Topic: not again! Head gaskets?

[BLACKDOG]

oookaay, I 've been dwon this roasd before, but now its a little different.  Truck has been overheating off and on for a while now.  However, the only time it over heats is at speed on the freeway.  Never in traffic, nor in town.  Today I drove my truck fro Sacramento CA to Vacaville CA, a distance of about 40 miles. about 8 milesinto it, my truck over heated,  I pulled over, pulled the hood (yes, this has solved the problem before) and refilled the radiator and off we go. Abotu an hour later, after sitting in 5 mph traffic for 30 minutes, i overhaet again, after getting up to speed and driving for about 8 miles.  This time I refill the radiator, and thwe truck will nto start, it cranks, but wont fire.  Finally fires, and I get to town.  After an event at church, I come out, start up the truck, and smoke goes everywhere   shut it off, checked the engine, check the oil, there is very little in the truck.  Howver, my truck doesn't leak, and I changed the oil and put 5.5 quarts into it three weeks ago.  so that much oil has burned away in 3 weeks.  now my truck is smoking regularly, smokes when I pull the oil cap off, and i cannot keep it running, anytime I push in the clutch, and take my foot off the gas, the truck dies.  No milkshake yet, but I have a feeling its a head gasket, am I correct?  I will do a compression check tommorow or this weekend, but sdoes this sound like HG, or mabye just a cooling problem?

[mr4x42u]

I have seen H/G leak and suck oil..It would also cause a cooling problem..being you are loosing both fluids it very well could be a H/g and or a crack in the head..does the smoke smell like coolant and or oil?maybe both?pulling the plugs might tell the story,,watery and oily plugs..depending where the lak is you won't always get water in the oil..

You mention pulling the oil cap off and it dies,,,I guess you mean the oil fill cap right?If so pulling that off woull cause the truck to die,,by pulling that off running you just created a vaccume leak do to the pcv valve had vaccume to it and its vented to the valve cover..thats normal..the smoke that comes out from under that cap is normal,,its just blowby,,basicly burning oil from heat and gets pushed out from leakage past the rings from compression and all..

compression test,,check the plugs and if you have acess to a block leak tester that would also help..
The block leak tester is a fluid that sits in a plugher type thing that sucks some of the air off the top of the radiator,,if exhaust is present due to a bad head gasget it turns the blue fluid yellow..pretty nifty ..hope thats helps some..

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

No, it dies when I lift my foot off the gas.  I havent done anything too it to change it from how it was a week ago, and it idled fine until last wed, then it idles fine sporadically, and now it wont idle at all, it just dies.  I know it'll die when I pull the oil fill cap off.  I'll check the spark plugs, and see if I can come up with that tester, it sounds pretty cool   Smoke smells a little like burning oil, not overwhelmingly, but no coolant.  I hate dealing with this engine   stupid 3.0!

[mr4x42u]

oh,,3.0,,oh what a feeling...did it get the head gasget recall??

almost sounds like you have a cracked head..

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

if its a cracked head, I can deal with that.  It supposdely had the HG recall, it isnt my original motor, my other one blew out in january, and I put this one in.  I'm gonna replace the t-stat today, check compression, pull the plugs, and see what goes from there.

[lilbuddy]

All I have to say is....that totally sucks if it is the head gaskets/heads.

[mudaddict]

alright bd that sucks but between me and some of the tech here at the dealership think you blew the enigne! overheated one to many times and blew stuff. what color is the smoke if its white your burning coolant blue its oil. and the fact that when you pull the cap off and smoke comes out shows that you are burning oil.

[unclejpl4x4]

Sounds like a rebiuld time.

I don't know what moter U have,, but on our JLG 600A at work   we have had a problem  with  the Ford duel fuel engings  blowing the #3 cly oil ring  wich  would cause  the oil from the crank case  to  blow in to the intake do to the fact the PCV is monted on the block     and it would run bad/smoke and over heat <not that they don't run hot as it is)

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

alright bd that sucks but between me and some of the tech here at the dealership think you blew the enigne! overheated one to many times and blew stuff. what color is the smoke if its white your burning coolant blue its oil. and the fact that when you pull the cap off and smoke comes out shows that you are burning oil.

Wouldnt surprise me I hate this engine! These 3.0s suck!  Also, just found out the guy I bought it from put the WRONG t-stat in it!  May explain some things   Oh well, putting in a new t-stat, and hoping that it fixes some of the problem. Not counting on it though, my axle is covered in soot fro the exhaust on the drivers side, never been that way before.

few good things, no oil in my radiator, and no water in my oil, at least not yet Gonna go get the right t-stat i na few, and put it back together, and we'll see

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

  Tried messing with the truck some more, didnt feell ike pulling them all, but I pulled #6 and #4 spark plugs, and they certainly had a good amount of oil on them   truck strill wont stay running, all line s are attched, but the radiatyor and fan are not in, I wanted to crank it over, and see what happens, andsmoke started coming out of the radiator hoses. Why do I get the feeling this is death for this engine?  Anything esle anyone can think of? 

[mr4x42u]

This stuff works,,,it will help quit smoking


http://nicorette.quit.com/

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

thanks Mr4x42u, now where exaclty do i put it?

Actually, I got the cooling issue taken care of and it only smokes when I start thwe truck up.  oil is full, and pressure is good, and the truck seems to run just fine, except it wont idle!  i have to be pressing the gas for it to work, I turned the idle screw all the way up, still dies when I let go of the throttle cable.  messed with the timing , that didnt help either.  So as of rightnow, I have a truck with no trouble codes, timed right, that wont hold an idle, so i have to hit the gasd at intersections.  so I got a few things to work out, at least its running any other ideas folks? vacuum leak somewheres?  Any help is appreciated

[mr4x42u]

spray some carb clean into the intake and see if it idles..that would tell ya there is a leak,then spray it around hoses and intake looking for the leak,,,also check ALL of your fuses for shits and giggles..

[RHG]

Buy my chevy 350 and put it in. There is a place further up north in cali that if you have a place of residence(or a P.O. Box ) there then you dont have to smog your vehicles. Smog problem solved. More hp and a reliable engine that you can find parts for at every parts store. Do it. I know you want to. Well I hope you get it fixed, cant go to the 'con with a bum engine

[grumpy1@netptc.net]

sorry 2 hear about the engine problem dude you can get a rebuilt for 2195.00 at my dads shop it has a 3 year 36k miles warranty call all engine distributing at 559/266/3474  i talked to my pop 2 today and he has one -i would nor recommend messing with this engine unless u rebuild it totally because if u just put head gaskets on it it will use oil and probably not hold together any way because alot of things go bad when the motor gets hot like that -so if u fix the head gaskets then u will have ring problems ,if u fix the ring problems ,you'll have other problems  and so on and so on
i was at his shop the other day and he's got a 3.0l  diesel that will bolt up to your tranny ,we were fooling around with engines and tranny's and i set up this diesel with a w56 tranny and transfercase and took measurements on the motor mounts and found out it will slide right in where a 22 r or re motor is so if u had the 4 cylinder it would drop right in -the center of the motormount is 14'' from the trans mating surface i did not measure up a v-6 motor but it would not be hard 2 slide it into your rig but id turbo charge it or don't use it -a diesel will have lots more torque than your gas motor would ever dream of producing and it will get better milage because diesel engines are more efficient than gas you get more btu's from diesel than gasoline -too bad u didn't buy my 3.0l motor i had for sale all it needed was a valve job 'but its gone -if there is anything i can help u with let me know
grumpy

[Snowtoy]

The over heating problem has nothing to do with it being a 3.0, the wrong t-stat didn't help it any.  I had a similar overheating problem, though it only occurred after using the A/C in 100+ heat, and after the first time I started replacing/checking the usual suspects, i.e., coolant, T-stat, cleaned the Rad fins etc.  After the 2nd time I poulled tha rad and had it rebuilt, that solved the problem.  If you get it running again, run your hand along the rad, and check for cool/warm spots, you could have a clogged radiator.

Chances are though the repeat over heating stressed the gasket and possibly warped the heads.  Did you keep any of the old 3.0, didn't it obly have a burnt valve.  You might also talk to the guy you got the engine from and see if he is willing to return some of your money since he put the wrong t-stat in it.

Grumpy1

If Blackdog doesn't want the diesel, what are you wanting for it.  I have a buddy that has been looking for one for his '91 trail rig.

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

I know the overheating has nothing to do with it being a 3.0, I just hate this engine   I took out my t-stat altogether, and I havnet overheated since.  My truck still blows EXTREMELY hot air from the heater, and after a short trip, the cooling system is too hot to touch.  My truck sounds alright now, but it stil will nto maintain an idle, it just stutters to a stop. Also, after it has been running for about 10 minutes, it is a PITA to start again, the truck just wont fire.  The engine cranks over, but it wont fire.  I do still have the old 3.0, and the heads were "reconditioned"  I just want to eliminate anything welse that may be wrong before I swap the heads.  My radiator isnt clogged, after running the engine for about 5 minutes, the top and bottom are HOT.

I know I wont get any of the $$ back from the engine, but thats life, My other engine has good eads, just a cracked block, so when I get back from my firefighter testing, I'll probably swap them out, and see what happens.

[RHG]

ooooh firefighter testing, physical test? Thats some hard right there. My uncle is a captain and says he has never been beat that hard on the job. Wish you lots of good luck and I hope that motor doesnt fight you anymore. If you need another hand give me a call. Ive got this week off.

[grumpy1@netptc.net]

just a thought check the intake air boots for any loose clamps and or cracks on them also check to make sure the entire air induction from the mat to the throttle body is free from cracks or loose parts
also check the throttle plate to make sure its not dirty if it is use carb spray and clean both the front and back also you can remove the idle air screw and blow out that passage and clean it also - any or all of these things can cause a no idle problem-good luck
grumpy

[Brandon]

wow

you win the bad luck award..

Sounds like rings, not a head gasket (bottom end)

[hudlenutz]

It's a wag, but:

The excess heat, the fact that the engine won't stay running, and the difficult hot starting may be from some exhaust restriction (oily cat converter/partially plugged cat/trail damage to the exhaust)?

Check out 4runnerRick's 7mge swap thread I think he did it for less than $2k.

[Brandon]

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=378910

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

It's a wag, but:

The excess heat, the fact that the engine won't stay running, and the difficult hot starting may be from some exhaust restriction (oily cat converter/partially plugged cat/trail damage to the exhaust)?

Check out 4runnerRick's 7mge swap thread I think he did it for less than $2k.

I'll havve to check for trail damage, I dont think I have any but I'lll look.  I know its not the cat, as I dont have one right now

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

wow

you win the bad luck award..

Sounds like rings, not a head gasket (bottom end)

No kidding   I'll live though, my truck hates me, but it is still driving

[reklund5]

Blackdog-

It's time to swap in a 3.4.  Or howbout a 7M?

Say the word and I'll come tow it to NM and do the swap for $1k plus your parts.   

Ryan

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

Blackdog-

It's time to swap in a 3.4.  Or howbout a 7M?

Say the word and I'll come tow it to NM and do the swap for $1k plus your parts.   

Ryan

That bad huh?  You have no idea how tempting that is   

[Brandon]

I agree, ditch the 3.0..

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

Hell, I agree too  

I think we should start a fund, everyone give a dollar to blackdog so he can fix his junk for good, by gettin rid of the 3.0!!!

Anyone who donates, I'll write their name on my truck, they can be my sponsors

I wanna get rid of it, but I gotta keep the truck running for now, cant take it outta commission for too long.

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

So how bad of an idea would it be to keep driving my truck?  I really dont have much of a choice, but I've got the keeping it running down, and I'm keeping it full of oil.  I'd love to bering it up to the roundup, even if it is in this shape, but I wont if its gonna blow up on me.  As of right now, I am driving it as little as possible.

[Brandon]

start running 20/50 oil, thick stuff..