Well boys, I was driving home with a buddy from a little midnight breakfast (don't ask) and I was getting on the highway. Shifting through the gears I put it in second at like 60mph for about 2 seconds by accident. Punched in the clutch and put it in 5th and continued my drive home. We got to my exit and as I was slowing down I noticed smoke from under the hood and a knock. I killed the engine and brought her to a stop at the bottom of the exit. Popped her open, coolant everywhere, steam billowing out. We were around 2 miles from home so I decided she could make it and watched the temp gauge. It only went up a little as we drove but the knocking and ticking is telling me I did some damage. Probably unseated a valve or some other internal damage. I couldn't pinpoint the coolant leak but the hoses looked good so I think I blew the radiator. It's a slow leak though so we'll see about that.

I'll keep you guys updated but the outlook for the Ranger is grim at the moment. And of course I have work at 9am tomorrow. Whoo.

 

No roadtrip for you. That blows donkey d*ck.

 

yeah no kidding, what poor timing. good luck man! hopefully its nothing major

 

yeah this would happen 2 months before I go.

i would rather it happen 2 miles from than 400 though.

 

its a 2.5. Take that sucker down to the heads, it'll take you an afternoon, but there really isn't an easier engine besides something like a 350 Chevy.
This is one of those things that i don't really think you can diagnose without seeing it/having it happen to you, but i think you'll be on the right track looking for a valve.

 

Hope you get 'er fixed up before you plan on heading out.

 

possible head gasket?

 

You guys smell that? Smells kinda like a 5.0 swap.

 

If he puts another 2.5 in I will block him on R-F. 5.0 or bust

 

Dooooo iiiitttt!!

 

Hope was not serious damage.... but ..... you have my vote !! : 5.0

 

Got the truck back today from the shop. Blew up my water pump. Cracks down both sides. Split the b*tch in half. I had it put in last year in March, it was installed incorrectly at a slight angle, after a year of driving and the fan causing stress fractures in the housing it finally burst. My mechanic said he's never seen anything like it. The force of the burst actually disconnected 2 of my spark plug wires causing the misfire, pinging, ticking, bad idle. The "knocking" was just the watch pump being slammed around by the fan. Got a new pump installed and $250 I'm back on the road.

Just a scare, move along.

Pics of the pump tomorrow.

 

^Yes, I actually read that in his voice.

Glad to hear you got it figured out.

 

x2 lol

 

i read it like that too....
glad it wasn't anything serious!

 

Glad to see that ranger back on the road !! The 2WD Off-road group cannot miss not a single member !

 

glad to see it wasn't your engine making a racket.

 

^^^ HAHA yeah that's what I'm the most happy about.

Found my receipt for the water pump from NAPA. I bought it in July 2010 so I'm beyond my year warranty to go back and raise hell to try and get my money back. Oh well. Lesson learned I guess.

Going bed shopping today :) I'll let you guys know if I get one.

 

Wirelessly posted

What about the workmanship of that napa waterpump installment. You could try talking to them. They usually don't offer a warranty on parts you supplied them though.