Smoke screen out my tail pipe... ('95 4.3L 4X4)

[vballfun]

ok... I did a cylinder pressure test.. and they -all- were above about 120-130

which is supposedly ok.

I've got the truck supported on jackstands in the front so it's slightly tilted back.

when I removed the sparkplugs from the #5 piston.. a combination of water/gas sputtered out.. (yet didn't out of other spark plug holes.) and I'm not sure if that is normal (since that part of engine is now lower) and.. even tho there is water there.. i'm still reading normal pressure on that cylinder.

(If I'm using the pressure tester correctly)...

I turn the key over a few times and the pressure jumps to 90.. then around 110.. and then around 120-130... for pretty much every cylinder... Is that what is supposed to happen? or am I supposed to immediately jump to 120ish?

Thanks.

VBallfun

[rlith]

At this point the head gasket needs replaced. The fact that water is in there shows this.

[blazee]

Originally Posted by rlith

At this point the head gasket needs replaced. The fact that water is in there shows this.

Because it still has normal compression, I'd suspect the intake gasket.

[rlith]

Originally Posted by blazee

Because it still has normal compression, I'd suspect the intake gasket.

It's dicey on that...Either way he goes he's gonna have to pull the lower intake so he'll be able to see if it was that...If not he'll have to pull the head.

[Markgc]

How can you tell if it is the lower intake gasket leaking or the head gasket.

My money is on the intake gasket since I understand that that is a common fault but I wonder how you can tell which gasket has failed.


Is there anything that needs to be done right now to prevent rusting of the #5 bore due to the water in it.


Mark

[rlith]

Originally Posted by Markgc

How can you tell if it is the lower intake gasket leaking or the head gasket.

My money is on the intake gasket since I understand that that is a common fault but I wonder how you can tell which gasket has failed.


Is there anything that needs to be done right now to prevent rusting of the #5 bore due to the water in it.


Mark

You may not be able to tell until you start pulling everything apart...

[Markgc]

So are you looking for a gasket that looks wet or shows signs of lifting. I would hate to have to take the head off if I didn't have too.

Mark

[blazee]

Originally Posted by rlith

It's dicey on that...Either way he goes he's gonna have to pull the lower intake so he'll be able to see if it was that...If not he'll have to pull the head.

Even if it started out as an intake gasket failure, after running it like that so long he may still need to pull the head. Engines don't like water in the cylinders. Depending on how much oil was leaking into the crankcase, there may be main bearing damage as well.

On the bright side, I bet the valves on that cylinder have been steam cleaned nicely.

[Markgc]

Could the con rod be bent with the hydro lock that occured

[vballfun]

Just did a cooling system pressure test.. and i think it is normal... I pumped the gauge up to where it said for a 16 lbs cap.. and let it run for 2-3 minutes.. and the pressure never dropped :-/ so.. it's just boggling me.. but the fact is there is steam coming out the tail pipe.. (it's not like the smoke screen I initially posted about.. but there is definetly a small ammount of steady steam coming out)

So.. I'm imagining it is a small leak in the head gasket.. and going to have to pull it.. (was trying to avoid doing that.. but I wanted to do these tests first.. I kinda wish they would have been more 'convincing' that there was a blatant loss of pressure either way.. so I would know definitively before pulling all that stuff off :-( )

But thanks everyone for the tips/advice/pointers.

btw the tip for disconnecting the steering wheel column for #3 is awesome!!

vballfun.

[OverBoardProject]

Originally Posted by Markgc

Could the con rod be bent with the hydro lock that occured

Yes! You can basicly destroy a motor with hydro lock, however it usually bends the valves at the most. It'll actually destroy the weakest link in that motor at the time.

vballfun did the right thing without even realizing it. If you suspect that you have hydro lock pull the plugs and crank it over. It'll get rid of that water in a hurry.

vballfun, sorry to say that you'll have to pull the inkake and if it was me I'd pull that head at the same time.
It doesn't matter what the rad test showed, the spark plug is the real indication in your case (not always)
I'd seriously consider a used motor at this point. You'll be better off in the long run. Good luck

[vballfun]

Well I'm slowly working on this in my spare time.. I've got it down to the lower intake manifold gasket.. it looked 'fine'... so am now going to start on the heads.. have never taken them off a 'V' engine before.. (I've only worked on the head gasket for a 4 cylinder once manyyears ago)

one thing that is curious (as I'm cleaning off the bottom of the lower intake manifold for later reinstallation...) is that there is some kind of white 'concrete' like substance in the rear part of the gasket where I assume if it was an 8 cylinder it would have another coolant passageway but instead on the intake manifold it is just solid metal.. and on the block it is that whitish concrete like substance.... Just curious what that is.. and if I'm supposed to leave it there? it is kind of in the way of cleaning off the old gasket.

Anyway.. I hope to get at least one of the heads off tonight.. (Passenger side)

[rlith]

The white stuff is a type of RTV I believe..

[vballfun]

ok.. that's what I was hoping it was.. will just scrape it away with the rest of the gasket then.. and replace it with similar rtv stuff...

Got the 2-4-6 head off 'tonight/this morning' the gasket looked 'ok'.. I didn't see any -obvious- burn through areas.. but when you take the old gaskets off it's kinda hard when they want to stick to both the block and the head to see what condition it was reallly in.. because by that time it's all bent up.

anyway.. gonna take a morning nap and start cleaning up that side. I really need a shop-vac.. baked oil all over the place.

-vballfun

[Rick Norwood]

When you pull the 1-3-5 head off I think you'll find the culprit. When you get the gasket off the 1-3-5 head look very closely and compare it to the 2-4-6 gasket. I really doubt you will see a large gapping hole in the gasket. It will be a small burned area on the gasket between the water jacket and the cylinder (#5 I bet).

I know you said that there was no water/antifreeze in the oil, but here is an old trick for those who may ever need to "flush" their crankcase due to "chocolate milk" in the oil.

Completely drain your crankcase and remove the filter. Go down and buy a gallon of Diesel Fuel from your local Gas station (yes, right out of the pump). Install a brand new cheap filter and Fill the crankcase with the Diesel fuel taking care not to overfill. Remove all of your spark plugs and pull the distributor wire out of the distributor and crank the engine (you don't want any sparks) anyway, I cranked mine until the battery died. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES START THE ENGINE WITH THE DIESEL FUEL IN THE CRANK CASE!!! Drain the Diesel fuel and remove the filter, leave the oil drain plug out for a while and pour a quart of oil into the oil fill hole and let that drain too. After that, close everything up, recharge your battery, re-install the plugs, and fill with fresh oil and another new filter, and start the engine. Run for a few minutes and check the oil again. I would only leave this oil in for a day or two, then change it again. If you fixed the source of the water leak, you should be good to go after this.