Not a good day...RIP 4.0. need some help!

[wakingtowinter]

Started up the truck today and I could feel something was wrong immediately. Got out and walked around and white smoke was puffing out the exhaust. Took off radiator cap, no bubbles. Checked oil cap, no sign of coolant. Checked dipstick, oil looks clean. Exhaust got whiter and whiter, so I'm thinking head gasket, cracked head or block?

Looks like I'm about to do my first head gasket job, or engine swap. What do you think is easiest to do in my situation? First - truck is a 94 4.0 5spd 4x4, about 250k on it, not exactly sure. This is new territory for me, never taken a motor apart before, never taken one out or put one in. Do you think it would just be easier to put a new motor in than do a head gasket? Is it worth it to take it to a shop and have them inspect the block and heads or just go straight for a new motor?

Motors - what should I start looking for? obviously it would be best if I could find a 94 4.0 from a ranger, but what other years can I use and can I use something from an explorer?

My M50D is the original tranny and got a new slave cylinder and input shaft bearing 5k miles ago and the shop that did it said the internals look good.

I'd like to do a 302 swap but don't think I'm up to it and I don't want to spend more than $1000 on a new motor, so I think a new 4.0 is what I will do.

Thanks for the help!

 

[r1hatman]

If it's just a head gasket, tear it down and redo the gaskets. Take the heads to a shop so they can check them for warpage. You can get video's online to walk you through it.

 

[Big Jim M]

The first thing to do is the DRIVE IT! You haven't given any information here that means anything. White smoke on startup could be a natural thing. Drive it and leave the heads alone until you see the radiator overfolw or the temp in the red or coolant in the oil!!!
Big JIm

 

[wakingtowinter]

It's been running around the L on NORMAL, which seems a bit warm, right? It's not natural at all, it's never blown this much white smoke.

 

[Big Jim M]

Could be the fan clutch... Or could be the coolant pump.. Or partially stopped up radiator or even the heater core. But it needs driving to see how much smoke and how often.
So far nothing indicates head gaskets.
Big JIm

 

[wakingtowinter]

But if it's pouring out white smoke then that means coolant's in the combustion chambers right? And that could only mean a head gasket failure right? I'm definitely losing coolant. Tomorrow I'm going to get underneath it and see if I can spot a leak. But it seems internal to me

 

[Big Jim M]

If coolant can get thru the head gasket and into the combustion chamber the opposite happens also. Compression gets thru that same place and into the coolant system. This compression pressure is far greater than the coolant pressure.
So the radiator blows coolant out the overflow.. and it does it rather quickly.
Have you streeted that ride to see if the smoke stops? Does the radiator puke coolant out?
Big JIm

 

[wakingtowinter]

I took it for a quick drive around the neighborhood today, about 1 mile, up to 30 mph, I could see it pouring white smoke out in my rearview mirror. The smoke didn't seem to let up at all. Got back and checked the oil again, still looks clean to me, opened the rad cap and let it idle, no bubbles coming up. When I got on the gas it would suck coolant down about an inch and then back at idle the level came back up.

If there's no coolant in the oil then where is the coolant burning?

 

[bronco_lou]

Have you pulled the plugs to see which one is burning the coolant? Have you run a compression test yet?

 

[03ranger4x4]

maybe you got bad gasoline in it? Something mixed with the diesel or something. Maybe not bad enough to cause it to run much different, but enough to make it smoke. Becuase if theres no coolant is in the oil, and no bubble in the coolant. the only other places coolant would leak into the engine would be through the intake somehow. or going directly to the exhuast. which i cannot really think of how that could even happen. Try running it down to just about empty, and filling up at a different station, and see if it goes away.

 

[wakingtowinter]

OK I pulled the plugs and they all have a white film on them, some a little worse than others, but they don't look too messed up to me. I don't even know the last time they were changed. I was planning on doing a tune up soon anyway.

I just started it up after I put the plugs back in and now there's no white smoke...What?? I'm not going to get my hopes up but what's going on here?

Bad gas is a possibility...I usually fill up at the Arco by my house and get regular 87, which I don't think is that bad, but maybe I just got some particularly nasty stuff?

 

[wakingtowinter]

I would do a compression test but I don't have the tool