My truck hates me... and what is the magic step?

[Speedwagon]

Seriously, my truck hates me.

When I got the truck, it was spraying coolant out of the Tstat housing. Fixed that. Then the water pump starts to go bad, so I replace that. 1st gasket didn't hold, so I had to do the water pump gasket again, then it seemed to be fine. Recently, the head gaskets started dumping coolant out the side of the engine. JUST got that fixed this weekend. And what do ya know, there's enough pressure in the system now, and it blows a hole IN THE WATER PUMP GASKET! WTF? Why can't this truck hold a damn gasket there?

Is there something I'm missing? Some magic step I need to do to get this water pump to seal properly? Granted, I know where every bolt is to get to the water pump now, but I'd rather not have to do this again. Any advice out there on this?

 

[Jspafford]

Sounds like you have excessive pressure in there.

I have never had to replace a water pump gasket, other than when replacing the water pump. It would take a lot of pressure to blow out a paper gasket. Are you torquing the bolts properly?

 

[Will]

Probably have a cracked head. That pressure is coming from combustion, not from the cooling system's measely 13-15psi.

 

[Shoeboy]

Sounds like my new monster, bought it with the bearings in the alternator shot, changed out the alternator and found the belt is bad, changed the belt, threw it all together, and the bearings in the idler were bad too, change that out, then after the pulleys and belt ran quiet, I now have excessive power steering noises. On top of that the fuel sending unit is bad so I have to drop the tank, and replace it. Also, the idiot before me put a huge ass stereo in it, and had to port the subs from the box of the truck, so I have a hole cut in the back of the cab and the back of the box. I also have to fix the crack thats in the back of the box from when the intelligent previous owner backed into his garage. I can tell this truck wasn't overly taken care of, I'm planning on selling it at the end of August to a high school student, as it will sell because of the stereo and I'll be able to make more off of selling it then what I bought it for. Its sad, but I'm looking for another Ranger already...

Also, with the paper gasket, take either RTV silicone, or something similar, and use that on the gasket on both sides of the gasket. I find when I do one at work that way, the times I have had a comeback (twice, both with just the gasket sealant and no silicone), I have never had a complaint when I had put silicone on the gasket, and have never had a come back.

 

[Will]

I don't use silicone and never had one leak. I use that indian head gasket cement. Paint it on, wait 10 minutes for it to get tacky, stick the gasket onto the clean surface and attach the clean part. The clamping of the part makes the seal and the gasket fixes minor irregularities. The sealant helps in assembly mostly, and makes me feel good. It's not needed. Have you ever seen silicon on a new engine? Only in places where it is specified in place of a gasket--and in hard to seal cornerers on no-pressure applications.

You aren't screwing it up--there's a major problem.

 

[Speedwagon]

Probably have a cracked head. That pressure is coming from combustion, not from the cooling system's measely 13-15psi.

If I have a cracked head after dropping $425 for the machine shop to pressure test, clean, and do all the valves, I'll be a VERY unhappy camper.

 

[Will]

Well, it's something that is putting combustion pressure into the cooling system. I didn't know that you have just put all this together, that is relevant, don't you think? You have us at a disadvantage.

Maybe you installed a head gasket incorrectly. I'm saying--stop wasting time and money chasing a cooling system seal problem and look for something else.

 

[baddis]

have you checked the radiator cap? if it is not releasing pressure when it should could cause bad things to happen. or a bad t-stat but that usually blows the top hose.

 

[superrocker10]

Seriously, my truck hates me.

When I got the truck, it was spraying coolant out of the Tstat housing. Fixed that. Then the water pump starts to go bad, so I replace that. 1st gasket didn't hold, so I had to do the water pump gasket again, then it seemed to be fine. Recently, the head gaskets started dumping coolant out the side of the engine. JUST got that fixed this weekend. And what do ya know, there's enough pressure in the system now, and it blows a hole IN THE WATER PUMP GASKET! WTF? Why can't this truck hold a damn gasket there?

Is there something I'm missing? Some magic step I need to do to get this water pump to seal properly? Granted, I know where every bolt is to get to the water pump now, but I'd rather not have to do this again. Any advice out there on this?

i used to have a '91 ranger with a 3.0 and it blew a headgasket and my sister kept driving it and it cracked the block

 

[Speedwagon]

I will add, that the last time I had to do the water pump, was at the end of 2005 I believe, maybe 2006. But even so, I don't think it should just go bad.

I just put the heads on up back on. I doubt anything was put on incorrectly, but it is possible. I followed the proper torqueing procedure for everything while I put it all back together.

As for the water pump, what is recommended for the threads on the bolts? RTV, thread locker, or nothing? Some of the bolts did feel like they weren't as snug as they should have been, but I didn't notice any of those in the area the gasket popped out(right next to the heater core hose). I'm thinking I'm going to put it all back together, run it, and do a compression test to verify the cylinders.

 

[Mark_88]

Well, i'd say "welcome to the club"...seems like everything I fix I end up with two things broken...but it's probably just a coincidence that these things happen in succession like that...

I was about to suggest a compression test to check the head and then you mentioned it...but as far as the sealant goes, I always use sealant wherever possible...even if the manual doesn't call for it...like the oil pan gasket...says only to dap two spots...i dabbed the whole thing...so far no leaks xxx (crossing fingers)...

Hope the compression is good and you just had a bad seal on the gasket...

 

[mud_bogger]

Last rig I owned was always doing crap like that. One thing after another, The local napa stopped asking what the parts were going on an they new me by name.

I fixed the rig up in the middle of the woods one time By yelling "IM GOONA SCRAP YOU, BITCH" It started right up an ran perfect for the entire summer

might be sumthin to try.

 

[Mark_88]

Last rig I owned was always doing crap like that. One thing after another, The local napa stopped asking what the parts were going on an they new me by name.

I fixed the rig up in the middle of the woods one time By yelling "IM GOONA SCRAP YOU, BITCH" It started right up an ran perfect for the entire summer

might be sumthin to try.

Gee, that sounds so familiar...my Ranger used to stop on the highway for no apparent reason...one time I was so pissed at it (middle of winter) I yelled something similar...truck started and ran all the way home without any further problems...for a few days...

Another time it was blowing so much oil that I had to stop and fill it up twice on the way home...that's when I realized the motor was done for and started rebuilding it...guess it heard me and decided that I was going to pay for it to run...haven't driven it since...and it's cost me quite a bit...sorta like a wife who you pay support for but don't get to have sex with...

 

[Roadkill]

In addition to the compression test you will have to do a leak down test. The leak down test will show you which cylinder (if any) are leaking because of a warped/cracked head or bad gasket. A compression test won't show you that part so you have to do both.

 

[MAKG]

A leakdown test can substitute for a compression test, but not the other way around. It's a (much) more sensitive test. Uncalibrated leakdown can be used in concert with compression (it can't test rings, but can test everything else).

Having said that, I think a simple pressure test is in order. You can buy a $25 mechanical oil pressure gauge, and put the sender (temporarily) in place of the temperature gauge. Replace the rad cap and see if the problem goes away. Alternatively, take a sample of coolant into a shop for exhaust gas analysis (or you can buy chemical kits for this). Exhaust gasses in the coolant confirm a blown water jacket. If the vehicle is in the shop, a smog sniffer can be held over the rad neck while idling.