s10 bad head gasket??? hope not?
I4, 5spd, 4x2. Got the truck a few weeks ago and ran fine. Developed a knocking sound which I thought was the throw out bearing going out but that wasnt it. the truck recently died on the side of the highway, we were able to start it again and get it to the gas station, I noticed coolant leaking, there was a lot around the right wheel well. Put some coolant in and got it home, Pulled the radiator out and checked all the hoses, everything turned out fine, seemed like when we died the coolant was leaking from the right bottom side of the radiator( if looking from the driver seat). Checked the oil and the dipstick came back dry, Changed the oil right away and it ran very noice with no smoke, smells or knocks......perfect. This lasted two days until I got in the truck one night after work and it just took a while to get it started, just didnt want to turn over. Kept trying with the throttle open and it fired up. This hard start happens at random but definetely hesitates every time to start. Once running, there is quiet a bit of white smoke from the tail pipe but goes away after 10-15 minutes. I had a car with a complete blown head gasket so it wasnt that much smoke but I would say little more then normal. When driving sometimes it hesitates while accelerating and sometimes it does fine, usually better after its warmed up but still hesitation happens at random.
Some things I found out of place, air filter dirty, moisture around fuel filter, very dirty throttle body and since we replaced the coolant it seems to bubble in the reservoir after shuting off the truck( i didnt "burd the system properly yet)some sort of oily build up on top of the valve cover near the firewall, around the air hose that goes into the valve cover, also there is a vacuum leak, on the driver side near the fender, there is a three way plug, I dont know where the third plug goes, I might just replace it with a straight plug . Where do I start? I will be doing all the work myself but since I recently bought the truck, I havent had the proper time to invest into it. Where do I begin? I really need some professional guidance. BTW, the check engine light is NOT on. Could I have a blown gasket or not?
Also, this is my short list of things to be replaced on my next day off, fuel filter, air filter, water pump, thermostat, drain and refill antifreeze, drain and refill oil, maybe an engine cleaner, thermostat. The temperature gauge keeps going up and down, mostly on the higher side. Oil gauge jumps up and down especially on accelertion
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Tags: 4x2, air filter, air hose, blown head gasket, bottom side, coolant, definetely, dipstick, driver seat, fuel filter, gasket, hoses, radiator, shuting, straight plug, tail pipe, throttle body, vacuum leak, valve cover, white smoke
January 26th, 2010 at 7:02 am
I take it your truck has a 2.2L 4 cyl. engine. Which should be 94 and up. If your suspect a head gasket leak, the first place to check is at the corners of the cylinder head on the exhaust side. The head bolts are visible on this side and the two outer bolts go through a hollow dowel pin that is used to position the head on the block. When the gasket is installed around these dowels the gasket can get damaged, this is do in part that the gasket has a 7/16" hole and the dowel has a 1/2" out side diameter. Forcing the gasket usually causes it to kink or crack. The trick is to use a 9/16" socket to push on the gasket. this even pressure causes the material to roll not kink or crack, making a solid seal. The other problem is the corner bolts go into a water jacket in the block and if the threads of those two bolts are not coated with a thread sealant it is possible coolant to leak out under the head of the bolt. If coolant is visible at the external corners of the head to block surface, then it is most likely getting into the cylinder. This can also be verified by removing and inspecting all four spark plugs. The condition of each plug should be similar with a little black residue, if it is a thick black residue it would indicate oil consumption or extremely rich fuel mixture. A white light coating would indicate a lean fuel mixture, and a thick coating would indicate a coolant leak into the combustion chamber.
If replacing the head gasket make sure to replace the cylinder head bolts. These are a torque to yield bolts that stretch and should never be reused.
It does sound like there is still air in the coolant system. Try jacking up the front of the truck or park it on an incline and top off the level. This can take some time to get the air purged out.
As for the start up problem, it sounds like a dirty throttle-body and Idle Air control/IAC valve passage inside the TB. The IAC valve is a computerized choke that gets carbon built up and restricts air flow causing the engine to run rich. This part is servicable, which means it can be removed, cleaned with a throttle-body cleaner that is O2 sensor safe (about 10 bucks), and reinstalled. It is located on the TB, it is about an inch in diameter, about an inch deep, is black, has an electrical plug-in on the end and has two T15 torx screws that hold it in place. Be careful once the IAC is removed. When cleaning the pintle valve in the IAC, do not rotate, this will through the valve out of calibration and the vehicle will have to go through a relearn procedure. Cleaning the passage, the throttle air inlet port, and the throttle plate will improve start up, idle, and economy.
The fluctuation in the temp. gauge is do to the air pocket. The gauge sensor and the thermostat both need to be submerged in fluid to work properly, they don’t register air temp.
Hope this helps. Christopher
January 26th, 2010 at 7:02 am
need to know what year & where the coolant is coming, also is there coolant in your oil? if so your headgasket is bad
January 26th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Sure sounds like a head gasket to me. Usually what happens is the combustion gases from one or more cylinders leaks into the cooling system, creating excess pressure, which then overcomes the 15lb spring in the rad cap, and pushes it into the coolant overflow bottle. When you shut the truck off and let it sit, the cooling system now has more pressure than the combustion chamber (versus the opposite with engine running), and antifreeze starts leaking into a cylinder. The hard start and white smoke is more than likely a hydrolocked cylinder due to some coolant in it (water doesn’t compress) and the white smoke is that coolant burning off in the exhaust.
Here’s some tricks to help:
Smell the coolant bottle and radiator when its cool enough to play around with. Does either one smell like a tailpipe? This is a telltale sign of head gasket failure (combustion leaking into the cooling system)
Pull all 4 plugs and see if one is either wet or greenish looking, OR one that is shiny sparkling clean (washed off by water/coolant)
Pump the cooling system up with a pressure tester and make sure you don’t have any other leaks
Your coolant leak by the right wheel is probably coolant overflowing out of the bottle when the engine overheats. The overflow bottle is right on top of the right wheel well on 1st gen S10s (assuming yours is 82-94)
Good luck!
January 26th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Sounds like a head gasket without getting over technical with you. if you are doing it yourself, its not bad. a few hours, get a head gasket, head bolts, grey rtv, some coolant, 4 qts (oil) and a pf47 filter, new plugs(might as well) , a thermostat and an o2 sensor. (the sensor is probably damaged at this point if its getting coolant into the exhaust). I replace them as a necessary item because they always come back with an o2 sensor code if you dont. of course, you can take it and have it pressure tested before hand to verify the problem. also, if you pull the oil drain plug just to let a small amount of oil out, look to see if antifreeze is the first thing to come out. milky brown oil is also a give away, but not always if its not severe enough. also, if you take it to a shop and ask them to put a sniffer on it, they can determine if there is any fuel fapors in the coolant. If the car has over heated at any point, be sure to have the head checked for fractures. I always do it, but being realistic, if you are tight on funds and can say that you know it hasnt over heated, you can skip that step because the head is more than likely good..