4.0L loosing coolant but cant find leak

[Big Jim M]

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One time, I put a completely rebuilt head on a four cylinder with a lot of miles on it. That new head was so tight that it started sucking oil past the rings and pushing blow-by oil into the air cleaner. I really screwed up that engine.

First time I ever heard of that!
Big Jim

 

[enjr44]

First time I ever heard of that!
Big Jim

Me, I'm just the dummy in the crowd. A old mechanic that had spent half his life on those engines told me that is what can happen with the new head on one of those old Ford long stroke tractor type engines. It was running great before the change. The old head just had an outside water jacket crack.

 

[skoal777]

ok so i did everything by the book but i have one question about it. now that i have it together and am driving it to work my temp gauge wanders not bad but it will go up to the half way point and than drop down the about one quarter than rise back up to about half. is this normal? it never goes above half way

 

[97RangerXLT]

Sounds like you have an air bubble in your coolant system. you will need to burp it. make sure the truck in on level ground or facing slightly uphill, and remove the radiator cap. Check fluid level and top off if necessary. replace cap but don't tighten it. run the engine until it is warm, recheck radiator level everytime the thermostat opens for a few cycles. add fluid as necessary and tighten the cap.

AJ

 

[97RangerXLT]

Oh, btw, make sure your heater is on max heat before you start.

AJ

 

[skoal777]

ok i did that when i first started and filled it but could it be that the head gasket blew again? i really hope not but i keep thinking that and i dont know why even tho i did everything by the book. i will try it again. i do have heat and it never changes no matter where the needle is.

 

[enjr44]

Don't give up yet. Do the glove test again.
I just changed the coolant in mine (admit different engine) and it took two days to get the air out.

I am leaning toward getting one of these http://www.sears.com/lisle-24680-spill-free-funnel/p-SPM8149155329?hlSellerId=35364&sid=IDx20110310x00001i&kpid=SPM10579943819&kispla=SPM10579943819 before I do my next coolant change on one of these newer vehicles.

 

[skoal777]

ok so i tried it again with no luck just a whole bunch of coolant on my driveway. (my driveway have a big slope in it) i just have no idea what is wrong if anything i forgot to mention that i cleaned the sensors while i had it apart with sand paper could that have made the sensor go bad? also could the rad cap have anything to do with this. i did notice when i did run it in my drive way that little bubbles were coming up from the over flow is this normal? the overflow never gets any fuller or any more empty at any engine temp

 

[black_demon69]

ok i will try that. but if i had a blow head gasket where would the coolant be going. as i said i dont have any sweet smell out of the exhaust, and no oil in coolant and no coolant in the oil? thats why im confused.

could be pumping it out of the resivior

 

[black_demon69]

ok so i tried it again with no luck just a whole bunch of coolant on my driveway. (my driveway have a big slope in it) i just have no idea what is wrong if anything i forgot to mention that i cleaned the sensors while i had it apart with sand paper could that have made the sensor go bad? also could the rad cap have anything to do with this. i did notice when i did run it in my drive way that little bubbles were coming up from the over flow is this normal? the overflow never gets any fuller or any more empty at any engine temp

can you take video? when engine is cold remove radiator cap then start engine if it spews coolant out of the radiator you have a blown head or head gasket.. glove test shouldn't dance if all is good but will if compression is getting into cooling system.. again the key is a cold engine..


ok the reason for the cold engine is that some pressure builds when hot and you need to rule heat out as a cause of pushing coolant out.. this is also the reason for the overflow resivior coolant expands and builds pressure when heated..


sensors should be fine

did you replace the t stat? did you replace the radiator cap? did you replace the water pump? when you did head? did you replace 1 or both head gaskets/heads?

you might consider putting in flushing tees
i like to put 2 flushing tees in on the inlet and outlet of the heater core ,because it does 2 things 1 helps me flush system and back flush heater core 2 helps me burp air out of cooling system when filling it back up..

 

[willy]

Change the oil if you havent already pulling heads gets coolant in the oil pan its also possible that the heads are warped machine shop should have checked that tho

 

[skoal777]

ok to answer everything i took both heads off and took them to the machine shop he had to plane .007 off to get them flat. he pressure tested for crack and all was good there. yes i did both heads there is honestly no point in taking everything else down that far for just one head when all you have is another 19 bolts. all gaskets from head up are new. along with new tstat. the only things i didnt use is the EGR stuff cause i removed all of mine. the rad cap is about 5 years old and it came with the new rad when i got it. i drained all the coolant out of the system when i pulled everything apart along with the oil and refiled and changed filter when i when i was done

 

[black_demon69]

ok to answer everything i took both heads off and took them to the machine shop he had to plane .007 off to get them flat. he pressure tested for crack and all was good there. yes i did both heads there is honestly no point in taking everything else down that far for just one head when all you have is another 19 bolts. all gaskets from head up are new. along with new tstat. the only things i didnt use is the EGR stuff cause i removed all of mine. the rad cap is about 5 years old and it came with the new rad when i got it. i drained all the coolant out of the system when i pulled everything apart along with the oil and refiled and changed filter when i when i was done

good both heads.. that is what i thought but i have seen some that the extra 19 bolts are just too much work LOL.... so at this point you either popped the head/head gasket when filling it with coolant (and yes it can happen) or you have an air pocket.. i would replace the radiator cap and possibly the water pump just for good measure. impeller on pump could have eroded away..

 

[PlumCrazy]

Not sure if its too late or not....don't buy Delta Cam anything...its all junk. 20K on my rockers and they are toast, they wont respond to my calls/emails either.

 

[enjr44]

ok so i tried it again with no luck just a whole bunch of coolant on my driveway. (my driveway have a big slope in it) i just have no idea what is wrong if anything i forgot to mention that i cleaned the sensors while i had it apart with sand paper could that have made the sensor go bad? also could the rad cap have anything to do with this. i did notice when i did run it in my drive way that little bubbles were coming up from the over flow is this normal? the overflow never gets any fuller or any more empty at any engine temp

OK, guy, just how much coolant did you get into the radiator? My bet not any where near the specified amount.

The coolant in the radiator expands as it heats up. If the cooling system is full, the coolant expands and since it is liquid (and cannot be compressed) this extra coolant has to go someplace (that is why in days of old the radiator was never completely full).

So if the level in the overflow tank does not change it is because the radiator is not full. That is the bubbles you see. The coolant is expanding and forcing air out of the system. There can be two reasons the radiator is not full.

You didn't get it full!!! Or,

Compression gases are getting into the cooling system and pushing coolant out. If compression was pushing it out of a full radiator, the overflow tank would get full and then overflow (been there and done that). If it is trying to push it out of a less than full radiator it may not change.

If you haven't done it, do the glove test.