Burps, cold air, high speed heat, and a wacky temp gauge

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MinkWA said:
Update for the day.

Drove to work and back. On the way back, my temp gauge rose up past 3/4 and barely touched the red line while sitting in heavy traffic on the freeway. It dropped back down after ~30 seconds, but I am extremely worried. The engine doesn't seem to be running as smooth as last week. I won't be driving it the rest of the week.
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Yeah, stay out of the red. Probably best to keep it out of traffic until you diagnose the problem and get it fixed. The system simply won't cool properly if it can't pressurize, which is what these symptoms all point to.

MinkWA said:
Is there a way for me to check and see if the PO used some sort of stop leak? How would I check for that?
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You'll often see evidence of stopleak in the coolant, but you''ve been through so much that may not show. Obviously, if it was used, it's not working for this issue.

MinkWA said:
Also, how do I check for a clogged/gunky radiator? I will need to search the forum for that tonight.

I think I will pull the #6 plug tonight for a visual inspection. Not likely to get much under vehicle time with the cleaning and subsequent rinsing, as that will be dripping off for a bit.
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You'll find areas that are clogged are cool, even to the touch. Obviously don't stick your hand in with the fan blades spinning, but shut down and feel around. This is one place where one of those non-contact thermometers works well to check different places on the radiator to see if the temps across it are even or all over the place, which would indicate clogging.

That said, overheating from clogging is usually a separate issue from overheating from failure to pressurize because the system doesn't seal. So you'll want to track the leak down regardless. Get it fixed and then see how things work. Our truck got a new radiator last fall because of age-related clogging. If you've still got the original radiator, probably time to think about doing that R&R anyway.
 
I've got some maintenance paperwork that shows a new radiator was put in to the truck in May 2010. The paperwork doesn't say what the model is, just "Metal Radiator", part cost $349.99.

Any thoughts on the rough idle? Is that a symptom of poor cooling as well?

Thanks again greentruck for the advice.
 
One more thing. I had the overflow tank about 1/3 full this morning. When I got home from work, the over flow was full to the brim with some likely spillover. When it cools down I will check the fluid level in the radiator.
 
Wondering if the rough idle may be due to a vacuum leak.

Also, do you have an oil leak around the belts: distributor o-ring or crankshaft seal are both common. Oil dripping on the belts may be allowing them to slip. The underside of my battery box is covered in oil. Fix coming shortly.

Have you checked the fan clutch? The fan may not be spinning.

Good luck.
 
MinkWA said:
One more thing. I had the overflow tank about 1/3 full this morning. When I got home from work, the over flow was full to the brim with some likely spillover. When it cools down I will check the fluid level in the radiator.
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If the radiator was new in 2010, you can probably rule out it being clogged. Hopefully, that also rules it it being the source of the leak, but since radiators all have plastic tanks these days, still worth a close look-see.

Your constantly filling overflow has me wondering if you've had a chance to look at the T-stat yet. It's possible the PO installed the T-stat incorrectly or it's stuck.?:confused: There is a bypass, but you'll definitely not get normal temps if that is the case. If there are no obvious leaks, that's the next place I'd look.
 
This is all almost identical to the issues I am experiencing with my 96 LX!!!!

So far, my diagnosis has consisted of: P/O had a lot of stop leak in the coolant, which I had flushed when I first bought the vehicle and was catching up on PM. The tech (a good friend of mine) noted the heater core was almost completely plugged, and the coolant smelled like fish. Not good..
I had a new thermostat (OEM) installed at the time, all was good for about a month. There was still enough goo in the radiator to completely seal the radiator cap shut, I thought since the coolant level in the overflow bottle hadnt moved all was good! Then I got no heat out of it at idle, and the temp started spiking when climbing hills. When I pulled the radiator cap, the radiator was maybe a third full! It took almost a gallon to get it over the coils.
Since then, I have properly burped the coolant multiple times, and replaced the radiator cap with a new one. Problem persists. And (after the coolant flush) I do have better heat in the cab, but the windows fog up something fierce and there is the wonderful smell of sweet yukkyness coming from the defrost vents, and a little puddle of something sweet smelling where the passenger left foot would be. Ugh...heater core.

My solution is going to be extensive: Since my block test yielded the EXACT same results as yours, ( kinda greenish but not full on yellow and not completely blue) and the heater core is suspect, and the wonderful yukkyness that came out of the coolant system, and the original PHH, and some other old hoses that look somewhat suspect... I am getting parts together to completely replace all of the wear parts, and bring the coolant system up to new standard. New radiator, New water pump, New thermostat, New heater core, and New head gasket, with all suspect hoses replaced too.. Probably a couple gallons of coolant just for good measure!!
 
Finally got some time to clean the engine out. Work has been busy this week with a few outages.

I took some pics of the truck today. A couple of side profile views, and a few pics of the motor. I added in a pic of what the inside of my overflow tank looks like as well. Not too much sludge in there.

Album here

I have a few pics of the exhaust side without the heat shield on that I will add in a few.
 
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Here are some pics of the head above the exhaust manifold. Not sure what to make of the dirt/grime here. the color was a little greenish, so I took some pics for good measure before I sprayed it down with foaming engine cleaner.

In the 4th pic down, you can see that I broke a bolt from the heat shield when removing it. What is the best way to get one of these broken bolts out?

Album
 
Dang, I can see the thumbnails, but full rez is no good for me. Maybe a settings issue?

As for the broken bolt, EasyOut and lots of PBBlaster or whatever your fave flavor of that stuff you prefer.
 
Hmmm...the albums work for me.

Let me upload a few pics.

re_80_side_profile_02132014.webp


re_Engine1_02132014.webp


re_Exhaust_man1_02132014.webp


re_Exhaust_man2_02132014.webp
 
First, my condolences on the loss of your factory air cleaner. That's a pathetic thing to see...:frown::crybaby:

Yeah, hard to tell, it's the internet and I'm still in XP land for now.

Yeah, don't know about that. I suppose it could be related, but is it fresh is the question? I'm thinking it's most likely not the source of the current issues. On the other hand, I like to eliminate the simple stuff first, don't wanna go all nukegoat and freak you out:p

Of course, he could be right. But let's not go there unless we must. I still suspect a leak that's not a HG issue.:hhmm:
 
The PO actually kept all the of stock air cleaner parts. They are sitting in my garage right now.

I got some of the uv additive for some coolant leak detection action tonight. Hopefully that helps find a leak a little quicker.
 
Sweet!

Worth reading up on in the Faq or wherever it is, but the factory air cleaner is pretty darn hard to beat. And the filter is washable and reusable, which makes up for any difference in cost.

Yeah, go for the UV. That will tell the tail. Just be very neat about adding it or you have a heck of a confusing mess.
 
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU:censor::censor::censor: :censor: :mad::mad:

Ran the UV dye through the coolant after the washdown. Not much in the way of exterior leaks. There might be one down by the PHH.

Worse news. I started the truck up and let it idle for 5 minutes. Truck sounded ok.

Went to rev the motor to get some water pressure going.. At about 2k, the truck sputtered and died. Shut it down and went looking for leaks.

I ended up taking the oil cap off and checking for the milkshake. While the oil was not milky, it glows like chernobyl under the UV flashlight. I assume this is the presence of the coolant dye making it's way into the the cylinders.

Combined with the sputter and die, there is only one option here I can see.

I am going to have to earn some :banana:
 
I was just researching that. I will check some fresh oil.
 
Confirmed oil is fluorescent. It's funny, because I was sitting here wondering why that wouldn't be the best HG test.

So much for that.

The sputter and die at 2k RPM is what has me going right now. I need to learn to chill out and be patient on this.

Time for :beer: and then removing spark plugs.
 
Reading this forum can make you paranoid, especially about the HG. When I got mine two years ago I was convinced it had failed even though PO had changed it. Still paranoid today but more about cooling hose failing.

Get a FSM and take your time. The forum also shows us these trucks are rock solid.
 
It's official. HG blown. I got a milkshake that's sending me to the parts yard.

The UV dye is an awesome way to look for leaks though. I would recommend that to anyone chasing a coolant leak.

Dropping the rig off today with Torfab for a professional opinion on some of the baselining needed. Ordering IdahoDoug's DVD.

Going to read up on the HG threads. I have a picker and an engine stand already (due to 87 4runner swap I am getting ready for), so I am going to look into whether or not it is easier just to pull the motor out and work with it on a stand.
 
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