ladywolf
UH-60L Jeep Chick
- Location
- Clarksville TN
damn dude.....a new radiator plus parts, labor, and new antifreeze only cost me 210.00
Coolant problem
- Thread starter BAMCHEROKEE88
- Start date
dizzymac
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- New Hampshire
ladywolf said:
Kind of what I was getting at. If you have any more radiator probs. try www.radiatorbarn.com . You can get a all metal three row for $175 delivered.
Doesn't hurt to give the "web" a quick search b-4 bringing it to the shop to get an idea of what a part should cost, you'd be surprised how mnay times you'll see how inexpensive an item can be and that you can probably install it yourself. Good luck in the future.
my2monkeys
NAXJA Member
- Location
- Mission Viejo, CA
Boy, 2 radiators in 4 years! My '89 has the original, only been rodded out once' of course she gets right up to 210 deg. and stays there on a 70 deg. day:flamemad: . Anyway, check those damn steel heater hose pipes for blockage and heater control valve . Also, did the mechanics put the seals and what not back around radiator?BAMCHEROKEE88 said:
BAMCHEROKEE88
NAXJA Member #976
- Location
- Lancaster,PA
Ok , I`ve tried Bar's Head Gasket Fix (roughly $30 bottle) and still no go. I even replaced the pressure bottle with my spare bottle (brand new). She just keeps on filling up the bottle in 12-15 minutes and the cap then releases fluid. Is there anything other than a head gasket leak that can cause this? Looks like I will start looking for a truck. This maybe a stupid question, but does the engine need to be removed to replace a head gasket? Either I turn this into a project ( repair it myself to have a 2nd vehicle ( not ever having done this before or been around someone who has.)) or part it out and scrap the rest.
Ecomike
NAXJA# 2091
- Location
- MilkyWay Galaxy
bamcherokee88 said:
Well changing out a battery is a whole lot easier. The head is heavy and bulky, takes 2 people to pull / lift it off of the block (No you do not need to pull the engine), and it is easier to do if you leave the manifolds attached, but it is bulkier and heavier to lift with them attached. The lower manifold bolts are real pain to reach unless you pull the head first. There is a whole lot off stuff to disconnect and move out of the way, so for a first timer it is a multi weekend project.
I recently solved that same problem on my diesel engine, tuirned out the water pump was drawing in air from a gasket or pump shaft seal leak on the suction side of the water pump. It would only get up to 7 psi under pressure (unlike yours which seems to be over pressuring right?) , but the radiator was filling up with air and it refused to draw coolant back into the radiator from the open system bottle overnight.
I would suggest buying and using a leak down tester (you need compressed air too!) where you pressurize the cylinders one at a time and then look for air bubbles in the coolant bottle. Or go to a radiator shop and use a radiator pressure tester to test for a head gasket leak or coolant system leak. It is a hand pump device they use that pressurizes the coolant system cold and then the pressure gauge tells you if it is holding presure. If it is looosing pressure then you look for cold leaking coolant to find the leak.
I would not part it out or scrap it for just a head gasket. The head gasket kit is less than $50. Just a lot of stuff to pull out of the way and reinstall. Cheaper part wise to replace than an O2 sensor, or starter or alternator! Just a fair amount of your time wrenching.
If however it is a cracked block, then that is another story entirely. With no coolant in the oil though I would suspect a small head gasket leak, rather than a cracked block, but I am not an engine failure expert so maybe someone else will jump in here.
One last thing to check. I made a post a while back saying I thought it was possible for people to criss crooss the 2 heater hoses resulting in the air in the top of the bottle being exposed to the suction side of the water pump, leading to air geting back into the engine. The discharge side of the water pump must be feeding the upper side of the bottle, and the water pump must be sucking on the bottom of the bottle.
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BAMCHEROKEE88
NAXJA Member #976
- Location
- Lancaster,PA
Ecomike,
The top 2 coolant hoses are in the proper place as fluid is coming into the side top of the bottle and out the bottom. I asked about doing the head gasket, thinking I will work on it when I can and would just like to have it done by fall/winter or whenever it gets too cold to work on it (outside). I am starting to look for a used pickup, just will be without a vehicle for a little while. My brother and I would do the work, he could then use it for running around. My concern about whether to replace the head gasket or scrap it comes from the fact that she has a bearing rap upon start up and leaks oil from around the timing chain cover area. Last summer I was looking into having the engine rebuilt or put in a reman engine (jasper etc.) when the bearing rap suddenly started to sound much, much worse, didn`t stop after a second or two as normal and I was having trouble keeping it running. My normal mechanic was sure it was a rod knock but he is semi-retired and would no longer do an engine rebuild (or other major engine work. Which really sucks since he is good and very cheap. The old timers should be made to wrench until the day they are laid in the ground
) ). I went to another local shop that my normal mechanic recomended ( the same one that charged me just under $700 for the new radiator) but she sat for 2 days before getting in and the supposed rod knock was gone. They keep it for almost a week and ran a bit daily but the noise didn`t come back and she has been running fine up till now. The new shop had no answers on the knocking , but switched the oil over to 15w40, with the hope that oil would remain in the bearings longer between startups to help with the bearing rap. I added Lucas oil treatment on my last oil change and that stopped the startup noise unless it sits for more than a day or two without being used. To have a reman engine installed or the old one rebuilt will run ( last summers pricing) $4000-$4500. No gaurantees with rebuilding the old engine. I`m just unsure if its worth the time and money.
The top 2 coolant hoses are in the proper place as fluid is coming into the side top of the bottle and out the bottom. I asked about doing the head gasket, thinking I will work on it when I can and would just like to have it done by fall/winter or whenever it gets too cold to work on it (outside). I am starting to look for a used pickup, just will be without a vehicle for a little while. My brother and I would do the work, he could then use it for running around. My concern about whether to replace the head gasket or scrap it comes from the fact that she has a bearing rap upon start up and leaks oil from around the timing chain cover area. Last summer I was looking into having the engine rebuilt or put in a reman engine (jasper etc.) when the bearing rap suddenly started to sound much, much worse, didn`t stop after a second or two as normal and I was having trouble keeping it running. My normal mechanic was sure it was a rod knock but he is semi-retired and would no longer do an engine rebuild (or other major engine work. Which really sucks since he is good and very cheap. The old timers should be made to wrench until the day they are laid in the ground
) ). I went to another local shop that my normal mechanic recomended ( the same one that charged me just under $700 for the new radiator) but she sat for 2 days before getting in and the supposed rod knock was gone. They keep it for almost a week and ran a bit daily but the noise didn`t come back and she has been running fine up till now. The new shop had no answers on the knocking , but switched the oil over to 15w40, with the hope that oil would remain in the bearings longer between startups to help with the bearing rap. I added Lucas oil treatment on my last oil change and that stopped the startup noise unless it sits for more than a day or two without being used. To have a reman engine installed or the old one rebuilt will run ( last summers pricing) $4000-$4500. No gaurantees with rebuilding the old engine. I`m just unsure if its worth the time and money.
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ladywolf
UH-60L Jeep Chick
- Location
- Clarksville TN
dude, go find an engine out of a wrecked cherokee. everything w/ lots of new paruldnt cost ya more'n about 1200 bucks. (and yes, i'm high siding it)
Ecomike
NAXJA# 2091
- Location
- MilkyWay Galaxy
Rod knocks don't come and go like that. Jeep 4.0's are notorious for lifter / rocker arm clatter noise that comes and goes with the addition of oil additives like MMO amd Lucas. Muffler shop told me I had a rod knock, sounded like a rod knock too, about 30,000 miles ago. The noise is mostly gone now thanks to regular oil changes and the use of MMO and Lucas.
Oil leaks can be fixed a lot easier that rebuilding an engine. The valve cover gasket and Oil filter adapter seals and orings are the most frequent leakers, and they can look like leaks from somewhere else!!!
$50 head gasket kit includes the valve cover gasket, head gasket, new valve stem seals, new intake and exhaust manifold gaskets and a new thermostat gasket. I spent $130 at the local engine shop to have the head cleaned, the new valve stem oil seals installed, and valve seats and valves reground if they needed to be reground. There is good thread at http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=933960 about doing the head job.
If it is not burning oil, and has less than 300,000 miles on it, I would pull the head. If you find a nasty surprize go get a JY engine and swap the engine. Otherwise change the head gasket, chain cover gasket, etc, and drive it again.
By the way what they are calling bearing rap, is probably sticking lifters which does not damage the engine, just sounds real bad and scarry!
Oil leaks can be fixed a lot easier that rebuilding an engine. The valve cover gasket and Oil filter adapter seals and orings are the most frequent leakers, and they can look like leaks from somewhere else!!!
$50 head gasket kit includes the valve cover gasket, head gasket, new valve stem seals, new intake and exhaust manifold gaskets and a new thermostat gasket. I spent $130 at the local engine shop to have the head cleaned, the new valve stem oil seals installed, and valve seats and valves reground if they needed to be reground. There is good thread at http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=933960 about doing the head job.
If it is not burning oil, and has less than 300,000 miles on it, I would pull the head. If you find a nasty surprize go get a JY engine and swap the engine. Otherwise change the head gasket, chain cover gasket, etc, and drive it again.
By the way what they are calling bearing rap, is probably sticking lifters which does not damage the engine, just sounds real bad and scarry!
stewie
NAXJA Forum User
dude, you got ripped off with the cost of the rad and labor. i would have gone (and recently did) go with an all metal 3 core radiator from radiatorbarn.com. 164.77 shipped. super easy to replace too.
if your old rad was clogged, i would suspect cloggs elsewhere as well. once the engine is warm, does your heater blast HOT air, lukewarm or ambiant temp? if your heater is not blowing out hot air, there is a clogg somwhere in the system. preform a good radiator flush. you can use a product like prestone rad flush, but for the first couple of times i would suggest just flushing with plain hose water.
to do so: start your jeep and turn the heater all the way on. this opens the valve to the heater core so that it can be flushed. you shouldnt warm the engine up. turn off jeep and drain the coolant. the easiest way is to take the lower rad hose off the rad. it may be easiest to get to it by taking out the air box. after its emptied, remove the heater hoses that lead to the heater core at the front of the engine. once both heater hoses and both radiator hoses are removed, its time to flush. take a garden hose and run water through each hose and the radiator. i start with the heater core. alternate between the two heater hoses well after the water run off is clear. if you think that its flushed clean, keep going for a while. if no water wants to come out, there is most likely a blockage. repeat with the radiator hoses and then the engine block via the waterpump/tstat housing. one will not want to flush through due to the cold water closing the tstat. also flush the radiator though the rad cap and upper/lower rad hoses. i also like to take my coolant resevor out and clean it by partially filling it and shaking it. again flush til well after the water runs clear. i then take my air gun and blow as much residual water out of the system to keep my coolant mixture from being underdiluted. reconnect the hoses to their proper places and refill the system. run the engine to circulate the system then burp it.
after a couple of flushes you may want to run a galon of coolant and a gallon of white vinegar through the system. this will act as a mild cleanser and help remove buildup. just dont run it for very long- no longer than a week.
if there was ever a "radiator stop leak" type product used on your jeep, that may be the source of your blockage. those things are pure evil for the engine.
hth
stewie
if your old rad was clogged, i would suspect cloggs elsewhere as well. once the engine is warm, does your heater blast HOT air, lukewarm or ambiant temp? if your heater is not blowing out hot air, there is a clogg somwhere in the system. preform a good radiator flush. you can use a product like prestone rad flush, but for the first couple of times i would suggest just flushing with plain hose water.
to do so: start your jeep and turn the heater all the way on. this opens the valve to the heater core so that it can be flushed. you shouldnt warm the engine up. turn off jeep and drain the coolant. the easiest way is to take the lower rad hose off the rad. it may be easiest to get to it by taking out the air box. after its emptied, remove the heater hoses that lead to the heater core at the front of the engine. once both heater hoses and both radiator hoses are removed, its time to flush. take a garden hose and run water through each hose and the radiator. i start with the heater core. alternate between the two heater hoses well after the water run off is clear. if you think that its flushed clean, keep going for a while. if no water wants to come out, there is most likely a blockage. repeat with the radiator hoses and then the engine block via the waterpump/tstat housing. one will not want to flush through due to the cold water closing the tstat. also flush the radiator though the rad cap and upper/lower rad hoses. i also like to take my coolant resevor out and clean it by partially filling it and shaking it. again flush til well after the water runs clear. i then take my air gun and blow as much residual water out of the system to keep my coolant mixture from being underdiluted. reconnect the hoses to their proper places and refill the system. run the engine to circulate the system then burp it.
after a couple of flushes you may want to run a galon of coolant and a gallon of white vinegar through the system. this will act as a mild cleanser and help remove buildup. just dont run it for very long- no longer than a week.
if there was ever a "radiator stop leak" type product used on your jeep, that may be the source of your blockage. those things are pure evil for the engine.
hth
stewie
