Ok, so my coolant seems to be going somewhere.. the radiator is always full but the overflow tank is slowly getting lower and lower.. If i had a coolant leak in the engine, wouldnt this cause over heating? My temp gauge never goes above middle. Also, shouldnt it cause a CEL?

 

If it was leaking in your engine it would most likely be in the oil cooler. oil+coolant =bad thing. If it keeps up start checking the consistancy of your oil. If the oil does have coolant leaking into it the oil will appear milky white or grey.
See, when the truck running coolant and oil wont cross contaminate since both systems are under pressure, however when a hot engine is turned off, oil pressure diminishes, but the coolant system will keep its pressure till it cools down, therefore leaking into the oil via: oil cooler, or a cracked head or something.
I dont think u have a cracked head, cause you'd now it, but f your coolant keeps dissappearing, the u might have a leaky oil cooler.

Hope this helped!

 

thanks blackstallion.. I just changed my oil the other day with just over 3K on it, and there was NO coolant in it..

 

check on the bottom of the tank, where the hose goes in, it maybe cracked and dripping, that is what mine did. i thought i had a serious problem but it wasnt.

 

Check the line coming out of the bottom of the overflow tank. I'd had my line start leaking once and couldn't figure it out but I just threw a small hose clamp on it where it comes out and it hasn't leaked a drop since.

 

I dont know, if i was u id check every inch of that coolant hose, pipe, and fittings. for the slightest drip, that would make the most sense to me....ya know alittle leak that may only leak when the trucks warm too...might just be enough to drain ur tank slow.???
Anyways that all i got lol.

 

Thanks guys! I will do that tomorrow morning.

 

If its an OHV engine, check your lower intake gaskets. The thermostat housing might be the cause as well. If it (the thermostat) stuck and the housing blew, you'll probably have to replace the whole thing. Hoses and clamps should be where to start. Heater core could also be the cause; but you'd smell that.

 

WEll, did a compression test, and I have two cylinders that are a whole 25PSI lower than the other 4.. Looks like a head gasket leak:(

 

that would explain why it was running so bad lately.

 

what do the plugs look like? Are they fouled w/residue? If they aren't, it might just be blown intake gaskets. If it is the head gasket(s), should be straight forward. But, I hear ya on the time/work thing. Probably the last thing you would want to do. If you need info on it, I have it.

 

yes, yes it would.. Def. not the answer i wanted, but atleast now i have something to go off of.

 

the plugs on the two cylinders that are bad have residue( and lots of it) all around the threads.. adn some on the actual electrodes..

 

Hey i DEf. need that info! i appreciate it!

 

i was going to say it was probably your head gasket, it will probably be a spot between the water jacket and the cylinder, or a cracked head, but i doubt that

 

yeah, thats exactly what i was thinking.. the water jacket between the two cylinders is leaking, which is why BOTH cylinders are low on compression, and the spark plugs look the way they do

 

something you can do is run the truck with the rad cap off (with the engine cold) and see if you get bubbling out of the rad... this would show that the air is being pushed into the non pressurized waterjacket and is being released into the rad...

although the pressure (100psi normally) would normally blow quite a bit of head gasket out, and you would have somewhere closer to 20 psi, rather than 75... which kinda says to me maybe cracked head... but my gut is saying that's not the case...

pull er apart and you will see the issue...

 

If you have a shop where you are that can check the heads, have them magnafluxed to rule out the possibility of a cracked head. It will cost you a little more money, but if you don't get the heads checked it will cost you a hell of a lot more to tear it all down again and then replace the head(s) too.

 

yeah, checked the oil again, no residue at all.. so thats good.. The coolant is still where it was yesterday, so its a very slow leak. And the PSI on the two low cylinders was at 105psi, and the other four were at 125.

 

I dont know about the junkyards in your area, but I have several here that are a machine shop as well and they sell reman heads much cheaper than you can get anywhere. Hell a freshly rebuilt 4.0 with a 1 year warranty is only $800.

Just in case you need heads man...

 

not a bad idea to do... at the least you should get your heads checked for warping, i am glad i did on my mustang, i had to get them shaved a fair amount, i think one was just over the limit and the other was somewhere near double-tripple the limit, and i did nothing to make them warp other than just take them off...

 

well, as of now, there is no CEL, No coolant in the oil, and the coolant is leaking VERY VERY slowly. I am parking it when i get to Florida(in january, wont be drivin after Mid November), So i prob. wont even do anything with it as of now.. I am dropping a 5.0 in it when i get back to the states, so basically as soon as it gets to the new house, its going to the shop, then staying there until the new 5.0 is in it.

 

Think that yard has any 5.0's in it?