burning coolent?

[starshooter10]

so 93 ranger 4.0 190k

it seems that I have to fill the resivor every 3k miles or so, oil looks fine cant smell anything from the exhaust..

here is the kicker though ive noticed it does it when i make a bunch of short trips when its really cold out, yet when I make road trips for 14 hours non stop it does not seem to use a drop.

also the whole trans and bottom end of the engine is wet with oil, does not seem to be leaking any noticable amount (over 4k miles it might need .5qt) but its wet with fresh(ISH) oil

thoughts?

 

[--weezl--]

interesting... check your oil, is it foamy at all? i'm thinking your coolant issue is a leaking issue, not a burning issue... get your rad cap checked, it might be old and leaking out steam... for the cost of it, it might not be a bad idea to replace it... you can also have your coolant system pressure tested, most quick lube places should be able to do this for you for very cheap, if not free... i used to work at one here, when someone came in for an oil change, we checked every rad cap, and depending on the vehicle, we would check the coolant system for leaks, without even asking the customer... just one of our normal checks... they should be able to see where the oil is coming from... i'm thinking front main seal though... or oil pan gasket... you also could be seeing dirty coolant on the bottom of the engine, as ethylene glycol (antifreeze) does not evaporate, and it could mix with a little bit of oil leakage and/or dust and make it look like dirty oil... just a thought...

 

[starshooter10]

im 99% sure its oil, it has a slick feeling when I rub between my fingers, not tacky like coolant gets once the water evaps out.

oil is no foamy.

the oil seep/leak is above the oil pan but below the valve covers (from what I gather crawling around under there)

I'll bring it to my buddies rad shop next time I drive back to Cali (later this month)

 

[--weezl--]

both sides of the motor, or just one side and bottom are wet? could be an oil sending unit, not sure where they are on these trucks...

 

[AllanD]

1993-94 4.0's with a mystery coolant leak are usually an "overboard" coolant leak

The common causes aside from a rusty welch plug in the block or on the ends of the heads is either an intake manifold-to-head leak, or quite commonly a head gasket leak
which more often than not is at the rear corner of the passenger side head.

AD

 

[Surrey]

If you lose a lot of coolant on short trips, but dont lose much on long trips, it might be your water pump.

I had a Cherokee that whenever you would turn it off, the water pump would leak like a sieve, but as long as the engine was running the pressure of the system kept it from leaking or something...
It would lose 2-3 quarts each time the engine was turned off...

 

[shane96ranger]

My 91 Explorer had a mystery leak for a couple of years. I found my leak to be a tiny crack in the lower intake to head gasket at the front on the drivers side (directly behind the A/C Compressor). Mine never had any steam, made any noise, or had any coolant drip for a couple of years. Then one day I started to hear a hiss coming from it and that's how I discovered it.

I don't know if this could be your issue, but it's worth a look.