Topic: Wow, I'm lost

[Rebeltilldeath3]

As some of you may have read in my other thread, I thought my head gasket was blown....

I'm lost on this one.  I cranked it up to drive it around after it sat for about a week, I wanted to check on it before I tore it down.  I'm losing coolant pretty fast, but there's no steam coming out the exhaust, and it's running fairly decent except for a slight miss around 3500rpm.  I don't understand how it's losing coolant so fast, leaving no puddles or obvious leaks, no steam out of the exhaust except for start up, and running fairly well.

When I took it out I left the cap off the radiator so there wouldn't be so much pressure and to stop it from sucking it into the cylinders.  It started steaming bad, it was coming through the vents.  I stopped, put the cap on.  Barely any steam coming out from under the hood until about 3 minutes later when I got home, then it was steaming fairly well, but it could have been from all the coolant sloshed around from not having the cap on.

I am honestly lost, and don't want to rip the head off and find nothing wrong.

[4Runnerdude]

You need to pressure test the cooling system, also remove the spark plugs and check to see if the plugs are wet or white.  if the plugs are white it means your burning coolant.  Aslo check the color of your engine oil to see if it looks normal. if it looks like coffe, then you have coolant entering into your engine.

[4Runnerdude]

do you have a standard or automatic trans?

[ntsqd]

If 22R I'm guessing timing cover vs timing chain, chain won.

[79coyotefrg]

you need to do a compression check while you have those plugs out,    with steam coming thru the vents i would think you have a bad heater coil and coolant is running into the cab


compression,
oil,  does it look like oil or a milkshake?
plug color and  condition

[freds40]

Definately check the oil. If it's not coming out but it is not where it should be, then it has to be somewhere and the oil pan would be my first guess.

[Thumper]

if your wondering if your head is blown there is a test kit you can buy at your local napa store, it is a sniffer bottle it looks like a big surenge you pour this blue liquid into the bottle and put it where your cap would be while the truck is running and squeeze the top and it will bubble if the blue turns too green your headgasket is leaking if it stays blue then its fine. what causes it too turn green is exhaust gasses in your coolant system it contamanates your fluid and will cause the blue too turn too green.
Just go down too napa and ask for a head gasket test kit it comes with the sniffer and u might have too buy the fluid for it too or it might come with some dont remember have had myne for years.
Good luck
adam

[BLACKDOG]

check out my thread under general truck discussion, that might help you out, I dunno 

[Rebeltilldeath3 [OP]]

if your wondering if your head is blown there is a test kit you can buy at your local napa store, it is a sniffer bottle it looks like a big surenge you pour this blue liquid into the bottle and put it where your cap would be while the truck is running and squeeze the top and it will bubble if the blue turns too green your headgasket is leaking if it stays blue then its fine. what causes it too turn green is exhaust gasses in your coolant system it contamanates your fluid and will cause the blue too turn too green.
Just go down too napa and ask for a head gasket test kit it comes with the sniffer and u might have too buy the fluid for it too or it might come with some dont remember have had myne for years.
Good luck
adam

I'm old fashioned, I'd never waste my money on like that.  I pulled the plugs, they were fine, stuck my fingers over the plugs, plenty of compression, no moisture.

Turns out it was the thermostat.  I still need to figure out why cylinder 4 is lean, I'm going to clean up that fuel injector and check the EGR tomorrow.

[Thumper]

Heck theres nuttin wrong with being old fashioned but heck why guess at things when you can buy the test kit and know for shure was all i ment.
least you figured out your problem
good luck with the running lean.
adam