Need to rebuild -- Any recommendations in Chicago? (1 Viewer)

[kevinkevinkevin]

Hey everyone

I've got a beautiful 94. Just realized I have some coolant getting into the engine. Checked the oil cap and it's got some white sludge

I have minor knocking (piston slap??). Knocking goes up with the throttle, but 80% of the noise goes away when the engine is warm. Figured I might as well rebuild the engine if I'm going in to do a HG job. Anyone here have any recommendations in the Chicagoland area that they trust to rebuild these engines? I've called a few places but no one's really instilled any confidence in me. Just don't want to give it to any joe-schmo.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks guys

 

[zapatius]

Replied to your PM. You may want to do a compression test. That could just be condensation in the cap.

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[jpoole]

What you show in that picture is not conclusive of coolant getting into the oil. You should use other methods to test and confirm if you actually are mixing coolant/oil.

While the knock may be piston slap it may also be power steering pump or something else serviceable without a full rebuild. Some knocks can be hard/impossible to nail down 100% without a full teardown but you should make some reasonable efforts to eliminate knock sources that don't require rebuild before diving in. A piston slap will often go away or reduce when things warm up but there are other noises that can behave the same way. Hard revving / rpm dropping can sometimes help you isolate if a knock goes away under load and is worse when the rods/pistons are essentially floating on decel and this could shed some light on the knock.

Any more information on the knock? Any coolant or oil consumption? How many miles on the engine? Has it been maintained? Any overheating events? etc.

 

[zapatius]

Also, when I am going to do a rebuild on mine, I will get the lowest mile donor engine I can find and drive mine while it's getting done. I will also get a new Toyota head if they're still available. Then the truck will be down for considerably less time.

 

[zapatius]

Also, when I am going to do a rebuild on mine, I will get the lowest mile donor engine I can find and drive mine while it's getting done. I will also get a new Toyota head if they're still available. Then the truck will be down for considerably less time.

To narrow down the knock, take the belts off and see if it's still there.

 

[kevinkevinkevin]

To narrow down the knock, take the belts off and see if it's still there.

that's a great test. I will definitely try this out, thanks, zapatius!

 

[kevinkevinkevin]

What you show in that picture is not conclusive of coolant getting into the oil. You should use other methods to test and confirm if you actually are mixing coolant/oil.

While the knock may be piston slap it may also be power steering pump or something else serviceable without a full rebuild. Some knocks can be hard/impossible to nail down 100% without a full teardown but you should make some reasonable efforts to eliminate knock sources that don't require rebuild before diving in. A piston slap will often go away or reduce when things warm up but there are other noises that can behave the same way. Hard revving / rpm dropping can sometimes help you isolate if a knock goes away under load and is worse when the rods/pistons are essentially floating on decel and this could shed some light on the knock.

Any more information on the knock? Any coolant or oil consumption? How many miles on the engine? Has it been maintained? Any overheating events? etc.

That is a great point -- I never thought to think it was condensation. I'll definitely try and take it to a local shop so they can do some compression tests and maybe send in some oil to blackstone. There's a pretty bad leak somewhere -- looking like right above the water pump. I do see a little power steering fluid underneath. there are about 190k miles on the engine and it's been maintained somewhat ok. A few corners were cut from the PO -- i.e., chinese fuel filter, some crusty hoses that were supposedly "replaced," etc. I'm slowly but surely bringing it up to proper care.

Overheating hasn't been an issue, but I definitely know that the temp gauge is notoriously inaccurate. When I took it to one of my trusty mechanics, he said it burns some oil, but nothing to be worried about. Coolant level has dropped from full to about an inch below full in the reservoir. Exhaust does smell fairly rich. The only reason why I figured it was a HG issue is because I only noticed that sludge on the oil cap after one night of driving, I noticed the oil pressure dropped down to about 1/4. On a warm engine, it has always been about 3/4, never below the halfway mark. Now when I'm not accelerating, it'll stay at around 1/4.

But I'll definitely bring it in somewhere to get some tests done. Thanks for your advice!! You guys rock

 

[jpoole]

That all sounds promising in my opinion but I know you'll be glad to know for sure and steps like a Blackstone analysis should clear up any question on oil/coolant contamination. Blackstone may also help with the knock as metal could be in the oil that points to high wear, etc. A compression test may be less conclusive unless you happen to have lost compression on one/more cylinders. OIl/Coolant mixing can happen without compression failure via the HG or oil cooler at least.

FYI, after a few years of watching these forums and based on my own experience most of these engines have a lot of life left at 190k. Oil consumption is to be expected via the valve seals which harden over time but unless it's been abused is unlikely from rings or other sources. HG failure in many cases is related to overheating and the over-expansion of the aluminum head vs the iron block though there are a few exceptions where the HG blew without that cause, as I recall at least. My cylinders looked great at 220k ish when I did the HG on my 80 (as PM) and seeing little wear internally is common on these well past where yours is miles wise at least.

Hopefully your knock is something like the power steering pump and you can do the HG replacement on your own schedule/at a later date. If you aren't confident it's all in spec the cooling system is worth attending to and in particular the fan clutch which seem to operate inconsistently from one to the next (even when new) but can easily be set/tuned. Keep the temps in the proper range and you stand a good chance of avoiding HG failure, etc. in my opinion.

 

[kevinkevinkevin]

Thanks, jpoole! Will hope to keep this thread updated

 

[manofthewoods]

Thanks, jpoole! Will hope to keep this thread updated

Please DO keep updating.
I did a complete rebuild 2 months ago. I wanted to complete a major Road/rough road trip before I did a write up here on Mud. It'll be stuff I haven't seen much written about before. Coming soon to a website near you soon!

Excellent Advice in posts above

 

[ajax1]

Gonout to the truck open the reservoir, leave the tube in the coolant and lift the cap so you can see down into it, rev the engine up to round 2k and watch for bubbles, if your system is all bleed out which it should be you won’t see bubbles, if you do see bubbles it’s either head gasket or you have air in your system. If you see bubbles do head gasket test kit. Don’t take this the wrong way but from what you are describing you do not have a head gasket issue, coolant dropping in the cold is normal, it will raise when hot. Gunk u see the cap is normal. A compression check is also easy to do and I would recommend you learn how to work this truck which is easy to learn on or find a very good mechanic you trust that knows this engine.