake manifold...


-Ted

I had this problem as well. I had purchased a rebuilt engine (it hadn't been started since its rebuild). I kept getting air pockets in my coolant system causing it to overheat, then I found that it was leaking by the bellhousing.

I removed the transmission, and found that all of the tension bolt seals/washers had been reused. I removed 1 at a a time, took the seal off, slathered a ton of "Great Stuff" sealant on it, and torqued it back down to spec. It's been fine for 3 years now.

I'm not too familiar with the old-school 4 port 13B's, do they have any small coolant hoses like the FC? (e.g., small hose from rear iron to TB) If so, that's the first thing I'd check, but otherwise what Ted said.

This thing is pretty stripped down and doesnt appear to have any coolant hoses running around on top. It is running an RB intake and holley 4 barrel

In that case, I'd have to go with tension bolt or freeze plug....