steam in the exhaust

[bronconcious]

I have been having a problem with my BII and it has been going on in this post = Topic: intermittent bogging 88' BII; all opinions welcome

http://broncoii.org/forum/index.php?topic=6251.0

I noticed while troubleshooting the other night that after the truck had warmed up and all the condensation had burned off the exhaust, that the truck was idling great the whole time. The all of a sudden (like someone had flipped a switch) it started stumbling, and a strong smell of fuel was in the exhaust. This time however, I was standing outside of the truck when this happened and I noticed that steam was all of a sudden accompanying this problem! The temp was always normal.

After researching "steam in the exhaust when warm" I'm beginning to suspect that I blew a head gasket. %@$#!

1) Would a compression test (engine cold) determine if the head gasket or cracked head is causing this?
2) Can coolant leak through the intake manifold gaskets and burn that way?
3) I also read that tranny fluid can burn white. Can this happen through the vacuum modulator only?
4) Is there anything else that would cause this to happen or am I SOL?
5) I don't see a foam/milkshake in the oil yet, what can I do to confirm that this is 100% of the cause of my problems?

Sorry for all the questions but I need to solve this problem before the snow hits. Many thanks! :hi:

 

[88Rangernewbie]

I have been having a problem with my BII and it has been going on in this post = Topic: intermittent bogging 88' BII; all opinions welcome

http://broncoii.org/forum/index.php?topic=6251.0

I noticed while troubleshooting the other night that after the truck had warmed up and all the condensation had burned off the exhaust, that the truck was idling great the whole time. The all of a sudden (like someone had flipped a switch) it started stumbling, and a strong smell of fuel was in the exhaust. This time however, I was standing outside of the truck when this happened and I noticed that steam was all of a sudden accompanying this problem! The temp was always normal.

After researching "steam in the exhaust when warm" I'm beginning to suspect that I blew a head gasket. %@$#!

1) Would a compression test (engine cold) determine if the head gasket or cracked head is causing this?
2) Can coolant leak through the intake manifold gaskets and burn that way?
3) I also read that tranny fluid can burn white. Can this happen through the vacuum modulator only?
4) Is there anything else that would cause this to happen or am I SOL?
5) I don't see a foam/milkshake in the oil yet, what can I do to confirm that this is 100% of the cause of my problems?

Sorry for all the questions but I need to solve this problem before the snow hits. Many thanks! :hi:

Hey there bud I had the same problem on my 88 Ranger, and sorry to say yes it is your head gaskets. I would bet that when you take off your heads (if you decide too) you will see it in your cylenders. Sorry . Yes the milkshake like snot you see is water in the oil.

 

[88Rangernewbie]

Hey there bud I had the same problem on my 88 Ranger, and sorry to say yes it is your head gaskets. I would bet that when you take off your heads (if you decide too) you will see it in your cylenders. Sorry . Yes the milkshake like snot you see is water in the oil.

The only way I know of to check the heads is to take them to get them checked.

 

[bronconcious]

I have heard of dyes which you can put in the oil or coolant to see if there is cross-contamination. Any insight?

 

[fordman4488]

You asked

1) Would a compression test (engine cold) determine if the head gasket or cracked head is causing this?
2) Can coolant leak through the intake manifold gaskets and burn that way?
3) I also read that tranny fluid can burn white. Can this happen through the vacuum modulator only?
4) Is there anything else that would cause this to happen or am I SOL?
5) I don't see a foam/milkshake in the oil yet, what can I do to confirm that this is 100% of the cause of my problem



Here is the best I can answer you, maybe someone will do better


1)It could possibly, but i dought it unless the gasket it completley gone
2)Yes, coolant can leak and burn in the combustion chamber, but IME, this has been due to loose or cracked manifolds, or bad intake gasket, and would also leak into the crankcase and would be very noticeable right away most of the time
3)If your BII is auto, the only connection between the engine and trans that trans fluid could go through is the vacuum modulator, but would not explain the studdering and running bad.
4)Could be other thing i would think, just can't think of them off the top of my head.
5)Just wait to see if oil level raises and coolant drops, this is very important. I can't stress this enough, KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE ON YOUR FLUID LEVELS, this will be the best way to diagnose.



I hope this answered your questions, and don't be affraid to ask them, and lots of them, we don't mind, just the more symptoms you give, the more useful we can be

Could also be that you have some fueling issues upon the ECM going into closed loop. Once in closed loop, the ECM relies on sensors, not preset parameters to run the engine, so if you have a bad sensor(aka an 02 sensor) this could explain the running rich and stumbling issue. Pull codes and post them Also.

 

[bronconcious]

Thank you for your detailed response.

I don't know if you read the initial post w/link, but until yesterday, I initially thought it is the coolant temp sensor or TPS. This was the first time I noticed that the exhaust spewed white smoke with the stumbling, maybe it was always associated with it or it could have been a freak incident. The only way to know is to try and make it happen again and to watch the fluid levels per your suggestion.

If coolant was burning in the exhaust would it not trip a code? Reason being if it is telling the computer to dumper a ton of fuel in the system which is causing the rich running/stumbling, because of a high oxygen content (coolant)?

Here are the codes I got, hopefully this will help the diagnosis:

1) code 41 (R) System lean - Fuel control
(M) System was lean for 15 seconds or more (no HO2S switching) - Fuel control
2) code 53 Throttle Position sensor too high - TPS
3) code 21 Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) sensor out of range - ECT
4) code 74 Was brake depressed after engine ID was received ? Brake On Off (BOO) signal open or short to ground - BOO
5) code 77 System did not receive "goose" test - see TESTS

The first 3 could be the cause of my problems. What does Throttle Position sensor too high mean?

 

[bronconcious]

Thank you for your detailed response.

I don't know if you read the initial post w/link, but until yesterday, I initially thought it is the coolant temp sensor or TPS. This was the first time I noticed that the exhaust spewed white smoke with the stumbling, maybe it was always associated with it or it could have been a freak incident. The only way to know is to try and make it happen again and to watch the fluid levels per your suggestion.

If coolant was burning in the exhaust would it not trip a code? Reason being if it is telling the computer to dumper a ton of fuel in the system which is causing the rich running/stumbling, because of a high oxygen content (coolant)?

Here are the codes I got, hopefully this will help the diagnosis:

1) code 41 (R) System lean - Fuel control
(M) System was lean for 15 seconds or more (no HO2S switching) - Fuel control
2) code 53 Throttle Position sensor too high - TPS
3) code 21 Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) sensor out of range - ECT
4) code 74 Was brake depressed after engine ID was received ? Brake On Off (BOO) signal open or short to ground - BOO
5) code 77 System did not receive "goose" test - see TESTS

The first 3 could be the cause of my problems. What does Throttle Position sensor too high mean?

 

[fordman4488]

Did you recently replace the TPS. If you did you have to set the voltage when putting one on.

And yes, it seams like the first 3 could cause your problem, just have to figure out if it is a faulty sensor, or if there is something that is causing the sensor(like the engine isn't running right for some reason other than faulty sensor) and then try to fix it.

 

[bronconcious]

UPDATE:

The steam has not peered it's ugly head since my initial post, and I have run the vehicle in all sorts of conditions. I think it is safe to say that coolant is not being burnt in the exhaust. However I still have my intermittent bogging/running rich.

- changed the coolant temp sensor without any improvement

-I probed the O2 sensor with a voltmeter when the truck was idling (hot). With the neg probe on the black wire and the pos probe on one of the white wire no.1) I get 14.2V, white wire no.2) I get 0.0V? This would explain why the computer sees a lean mixture with 0.0V. The question is what would cause this reading, the O2 sensor, something else?

 

[fordman4488]

I don't know what wires are suppose to be probed together, and what the values are suppose to be, but as i asked above, have you recently replaced the TPS, because you have to set the voltage(runs on resistance IIRC) in order for the sensor to work properly. Not saying it is your problem, but may be part of it.

 

[bronconcious]

I don't know what wires are suppose to be probed together, and what the values are suppose to be, but as i asked above, have you recently replaced the TPS, because you have to set the voltage(runs on resistance IIRC) in order for the sensor to work properly. Not saying it is your problem, but may be part of it.

The voltage readings off the TPS were lower than what they are suppose to be according to this and other charts:

http://www.broncoii.org/techpages/eeciv/index.htm

I will double check the values tomorrow and see if there is a smooth increase/decrease in resistance when the throttle is opened/closed.
I haven't changed the TPS since I bought the truck 3 years ago, I only swapped the original over when I bought a used 58mm TB. Does the ECU read the signal from the TPS when the engine is cold, hot or both?

 

[jaymegriffiths]

In the link to the other forum, some guy said rangers have 2 temp sensors, one for guage and one for ecu, is this true?

 

[bronconcious]

In the link to the other forum, some guy said rangers have 2 temp sensors, one for guage and one for ecu, is this true?

Yes that is correct.

 

[fordman4488]

It should read both warm and cold, because that is what controls the IAC(partially), and calculates the load, which in turn, along with other sensors, tells the ECU how much fuel to put into the engine. When your truck is cold(aka open loop), most of these sensors are shut off, but not the TPS, So if you have a bad tps and another failing sensor somewhere else, these could combine to give you your symptoms, I do not think that these symptoms are caused by the TPS alone, but if your voltage is diff. than those specified, it needs to be set, and could help the problem, and eliminate one sensor. And one of your codes was a TPS code, could be part of the problem.

Then after, I would pull codes again and see what is going on.

 

[bronconcious]

Thread update:

Finally broke down and had it towed to a mechanic as now the power went completely dead when the ignition switch was turned to START, I just don't have the time to put into it before the snow hits. Read the codes with a Snap-On code reader and it specifically told him the O2 sensor is showing as defective (lean); hence the dumping of fuel when the truck warms up and goes into closed-loop.

I always suspected the O2 sensor as one of the problems as it is one of the few sensors which is active only when the vehicle gets warm. I just didn't want to believe it because it was replaced last year and the Ford OEM one was working for 20 years.

The difference is I replaced it with an ebaY Borg-Warner sensor, this one specifically:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350217373145&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Yes it is cheap, but I expected it to last more than a year! This time I went with a high quality, direct fit, Bosch O2 sensor. So far the truck is running great, I'll let you know if anything changes. Thanks for all the help.