Did I just witness the death of my 2.9?

[Nate.Mountain]

I got a 88 with a 2.9 with 330,000 miles on it. i know thats a ton but i want to keep this thing alive. on my way home from work i was trying to accelerate after a stop sign. at around 3k rpms the engine began to bog down and almost died. it returned to a very very rough idle, tried to take off again this time it died completely. I pulled over, hopped under the truck and there is a bad water leak at the water pump. The engine was cold, had only been running for a few minutes when this happened, so it could not have overheated. Why would a water leak cause an engine to die immediately? Is my engine dead? It has been running like a top previous to this, no problems at all.

 

[martin]

Water (coolant) and electrics don't mix too well. The fan probably blew coolant all over the ignition wires and distributor. Fix the leak first, then clean off the wires and distributor cap and try it again.

 

[Andy D]

The timing chain may have jumped. If all else fails, check the timing. If you can DIY, put a new chain on.

 

[Nate.Mountain]

when i looked last night there wasnt too much water sprayed in the engine compartment. can you check timing on a nonrunning engine?

 

[Schnot]

You need to figure out where the water is exactly coming from. Maybe you grenaded the head gasket.


Sent from my iPhone.

 

[Sam_Ranger]

+1
I would check the head gasket after replacing your water pump and thermostat. Water could be getting in the combustion chamber creating a rough idle because water doesnt allow gasoline to combust properly if at all.

 

[Andy D]

pull the plug in #1 cylinder . Bring the cylinder up to TDC , compare it to position of #1 plugwire on the distributor . Check it against the timing marks.

 

[RonD]

I would pull all the spark plugs and have a look at them.
Then manually turn the engine over to make sure it spins easily, i.e. no spun main bearing, you can also check the timing using TDC mark with distributor cap off.
The TDC mark on the crankshaft pulley passes "0" twice for each one full spin of the distributor, so TDC will be on "0" when rotor is pointed at cyl 1 and then again when pointed at cyl 5.

To check valve timing you need to pull the valve cover on cyl 1 side, and use the TDC mark.

I would fill the rad with water and find out exactly where the leak is, no guessing.
An intake manifold coolant leak could cause what you described.

 

[Nate.Mountain]

okay good news. started with the basics air, fuel and spark just to make sure before i tried timing. i checked and had spark and fuel. just to make sure i checked the air filter and it was absolutely filthy. i took the hose off from the intake, cranked it and it fired right up. replaced the air filter and is now running good. however this does not explain the water leak. a coincidence i guess. now i gotta pin point the leak. i hope its just the water pump.

 

[wildbill23c]

Water pump, bad radiator or heater hose, a leak in the thermostat housing, etc. Sometimes the leaks aren't where you think they are just because the fan blows stuff all over the place LOL.

 

[jhammel85]

Best way to find that leak is to turn it on and just watch under the hood. Hopefully, it won't leak until it gets a little bit warm. Once it's under pressure (from getting warm) and you shut it off, that pressure looks for the easiest way out. Hopefully you find a hose with a pin hole...A little pinhole can make a huge leak!

 

[wildbill23c]

Also, check your coolant overflow bottle, hoses, and connections, I had a coolant leak that was driving me crazy the other day and turned out to be the hose that went from the radiator to the overflow bottle had cracked at the radiator area. Cut the end off put a new clamp on it and tightened it down, no more coolant leak. I hope yours turns out this simple as a water pump leads to having to remove a lot of stuff to get the pump itself out.

 

[Andy D]

carry a few gallons of water just in case of a catastrophic coolant failure. I had a water pump leak that used a 1/2 gallon of water to get to work. I just topped it off before I left. I did it for a week until I could get a waterpump to change on Saturday