4.0L OHV & SOHC V6 Tech General discussion of 4.0L OHV and SOHC V6 Ford Ranger engines.

Heres the spark plugs, tell me if i have a leak..

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Old 07-11-2009
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Heres the spark plugs, tell me if i have a leak..

Ok, so i FINALLY got the chance to pull the plugs and see if i have a coolant leak.. Here are the pics.. Im not sure which one is the #4 cylinder, so i pulled the two that i thought it could be..

1)- if you are standing in front of the truck looking at it, this is the first spark plug on the left.

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this stuff fell off the spark plug when i tapped it against the valance.. i think its just carbon..

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2.)- this is the spark plug that is directly behind the one above(middle one on pass. side)

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let me know what your guys' prognosis is..
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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BUMP!
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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I'm no expert, but i just changed my six spark plugs (after 50,000 miles) and mine are worse than that, and i have no coolant leak.
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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not really sure, but damn those plugs look clean as hell lol
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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well are one of those cylinder #4?

Maybe its just the coil pack then? i dont know...
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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yeah, you just have some carbon. I know on my old ride, when i popped head gaskets, the spark plugs got kinda white colored...
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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so what, get some sea-foam through it?
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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Originally Posted by red_fx2
not really sure, but damn those plugs look clean as hell lol
Which might indicate a leak, But Im not sure!

If you have ever pulled the heads off of an engine with a coolant leak in the head gasket, you can tell which cylinders were leaking because they will be really clean compared to the others.

But to check for a leak in the cylinders, cant you take the plugs out, and roll the engine over and see if any water shoots out?
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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run the sea-foam.. wont hurt anything
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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Yeah, im gunna have to prob. get the sea-foam shipped over hear, they dont sell it here.. any one know where i can order it online?

And as far as i know, everyone that i have talked to has told me that the plugs would show some residue if it was a coolant leak.. And if it is a leak, its EXTREMELY small, so i doubt water would shoot out lol..
 
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Old 07-11-2009
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Old 07-12-2009
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ok, so the #4 cylinder is actually on the drivers side of the engine?
 
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Old 07-12-2009
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Get a pressure tester and test the cooling system. If it holds great, if it looses pressure and you can't see the leak, start looking.
 
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Old 07-12-2009
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Originally Posted by God,Country,FORD
ok, so the #4 cylinder is actually on the drivers side of the engine?
Yes
 
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Old 07-12-2009
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well as soon as the engine cools off a little, im gunna go check the #4 cylinder.. Keep your fingers crossed!
 
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Old 07-17-2009
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Well guys, my mechanic did a compression test today on the truck.. compression is Fine and even on all three cylinders on the drivers side of the truck.. But there is def. something going on in cylinder 4. you can see it from the plug. He really doesnt think its a leak though.. He is pretty confident that its the coil pack..

He moved the #4 plug to the #5cylinder and vise versa and is going to put on a new coil and see what happens..
 
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Old 07-17-2009
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Well, what was wrong with the plug? How about a pic of the #4 plug? What does he think is wrong with it then?
 
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Old 07-17-2009
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like i said, he thinks its a bad coil pack..

let me get a pic of the plug, hold on
 
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Old 07-18-2009
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your lucky when i first pulled my plugs i found that one was completely rusted nd not even all the way threaded in
 
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Old 07-19-2009
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wow lol..

ok, so i cant find the pics that i took of that plug.. But from what he said, the coil can produce what was on the plug if it is not completley burning the fuel mixtrue.. that is what it looked like to be honest, it was nto white or anything.. just looked like half burnt fuel..
 
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Old 07-19-2009
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If it was a bad coil pack, then you would have TWO bad looking plugs. Each coil fires the plugs on two cylinders...
The best way (but not the most convenient way) to determine if you have a coolant leak is to have the oil analyzed.
 

Last edited by Reddog99; 07-19-2009 at 08:52 AM.
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Old 07-19-2009
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like drain the oil and take it to a chemist?
 
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Old 07-19-2009
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Blackstone Labs...go to their link. They will send you a free shipping kit for an oil sample, and an analysis is pretty cheap.

Blackstone Laboratories
 
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Old 07-19-2009
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Originally Posted by God,Country,FORD
like drain the oil and take it to a chemist?
JUst check it and see if it looks milky.
 
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