Engine woes...... (1 Viewer)

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boydmick

boydmick

RIP My Friend
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Driving the truck home the other night and I notice the alternator light come on. I had a loose connector once before that did the same thing so I estimate that my battery will hold the <1 mile home and keep driving.

I pull up to the light as I exit the freeway and notice steam pouring out of the hood vents; quick look at the temp gauge and it is pinned hard against the top :doh:.

Do I shut it down in the middle of the off ramp and evaluate or slowly drive the 1/4 mile home?:hmm:

It was pretty cold out so I make the short drive home, park in the driveway, shut her down and pop the hood. Minimal steam now but smells of burnt coolant. I can hear the tink, tink, tink of metal cooling. Quick inspection shows one of the belts broke and rapidly destroyed the other. Nothing to do now but wait until it cools off.

I head inside, pour an Old Fashioned and start imagining all the possible nightmares I could be facing. Head gasket; not great, but not horrible. Warped head; worse. Cracked head; $$ getting bigger. If I need to go in that deep is it time for a rebuild? $$$$$ now way more than the truck is worth. Cracked block; sell the truck or part it out??? Could probably do OK parting out. Supercharger alone could make it worthwhile. My head is spinning at all the possibilities and I can't help but delve down each and every tangent. Frustration abounds.....

:worms::worms:

I pour another Old Fashioned (or two) and go to bed.
 
Day 2:

I dig through my spares an find a set of belts. I've got a couple gallons of Toyota Red coolant so just a quick trip to the store for some distilled water (did I mention I'm a bit OCD?).

I start tearing into her and install the new belts. She fires right up :clap: I top up the coolant and let her idle awhile to open the t stat and purge the air. ~10 minutes later she gets some more coolant and I close her all up. There's coolant all over the engine so I figure she deserves a good cleaning. She gets some degreaser and a good rinse.

I fire her up again and take her for a drive feeling happy that I dodged a bullet :D I run her around the block a few times and park in the driveway to check the coolant level again.

By the time i open the hood to check i can see coolant draining onto the ground from the bottom of the engine. :(

I try to pinpoint the source from underneath but it seems to be coming from higher on the passenger side than I can see. I climb up top to poke around.....

Coolant all down the side of the block at about the #5 cylinder. There is enough coolant leaking that a steady stream is leaking out but i cant find the exact source.

Frustrated, I shut her down and head back inside to contemplate the possibilities. . . again. (And I may or may not have made an Old fashioned)
 
Day 3:

Determined now to find the size of the coolant leak so I can decide if a couple (or 3) jugs of Bar's will plug it long enough to sell the thing.:crybaby::crybaby:

I fire her up and start again..........

Almost immediately coolant is dripping down the side; she's not even warm yet!

I climb back on top and poke around. It took me about 10 minutes, but i found it!!:)


Drumroll please.......



There is a 5/16 coolant hose that runs to the throttle body. Since the Supercharger relocates the TB to the passenger side, this hose was extended by the TRD kit right across the valve cover. During the overheat this hose blew out a lateral 3" section but the flap was still intact making the hose look fine.

A quick trip to AutoZone for a replacement and we're good to go!!!



Now I just have to wait and see if there is any hidden long term damage :clap:
 
Last edited:
Wow, hopefully you dodged a bullet. A leak down test may be a good idea.
 
Oh No! :eek: :worms: I can certainly let you know what a new head, associated nipples, new HG, etc. and install costs - roughly $3500. Still better than a new truck payment and all associated mods necessary IMHO! At least that was my logic.

Brought back frightening memories of my daughter and I up north when my HG blew! :crybaby: Here's hoping that it was cold enough and you weren't driving long enough to do any damage to the HG, head or block and that all the steam was only due to that hose rupturing all over your valve cover! If that's all it was you dodged a huge bullet my friend. :) If not, I'll give you $5 for the supercharger and have Mark help me modify my '94 for a 7th injector! :D

I was going to offer up my spare set of belts, but OCD you of course already had a set! I kept the last set when I had my belts changed a few years ago.
 
Sorry to hear that. Hopefully all is well now. I know where you can get a new head for a good price if you need it.
 
There are a few things I want to know.....
First, as you started waiting to see if/how many bullets you (likely) dodged, did you have another Old Fashioned? X2? x3? Must have been a big relief with some anxiety

Second, there has to be some interesting story that goes along with Brent paying $3,500 for something that comes with "associated nipples".....no wonder I like hanging around with that guy! I mean, he goes HIGH END, man....!

Third, as I read this and thought there was an imminent demise.....I can't tell you how many times I was contemplating the supercharger I was about to receive.....hehe

Well, I'm hoping this was a relatively easy end to a potentially worse problem. Personally, I think these 80's series will generally outlive all of us!
 
JohnGalt said:
Second, there has to be some interesting story that goes along with Brent paying $3,500 for something that comes with "associated nipples".....no wonder I like hanging around with that guy! I mean, he goes HIGH END, man....!
Click to expand...

Ah, if only your in the gutter mind and suppositions regarding 'associated nipples' had any basis in reality! :cheers: o_O :)
 
JohnGalt said:
There are a few things I want to know.....
First, as you started waiting to see if/how many bullets you (likely) dodged, did you have another Old Fashioned? X2? x3? Must have been a big relief with some
Click to expand...

LOL, I honestly lost track...........
 
JohnGalt said:
There are a few things I want to know.....

Third, as I read this and thought there was an imminent demise.....I can't tell you how many times I was contemplating the supercharger I was about to receive.....hehe

Well, I'm hoping this was a relatively easy end to a potentially worse problem. Personally, I think these 80's series will generally outlive all of us!
Click to expand...

Ha! No sale!

The supercharger stays!
 
Just in case. Topline Performance did my HG. Mario over there charged me $1400. If that's the case score a HG from Eric and save.

image.png
 
$3500 was install, new head, HG, machining costs, hoses, nipples, etc. Parts alone were pretty expensive.

Any update Boyd?
 
Thanks for the links and references, hopefully won't be needing them.

Sorry, back at work so no updates other than no coolant loss and seems to run fine. Hopefully I get to do a leak down test by the end of the week.
 
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