Gotta have a cracked head

[RonD]

I truly believe it's cracked somewhere in the exhaust side of things...guess I wasted $7 on that liquid glass then...fooey

Heck my boss told me to toss about 2 tablespoons of ground pepper in it, if it's not a leak on the pressure side he said it might seal it up for a bit

I really hate having issues with my engine...because I don't want to be down for a huge long time while I get the dang thing fixed.

A few tests will tell you what is going on.

While it is more fun to guess what the problem is, at some point you have to find out.


Head gasket sealer works fine, used it a few times to get engines thru the winter months when I didn't have an indoor shop.
They do NOT hurt the engine or cooling system, I know from doing the disassembly and repair after using it for 3 to 6 months on various engines.
Engines(rad and heater core) lasted for years after "proper repair" without a problem.
While pulling the head and fixing the leak is always the best choice it is not always an option in all situations.

Pepper does work in a "pinch", lol.
But for cooling system leaks not cylinder leaks.

 

[XLTsplash]

I wasn't happy with the reman. head that I got from a auto parts store. I could see the head was cracked in two places and had been repaired. Plus they forgot to install and plug in the back of the cam. So I returned that head and when with the new head from ebay. You need the 95/97 head for your 2.3L they had smaller valve stems. The heads cracking on the 95/97 2.3Ls is common enough that someone is making new and improved cylinder heads for them.

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

I wasn't happy with the reman. head that I got from a auto parts store. I could see the head was cracked in two places and had been repaired. Plus they forgot to install and plug in the back of the cam. So I returned that head and when with the new head from ebay. You need the 95/97 head for your 2.3L they had smaller valve stems. The heads cracking on the 95/97 2.3Ls is common enough that someone is making new and improved cylinder heads for them.

Where do we find those, the ebay link you gave?

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

Well...I completely brain farted myself

Pay attention class...don't do what I did

Follow directions!

Used liquid glass in my truck...but didn't follow directions...it states you drain the antifreeze, then put in nothing but pure water, then treat with liquid gas, run the vehicle a bit...THEN completely drain the water out and let sit for 24 hrs...then refill will antifreeze

I didn't do this and put it directly in...a few days later on my drive home from work...the truck started clacking like the hydraulic lifter was collapsing, pulled over and popped the hood, noticed the overflow tank had popped the lid and spewed radiator fluid under the hood, pulled the pressure relief valve and let the radiator bubble into the overflow tank. Started up again...had to stop 2x times again before I got home.

Noticed my radiator was almost completely dry the next time I drove the truck...short 3-4 mile drive, refilled radiator and got home, when I got home popped hood and noticed a steady stream of water coming off the water pump right behind the serpentine belt pulley (great...I just put this pump on there)

Turns out after I pulled the upper radiator hose to change the pump again I noticed what looked like dried paint in the hose (if you ever dumped out paint and let it dry, it forms a sheet of stretchy rubber like consistency goop, this was INSIDE the water jacket of my truck) so I decide well..time to pull the thermostat too...you guess it, completely gooped it up...almost NO flow thru the thermostat..yippie, I totally dumbassed myself.

so I scrape out all that sheet paint like goop...re-flushed the head/block with a waterhose saw little flakes of the stuff coming out, flushed the radiator w/ fresh water from fill hole and the hot sideneck, saw some flakes...got a new thermostat, gasket, and water pump (apparently the seals on the water pump don't like too much pressure on them...duh)

Well now I know the problem...ME

I also noticed that the new thermostat will NOT fit in the thermostat housing evenly...measured it...the stock thermostat is 26.86~mm the new thermostat (correct part number [I checked...the o'rilleys tech checked, we even got another one and checked]) is 28.38~mm, their $60~ thermostat housing the new thermostat dropped right in (along with the old that was a little loose) I guarantee the stock flange in the thermostat housing is too small...only way to fix it is to gently grind out the hole and make it a little bit bigger diameter so the slightly larger new thermostat will fit down in the hole in the flange...yippie (coincidentally the old thermostat does work...I had to clean it up because that goopy residue clogged it solid!)

click image for full size
Stock


New


Thermostat housing flange


Lessons learned, once I get it back together and get the new OBDII bluetooth diagnostics module and Torque app I will be able see the exact temperature (since my dash temp gauge is busted)

Then I get to start square 1 to see if it is still leaking and/or if the liquid glass did it's job

Moral of the story: Follow directions on a product specifically designed to seal up orifices that shouldn't be there...

 

[tomw]

I bought a thermostat housing for less than $15... Had to order it in from the warehouse, but it was 'next day'. From memory, there should be some little metal 'arms' that can be deformed outward to hold the stat in place in the housing. The seal is formed on the front surface of the stat. There should be a 'rubber' gasket that squishes up against the smaller diameter surface of the stat housing. The 'arms' would hold the stat side to side, and the larger diameter of the stat would be trapped between the block and a depressed 'groove' in the housing. The large diameter does not need to be an exact diameter as long as it will fit into the channel in the sealing surface of the housing.
You may have some 'different' parts, or 'universal fit' parts??? Or they changed design from what is in my truck.
tom

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

Well...went to my buddies house...had a die grinder w/ a carbide cutting head

Took me longer to drive to his place and find the grinder and plug it in than it did to cut a few thousandths of material off the flange in the housing...literally fired up the grinder, held the housing in left hand, grinder in right, one single very light pass around the inner circumference of the hole...new slightly oversized thermostat plunked right in

Tomorrow..I get to bolt it all together...again!

I did get a HF 3/8" torque wrench for $11~ [regular price is $29.99, sticker at store on the shelf showed $21.99] and a free tape measure too (my wife is a crazy coupon lady and I have buckets of free coupons...me and the kids got at least 20 of the 24 pack AA and AAA packs [fills and entire drawer in the outside fridge] and like 9 multimeter and those little 27 led blue light thingies)

 

[Mikel89us]

Lol nice

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

Tell me what's wrong with this picture

Click for full size


Now I know why I was getting the P0301 (cylinder 1 missfire) code

 

[RonD]

yup, they don't fire well with an anti-freeze mix, never seen that crack on dual plug head before, on the 4.0l OHV heads it was more common to get a head crack between valve seats

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

Well it's fixed...and once again doing my own wrenching has more or less reinforced the notion of why mechanics get the big bucks

Finally fixed it

Got a head from O'rilleys Auto Parts for $449, gasket set, antifreeze, mechanical temp gauge, new radiator [all said and done about $900~ not counting the $175 core charge return (minus 10% for military discount )

Pulled the head earlier that day, me and my brother prepped the block and ensured everything was smooth and ready to go, got the head in the next morning.

I had to rent the 1/2" torque wrench [$81 returned when I was done] (come to think of it I could have used my 3/8" one as the torque directions said to torque down to 50 ft pounds and then go another 90-100 degrees, but ended up using theirs.

Learned many things...most important is to ensure ALL gaskets/seals are placed in the brand spanking new head...I got everything put in and fired it up...ran beautiful, perfect idle, no more cylinder 1 misfire...but after about 45 seconds notices oil was being slung around...traced it back to the back side of the timing belt pulley (aka the camshaft) then noticed there was a round seal in the gasket box, kinda looked like a rear main seal in a transmission...then had the "smack myself in the forehead coulda had a V8" moment and realized I forgot the camshaft seal.

Well tonight me and my sons tore it down again...I had gotten so efficient at tearing the front end (fan and shroud, upper radiator hose, ac compressor, power steering mount, timing belt cover) down I had it down in about 20 minutes...popped off the camshaft pulley and voila...gaping hole where the seal was SUPPOSED to be...DUH!

Put it in place...and put everything back together...about 40 minutes getting the front end back together...fired up the truck..no more oil sling, no more leaks drips and/or issues...let it idle till it hit operating temperature, still no leaks or issues.

I noticed that before I did all this work on my OBD II diagnostic module the temp was upwards of 240~ degrees...now..it runs right at 180 degrees (which is the temp of the thermostat I put in [I live in Houston and we have very hot days so a little cooler than the stock 195 should be ok])

I believe I have fixed it...everything is good to go, going to take the truck to the car wash tomorrow and degrease and wash out the engine well so if anything else is leaking I will know..but so far it looks high and dry and running well. (still not 100% sure I have the timing dead on)

All in all I probably disassembled the front end about a dozen times fixing this and that (I replaced the thermostat and water pump 2x)

Pain in the butt...but for about $700~ I fixed the problem and have a good running truck...that I KNOW was done right because I did it myself. The guy I bought it from just paid some guy to replace the head gasket...they more than likely knew the crack was there but "forgot" to mention it. Oh well...such is life.

done and done

 

[Mikel89us]

Glad to see its fixed!

 

[Mark_88]

Yes, good going and all that...good to see that it was a cracked head (not really, but)...just wondering if you had an overheat recently???

I've been through at least 3 head replacements in 14 years with mine and each one I did myself...quite a bit easier with a carb for many reasons...but it was never really fun until it's done...sounds like a good hook line for a song...eh!...

The learning experience and the feeling of accomplishing something was more rewarding than anything else I've done...except maybe a few things...but worth the cost...if it lasts you another 5 years (about average of my rebuilds) and you leaned something it was worth twice as much...

 

[Mikel89us]

That kind of crack can also be fixed, you grind out the crack all the way past the end, then re weld it, and have it machined for the valve seats again. Much cheaper than a head replacement.

 

[XLTsplash]

It's good to hear that you've got your Ranger fixed. Now you can enjoy.

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

Yes, good going and all that...good to see that it was a cracked head (not really, but)...just wondering if you had an overheat recently???

I've been through at least 3 head replacements in 14 years with mine and each one I did myself...quite a bit easier with a carb for many reasons...but it was never really fun until it's done...sounds like a good hook line for a song...eh!...

The learning experience and the feeling of accomplishing something was more rewarding than anything else I've done...except maybe a few things...but worth the cost...if it lasts you another 5 years (about average of my rebuilds) and you leaned something it was worth twice as much...

Original owner I got it from overheated it...the dash temp gauge was busted but the guy drove it like that...ran it dry, overheated it (the guy didn't take care of his vehicles at all!)

I got it from him...thus got the problems from him...thought it was a warped head...but it was cracked

I knew it was going to be bad when I took my bike over to trade him for the truck and he was telling me about an old truck "back in the day" he literally drove into the ground, was thinking "oh great...and he drove this one into the ground as well"