More problems, head gasket mabye??

[BLACKDOG]

Dunno what the problem is   My truck starts fine and runs fine, but everyonce in a while, starting today, it spews white smoke out the tailpipe.  I drove about 40 miles on the freeway, and the temp guage was rigth where it was supposed to be, once I got off the freeway and drove about 2 miles, the temp guage was up to about halfway, which I have never seen it at.  THe fan is kicking on, but the temp keeps rising.  I have no idea what cuold cause this, I am gonna check the plugs and the oil tommorow, to see what they look like.  could it be temp sensor?  head gasket??  The engine is a stock 3.0 from 1991, with 187,000 miles on it.  the recall was done on the head gasket, and the timing belt was replaced 10K miles ago.  The only mod to the engine is a k&n airfilter.  I have no idea what esle it could be.  The radiator looks fine, but i am gonna check that tommorow as well

[MidgetMike]

I bet you it's just the thermastat. I would flush the radiator and change the fluid and stat.

[Skinny_Pedal]

agreed...thats a thermostat symptom right there....ask me how i know

[mr4x42u]

a t-stat won't cause smoke...you say san is kicking on??Do you have an electric fan?I assume you have a fan clutch unless you converted it..Sounds more like a fan clutch,,freeway temp will stay normal with a bad fan clutch,,air flow,,you got off the freeway and saw higher then normal temps wich makes me lean towards fan clutch,,,now the smoke you talk of is another matter..

[BLACKDOG]

I didnt get the chance to check the plugs or oil today, as I spent the day puking my guts out. hopefully tommorow I will be better.  what else do ya'll think it could be??  It is a clutch fan, not electric.  THe smoke doest happen all the time, just everyonce in a while.  is there anyway to test the fan clutch or the t-stat?? 

[FATB0Y]

I didnt get the chance to check the plugs or oil today, as I spent the day puking my guts out. hopefully tommorow I will be better. what else do ya'll think it could be?? It is a clutch fan, not electric. THe smoke doest happen all the time, just everyonce in a while. is there anyway to test the fan clutch or the t-stat??

2 check the fan clutch all ya gotta do is start the truck get up to temp shut it OFF grab the fan and see if it turns freely IT should NOT!! if it does replace the clutch but DONT get one from AutoZone Get OEM Ask me how I know

[mr4x42u]

not really a test..Toyota sells the special fluid to rebuild the toyota clutch fan,,and only put a toyota t-stat in it..maybe its just me but I've only had good luck with toy t-stats..seems everyother t-stat goes out within the year..
My vote is clutch fan..Maybe someone from marlin will chime in with the toy part number for the fluid in the clutch fan,,and trust me only get a oem clutch fan or rebuld yours..The rest are junk..

PAGING MARLIN<<PAGING MARLIN,,I know its been posted on the fourm before but can't find it..

[FATB0Y]

  that's kinda what I said   

[mr4x42u]

  that's kinda what I said   

kinda,,we were postin at the same time,,you just beat me to it..

[FATB0Y]

oh

[MiniSimp]

Have you done a compression test at all?
Does the exaust smell like coolant?

[MidgetMike]

My truck spits white smoke when it's cold out on starts it goes away as soon as it's warm, check the fan and every thing but I bet it's still the t stat. W I f my radiator is low my truck gets warm around town and cools on the freeway unless I pull a hard grade. And I also had a coolant leak into my #3 cylinder wich is why I couldn't find  it so look for a clean plug. Good luck.

[BLACKDOG]

Have you done a compression test at all?
Does the exaust smell like coolant?

Havent done a compression test, exhaust smells normal

[BLACKDOG]

anybody else??  Im still down, but hopefully I'll be up and around tommorow Any other ideas??  we started it today and it ran fine, and the exhaust smelled fine.  didnt wait long enought for it to heat up so i could check the fan clutch. It was smokin a lot, white smoke, but it smelled normal.

[mr4x42u]

are you getting the steam that is normal when cold mixed up with smoke,,had to ask?Sometimes an older engine will smoke in the morning or after its been shut down for a while,,valve guides,seals leaking,,showing age..really a combo of things can cause it,nothing really to worry about by the sounds of it..the cooling issure I would for sure look into..

[FATB0Y]

are you getting the steam that is normal when cold mixed up with smoke,,had to ask?Sometimes an older engine will smoke in the morning or after its been shut down for a while,,valve guides,seals leaking,,showing age

That's what I was gonna say.^

[BLACKDOG]

Well, I am up and around today sorta     I am gonna check/change my oil, pull the plugs, and change the thermostat after i go to work for a while (test the fan clutch when I get to work, but I have a feeling its not the problem, fan was workin fine)  so we'll see if I can fix it wish me luck  

Ohyeah, the smoking i am not to worried about, its just that it has never happened as frequently as it is right now, but i talked to my dad, and his van did that one time after he got watered down gas. 

[BLACKDOG]

well, i drove to work, and the truck ran fine.  didnt get up to temp to test the fan   figures!  Oh well.  I was listening and watching the enitre way, and the smoke out the tailpipe is buggin me.  It is extremely noticable when I stop at a light or sign or something.      I'm confused.  My truck doesnt seem to be running right, but if I close my eyes, it is running right.  No loss of power, nothin.  When I got to work, I shutoff my truck, and I still had smoke pouring out my exhaust pipe.  It took about 5 minutes for it all to clear.  Any ideas?  Like i said, sparkplugs, oil, and thermostat are on the list of things to do today.

When a headgasket blows, would you lose power??

[MiniSimp]

When my headgasket blew, no power loss, however I did have steam coming out of my exhaust for about 2-3 minutes after I shut my truck off. (BTW, the steam looked like exhaust)

[BLACKDOG]

I have a sinking feelin  I know what the problem is

[BLUCRUZ]

check under your oil filler cap, if there is chocolate milk looking foam, then it's a head gasket

[BLACKDOG]

ok will do.  Also, when this problem first really came about, i was in town, then I got on the freeway, drove about 20 miles, and got into another town where i drove around a bit.  This is where i noticed the smoking and the temp rising.  As soon as I got on the freeway, the temp dropped back down to normal though, would a blown head gasket do that?? 

[BLACKDOG]

check under your oil filler cap, if there is chocolate milk looking foam, then it's a head gasket

I think we got a winner      

Also, my truck is leavin puddles of water everywhere it goes (1 foot diameter puddles) from the exhaust pipe.  I know not good, but what does this usually indicate?

[MiniSimp]

Head gasket is blown dude.
Not a bad fix, took me 10 hours.
It was my first time tearing in to a motor though.

[MiniSimp]

Here was my valve cover.

[MiniSimp]

This was my oil filter

[BLACKDOG]

what tools did ya need??  I live in an apartment, and have limited access to tools.  The only ones I have are what you would find standard in your shade tree mechanic's toolbox.  Some sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer of course, and other miscellaneous wrenches and toys

Also, if anyone knows of a good shop for this in Sac, it would be much appreciated, and could ya'll post up some prices I would expect to pay for it??  I dont really have the time, space, tools, or knowledge to do this myself, but then again, I dont have a hell of a lot of money either 


I'm assuming this goes without saying, no more driving for BD for a while, huh??

[MiniSimp]

For tools, i beleive it was just standard stuff, sockets, wrenches, micrometer, compression tester, feelers. I had a lot of help and direction from a friend of my uncles, who is a full time mechanic in Sonora. I do not recommend doing it w/out a knowlegable mechanic at hand.

[BLACKDOG]

I do not recommend doing it w/out a knowlegable mechanic at hand.[/b]

Thats what I was thinkin

[MidgetMike]

that sucks man I hope you can get it fixed sorry to here it's the gasket