94 rodeo engine problems

[lostsoul74]

Hey gents, maybe you guys can shed the light on things for me. I've got a 94 rodeo v6 4x4. The problem is, every once in a while she'll start to run a alittle hot, when i check the oil, the dipstick will say bone dry. So i'll add a few quarts in, runs nice and cool again. The next day, i'll check it again, and she'll be overfilled. Along with this, i have recently noticed a new issue which may also be related, my oil pressure gauge will go spuratic once she reaches operating temp. when the guage starts going spuratic, i'll get close to overheating and blowing grey smoke. A few weeks ago i ran engine flush through it and problems seem to go away, theyre back again now. I also remember a couple months ago when this was doing this bad, my battery would die overnight, didnt assume them related, just figured old batery wouldnt hold charge. now problem is back again, and this morning, battery was deader then doornail. (may or may not be related, last week through a system in truck so may have ground issue or something creating drain, but cant find one, I'm just tossing this end because it dawned on me this happened last time too... may or may not be related)

Any ideas, or can someone at least tell me why when I check my oil it says empty, but when i fill it, the next day it's overfilled???? And is the oil pump electric??? overfilling wouldnt create the pump to run through the night or anythign right (dumb question, i doubt it, but who knows... just trying to cover all ends to figure it out... and if theyre even related) trucks got 170k on it, picked her up for a few hundred, but looks perfect and runs great... cept these few issues now. Thanks guys....

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[Ramblin Fever]

Sounds like headgasket issues to me; this would account for the overfill on the dipstick, though the next day when the dipstick is dry doesn't make sense to me.

At that age and those many miles, you're probably in need of a major coolant system overhaul if it's never been done, i.e. thermostat, new hoses, possibly new radiator (they've typically spent their lives by about 160k miles), waterpump and such.

The waterpump could be a big factor if it's original as well as the thermostat.

Are you rechecking the oil IMMEDIATELY after shutting the truck down and/or immediately after pouring more in, if so, you're not allowing it time to drain back into the bottom of the pan for an accurate reading - thus your dipstick would read low. You need to wait 15-20 minutes after shutting off the truck and/or pouring more oil in and recheck the level after adding 1qt at a time.

If you're having to add more then 1qt twice a week, you've got a serious issue; i.e rear main seal leak or some other major oil leak under the truck.

No, the oil pump has nothing to do with robbing your engine of oil.