| Author | Message | ||
     Pkforbes87 |
hopefully this doesn't belong in KV since it's not a BUELL tech question. My '93 isuzu rodeo 3.2L V6 has a MAJOR water leak. it overheated yesterday so I checked it - low. filled the radiator and there's a very fast drip coming from the back of the engine next to the firewall. There was also oil in the coolant overflow resorvoir. I haven't had time to look closer for the leak but just thought I'd ask on here.. oil getting into the coolant seems like a head and/or gasket to me, but there are no signs of water in the oil (maybe just not showing yet?) BUT with the engine sitting lengthwise, I would think a head gasket would leak out either side, not the rear of the engine bay. If it's a cracked block could that get oil into the coolant as well? | ||
| New12r |
If you overheated it the motor there is a good chance its done, aluminum block and heads dont fair well under extreme heat. An easy way to check for a blown head gasket/cracked block is to start the truck with the radiator cap off, if the coolant is blowing out of the radiator(with some force) it is over. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
are there symptoms I can look for to decide between a cracked block or cracked head/gasket? Or will all signs be the same? thanks for the tip 12R - Coolant is NOT blowing out of the radiator with the engine running. The engine didn't spend a long amount of time overheated. I keep a close eye on the gages and before the temp pegged I was on the side of the road. The thing runs good and sounds good, if only it looked as good under the hood.. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
Head gaskets on aluminum blocks are notorious. I had a Z-28 Cavalier that blew two. Aluminum head and cast block was the culprit. I'd bet it's a gasket. You blowing fluid out of the tailpipe? | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
no fluid or smoke out of the exhaust. my roomate followed me the 5-6 miles home after I filled the radiator yesterday, said he saw smoke puffs every once in a while but I'm guessing it was steam from the coolant leak getting onto the exhaust. | ||
| New12r |
Just go have it leak checked with a pressure tester. IIRC there is a coolant pipe in back of that motor that connects the heads. Let me check it out real quick. | ||
| New12r |
Ok, the views I have are just diagrams of flow not photos. It could be a heater core hose that is leaking. Again I would have it pressure tested first. The oil in the coolant is the thing that worries me... | ||
| Damnut |
freezeplug?? | ||
| Thumper74 |
Well...keep in mind that the oil runs at a higher pressure than the coolant is under so in order to equalize pressure, you're going to lose whatever the higher pressure fluid is. Sounds like you could have popped a head gasket between an oil passage and a coolant passage... I'd pull the heads and drop them off at a machine shop for a pressure test and a resurface. Check the block for straightness and put it back together. You most likely wouldn't have cracked a block due to overheating, heads would have cracked first. You can also inspect the headgaskets upon disassembly, they'll tell their own story... | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I had never even heard the term freezeplug until today, but I'll be sure to check out the manual and see where they are and if one could be the problem. On a side note - anyone used black pepper as a fix for minor coolant leaks? My grandfather has been an auto mechanic for over 50 years and has used it numerous times when customers don't want to replace a leaky radiator, heater core, etc. I doubt it would fix my leak, and it definitely won't keep oil out of the coolant, but interesting method nonetheless ;] | ||
| Jerzydevil |
The freeze plugs are in the sides of the block. If it were one of those, you wouldn't have oil in the antifreeze. And you would have noticed the puddle under the truck. Sounds like the head gasket is toast. Heard of the pepper, but never tried it. They used to use an egg for the same purpose tho. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Salt and pepper both work... Keep in mind that I will clog up small passages like those found in heater cores, radiators, etc. I was doing a heatercore for a friend's mom one time and when I got it out, that light aluminum heatercore weighed a substantial amount. She had been dumping pepper into the radiator to get the big leak stopped... I back flushed just out of curiosity and found a TON of pepper. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
the engine has to be 100% warmed up before using pepper, in order to keep the small passages from clogging, but there's no way it would work for the garden hose type leak I have lol. i worked on it all afternoon today, i can actually SEE the heads now! tomorrow i'll have a new gasket set so hopefully now that things are out of the way i can get the heads removed and gaskets replaced somewhat easily. it's so much easier to work on the v-twin! on the bright side, everything is metric so tool selection isn't hit and miss like it is with the 50/50 standard/metric X1 ;] | ||
| Thumper74 |
Are the headbolts Torque to Yield? If so, replace. Do you have the head torque specs and values? Remember to loosen the headbolts in the proper sequence to avoid warping the head. I would REALLY recommend having the heads checked for straightness and pressure checked before putting them back on... May want to check out the timing belt and the waterpump. They've both gotta come off, might as well replace them while it's easy. Check the timing belt tensioners by spinning them to check the bearings. Look for signs of oil seepage at the crank seal, cam seals, etc. It's WAY easier to do this stuff while it's apart... | ||
| New12r |
I would REALLY recommend having the heads checked for straightness and pressure checked before putting them back on... May want to check out the timing belt and the waterpump. They've both gotta come off, might as well replace them while it's easy. Check the timing belt tensioners by spinning them to check the bearings. Look for signs of oil seepage at the crank seal, cam seals, etc. It's WAY easier to do this stuff while it's apart... +100000 | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I'm done. Not even through with disassembly yet, and all I've found the whole way is rust filled water lines and passages, evidence of heat, oil seepage from everywhere imaginable. Even all 6 plug wire tubes (an isuzu engineering marvel!) were sitting in puddles of oil. I'm piling the parts in the back seat, getting all my shit out of the truck, and taking it to a scrap yard. Thanks for the advice everybody. | ||
| New12r |
Rust is a pain, Another reason I am glad I live in the south. Truth be told that is a great motor, good for a couple hundred thousand miles for sure. It is a shame in todays day and age we cannot come up with a better way to melt ice than with freaking salt, I think the car companys had a hand it that. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
The salting of America's roadways has got to be one of the greatest environmental crimes of the century - on many levels. | ||
| Thumper74 |
An Isuzu is similar to a Harley. If it's not leaking oil, then thats when you should be worried. Rust in the cooling system is neither the truck's fault, or an environmental concern for you. When you put on the new valve cover gasket with the headset you buy, you'll be changing the spark plug tube seals as well, just replace the wires too. Doing the repair yourself is probably less costly than buying a new/used vehicle. Keep in mind that whatever you buy used may have the same issues... Why not keep it, fix it right and KNOW what's NOT wrong with the vehicle. An ex-GF called me a few weeks ago in tears that her car was done and that a dealer would only give her $100 in trade-in. AutoZone quoted her $300 in parts to fix the check engine light. The Mazda dealer told her $1,000 to fix it, but the car wasn't worth it and she should trade it in. I ran the codes... a TPS sensor and a Mass Air Flow sensor. TPS was 'out of range', I tested it with 'ye olde voltmeter and it was reading funky. The MAF was 'no output', I checked the connector and it had become unplugged... Now she knows what's not wrong with the car, rather than taking a shot in the dark with a used car that she would have had payments on as well as not being confident in it's reliability. | ||
| Wolf102 |
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