I took the Rocky to town and back the other day. It ran really well on the drive in and most of the way back. Then on the last hill on the highway, the needle began climbing up nearly to the danger zone (from 3/4 of the way there). I turned the heater on full blast and struggled to the top of the hill, fighting to make the thing even move. Nearly at the top, the "check engine" light came on. I coasted down to the bottom where my driveway starts, parked, and walked the last mile home. It was a good walk. Later, I read the code: "Rich mixture".
I am discouraged. The water pump is good, the radiator is clean, and the thermostat is almost new. None of the hoses are collapsed. I just replaced the head gasket. The fan belt was loose, but not squealing, so I assume it was still hanging in there. The fan clutch was dismantled and shown to be underperforming. It's now been refurbished with some heavy-weight gear oil. However, based on what happened, I strongly suspect that the HG is blown again due to frequent running at 200-220F and close to the danger zone on the gauge. Running hot when (but only when) the engine is asked to work hard is almost diagnostic for a leak between a coolant passage and combustion chamber, right? Especially given the number of other cooling system components known to be good?
Not only do I have cooling problems, that "rich mixture" thing has me worried. It suggests that I've damaged something else really badly while I was at it.
WARFS has some good tech and knowledgable people. If only they'd let me join...
