Front seal and carbon buildup - opinions - Page 2

**adsm08** · 01-27-2019, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mazdab40004x4

Well I got the heads off today and it's bad news. I have a crack between the valves in cylinder number 4 (front driver's side). So I guess it's time for new heads.

I am also noticing that the cylinder walls are very shiny. No scratches and no ridge at the top, but I'm not seeing any cross hatching. Just shiny metal. What can or should I do about this, if anything? I wasn't noticing any oil consumption or blue smoke before all of this but it could have been masked by the burning coolant.

The mileage on this engine is unknown but it's a lot -- north of 300k. The odometer hasn't worked from the day I bought it 10 years ago and the last known reading in the state system was 310k. I don't drive it much, maybe a few thousand miles a year so I'd guess around 350-400k total.

Any advice here would be appreciated.

Feel for a ridge too. The ridge at the top is usually .020 inch or less. Enough to feel, not enough to see.

When I did my 4.0 a few years back I went whole hog and rebuilt it while it was out. The engine had 200K on it, but all the cylinders still mic'ed at factory new spec.

mazdab40004x4 · 01-27-2019, 07:55 PM

Let's see if this works. The pics from my phone aren't the best, but I think they show the shininess.

I did feel for a ridge and it's barely there if there is one at all.

Thanks all for your help.

mazdab40004x4 · 01-27-2019, 07:59 PM

Dang it. I guess TRS doesn't like Google photos. I'll try to figure it out when I get to my computer.

mazdab40004x4 · 01-27-2019, 09:30 PM

OK attempt #2. Let's see if photobucket works...

These are all from the passenger side of the block. I couldn't get a clear shot from the drivers side due to the tangle of wires, etc but it looks similar except the #4 piston is full of crud from the head being cracked.

mazdab40004x4 · 01-28-2019, 10:28 PM

Anyone have feedback on the state of my cylinder walls? I need to decide if I'm going to get new heads and put this back together as is, or if I need to do something more drastic. I'm not looking at engines every day so I don't exactly know what I'm looking at. I'd rather not do a full rebuild or buy a new engine, but I also don't want to put it all back together only to have it fail shortly after. It was running ok before the tear down with no oil consumption -- just burning and leaking coolant.

Macneil87 · 02-10-2019, 08:26 PM

Those pistons look pretty good to me. Try to clean off some of that carbon and get it back together.

Sorry for the late reply!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mazdab40004x4 · 02-10-2019, 08:59 PM

Hey thanks for the feedback! You confirmed exactly what I did. I decided not to mess with the timing cover and front seal, and to just put it all back together without a full rebuild. I bought new heads last week -- new castings, valves, and springs, not rebuilt. Also got new pushrods, rocker arms, fuel injectors and a bunch of new sensors which were all fouled up with mud. I've never taken the truck off road, but I think the previous owner must have lived in a mud puddle. I scraped two inches of mud off the TOP of the intake manifold. Finally got everything cleaned up last weekend which was a royal PITA. The Roloc brushes worked great but it was slow going because I don't have a great compressor.

My son and I got the new heads, lower intake, fuel injectors, and fuel rail on today. So I'm making progress! But so much more cleaning to do under the hood. I'm also installing all new radiator and heater hoses, water pump, thermostat, fan/clutch, and power steering hoses. It'll be like a new truck only a lot less expensive! This thing doesn't owe me much up to this point after 10 years of service so I can't argue with what I'm spending.

Macneil87 · 02-11-2019, 02:37 PM

It should continue to give you many more smile miles with all that work being done.

I’d like to tear into mine and do some clean up but right now we have 5’ of snow and -25 C weather where I’m at. Plus, I’m an auto mechanic full time. By the time I get home, I don’t want to look at another vehicle usually lol.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mazdab40004x4 · 02-11-2019, 03:33 PM

I like to tell everyone around me in GA that I'm from 'up north', meaning New York area originally. But you are from the REAL up north. Good luck getting through winter up there in Canada. I complain when it gets into the 30s around here and the entire city literally shuts down when they even hear that a flurry might happen :-)

Thanks for your help. -- Jeff

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01-27-2019, 07:55 PM	#12
mazdab40004x4 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 96 Vehicle Year: 1994 Vehicle Make: Mazda Vehicle Model: B4000 I use this vehicle for: haulin stuff Rep Power: 17	Let's see if this works. The pics from my phone aren't the best, but I think they show the shininess. I did feel for a ridge and it's barely there if there is one at all. Thanks all for your help.

01-27-2019, 07:59 PM	#13
mazdab40004x4 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 96 Vehicle Year: 1994 Vehicle Make: Mazda Vehicle Model: B4000 I use this vehicle for: haulin stuff Rep Power: 17	Dang it. I guess TRS doesn't like Google photos. I'll try to figure it out when I get to my computer.

01-27-2019, 09:30 PM	#14
mazdab40004x4 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 96 Vehicle Year: 1994 Vehicle Make: Mazda Vehicle Model: B4000 I use this vehicle for: haulin stuff Rep Power: 17	OK attempt #2. Let's see if photobucket works... These are all from the passenger side of the block. I couldn't get a clear shot from the drivers side due to the tangle of wires, etc but it looks similar except the #4 piston is full of crud from the head being cracked.

01-28-2019, 10:28 PM	#15
mazdab40004x4 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 96 Vehicle Year: 1994 Vehicle Make: Mazda Vehicle Model: B4000 I use this vehicle for: haulin stuff Rep Power: 17	Anyone have feedback on the state of my cylinder walls? I need to decide if I'm going to get new heads and put this back together as is, or if I need to do something more drastic. I'm not looking at engines every day so I don't exactly know what I'm looking at. I'd rather not do a full rebuild or buy a new engine, but I also don't want to put it all back together only to have it fail shortly after. It was running ok before the tear down with no oil consumption -- just burning and leaking coolant.

02-10-2019, 08:26 PM	#16
Macneil87 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Sudbury, ON. Canada Posts: 45 Vehicle Year: 1998 Vehicle Make: Ford Ranger Vehicle Model: XLT Splash I use this vehicle for: Towing my boat, small game hunting Rep Power: 1	Those pistons look pretty good to me. Try to clean off some of that carbon and get it back together. Sorry for the late reply! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

02-10-2019, 08:59 PM	#17
mazdab40004x4 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 96 Vehicle Year: 1994 Vehicle Make: Mazda Vehicle Model: B4000 I use this vehicle for: haulin stuff Rep Power: 17	Hey thanks for the feedback! You confirmed exactly what I did. I decided not to mess with the timing cover and front seal, and to just put it all back together without a full rebuild. I bought new heads last week -- new castings, valves, and springs, not rebuilt. Also got new pushrods, rocker arms, fuel injectors and a bunch of new sensors which were all fouled up with mud. I've never taken the truck off road, but I think the previous owner must have lived in a mud puddle. I scraped two inches of mud off the TOP of the intake manifold. Finally got everything cleaned up last weekend which was a royal PITA. The Roloc brushes worked great but it was slow going because I don't have a great compressor. My son and I got the new heads, lower intake, fuel injectors, and fuel rail on today. So I'm making progress! But so much more cleaning to do under the hood. I'm also installing all new radiator and heater hoses, water pump, thermostat, fan/clutch, and power steering hoses. It'll be like a new truck only a lot less expensive! This thing doesn't owe me much up to this point after 10 years of service so I can't argue with what I'm spending.

02-11-2019, 02:37 PM	#18
Macneil87 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Sudbury, ON. Canada Posts: 45 Vehicle Year: 1998 Vehicle Make: Ford Ranger Vehicle Model: XLT Splash I use this vehicle for: Towing my boat, small game hunting Rep Power: 1	It should continue to give you many more smile miles with all that work being done. I’d like to tear into mine and do some clean up but right now we have 5’ of snow and -25 C weather where I’m at. Plus, I’m an auto mechanic full time. By the time I get home, I don’t want to look at another vehicle usually lol. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

02-11-2019, 03:33 PM	#19
mazdab40004x4 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 96 Vehicle Year: 1994 Vehicle Make: Mazda Vehicle Model: B4000 I use this vehicle for: haulin stuff Rep Power: 17	I like to tell everyone around me in GA that I'm from 'up north', meaning New York area originally. But you are from the REAL up north. Good luck getting through winter up there in Canada. I complain when it gets into the 30s around here and the entire city literally shuts down when they even hear that a flurry might happen :-) Thanks for your help. -- Jeff