Topic: 22re headgasket???

[tengy86]

I have a 1982 crawler that I just swapped a 22re into and already having some problems.  After filling up my radiator and reserve tank to full and driving for 5-10 minutes I notice coolant spewing out of my reserve tank.  It does this until my reserve tank is empty and then some from my radiator.  I know this because my radiator coolant level is down as well as my reserve tank is empty.  I recently replaced radiator cap to eliminate cap issues but am still stuck on what else it could be.  My truck doesn't overheat so I am stimbled?  Please help!  4wheeling season is right around the corner. Thanks

[tengy86 [OP]]

Sorry some other details I forgot to add.  Brand new water pump, brand new t-stat from dealer, flushed heater core, heater works great.  Just don't know why coolant is being blown out from reserve tank.  Some condensation on oil cap but no enough to tell me gasket is completly gone.  The donor motor did sit for a while before I installed it, could it be that intake cooling system is all plugged up.  Becasue in order for my heater to work I had to tear out the inlet and outlet pipe (steel) and clean all that brown rusty gunk out.  Any suggestions will be helpful.

[Sparkplug]

If you fill the reserves too full, they will blow out the excess. You may just be overfilling it. If compression is good, and no overheating, or white smoke, I would just run it. After it has dumped all the water it is going to, can you see water in the top of rad, or is it all gone?? Could also be you didnt burp it or burp it correctly, and there is air in the system.

[emsvitil]

Take the cap off and see if there's lots of bubbles coming out.

A bad headgasket can force air into the system and you'll get what you described.

[tengy86 [OP]]

First off I like to thank you guys for the replies.   

I tried burping the cooling system by letting it idle with the cap off for 10-15 minutes, but what happens it that it keeps on burping it out countinuously which is sort of wierd.  So what I do is after 15 minutes I top off radiator and and close cap and fill  reserve tank to full line.  So then I would run truck around town and notice coolant coming out of my reserve tank rubber vent line.  Then I open the cap on the radiator and notice coolant is down to where I have to add at least 30 to 40 oz of water to radiator to top off.  Then fill reserve back to full line. 

Should I try burping it longer then 15 minutes?  Or should I burp it until no more burping? Or is my headgasket already gone but not enough to cause overheating yet?   

 

[fade]

is the exhaust spitting water? or does it smell sweet? I bet its blown just not quite enough to cause it to over heat yet. Or your timing cover has a hole worn in it...

[tengy86 [OP]]

Exhaust is not spitting any water, only at start up where i get condensation and smells normal, no sweet smell

Is the only way to check if I have a hole in timing cover is to tear down?  Also a hole in timing chain can cause water to blow out of reserve tank?   thanks

[fade]

Well your reserve tank will get suction from the pressure in the radiator so when its running low on water it will pull it out. Yeah pretty much only way to tell is pull off the timing cover. Might try and take off the waterpump and see if you can see anything there. Unless you got some small mirrors and good small lighting you might beable to see in there with the v.c. off.

[tengy86 [OP]]

Okay looks like I need to tear out tc cover.  Thanks for the help. 

[emsvitil]

The cylinder has more pressure behind it, so it's possible to force air into the cooling system without getting water into the oil or combustion chamber.............

[muddytaco]

The cylinder has more pressure behind it, so it's possible to force air into the cooling system without getting water into the oil or combustion chamber.............

  yea thats cool never thought of that, never had it happen but makes sense

[Sparkplug]

I would compression test it, and then leak test it. That will tell you for sure. If it is leaking enough to blow air into the radiator, then that cylinder would have significantly lower compression than the rest. I personally dont think it is the head gasket. You can pull the valve cover, and use a flashligh to get a pretty good look at the timing cover without pulling it off. But i dont see how a hole in your timing cover would cause you to lose coolant out of the overflow. Have you pulled the rad to make sure its not plugged. Do that then unhook t stat, and pull lower rad hose, and run a garden hose through it for like 20 minutes, higher pressure is better. I have done this and had 1 whole handful of crap come out. Just lettin you know things you should check before you go and pull the head off.

[herpestes]

if timing cover has a hole it will leak coolant into the crankcase..........does the temp gauge peg the needle?

try pulling the stat and test run without to see if overheating still continues.