Ranger blown head gasket?

94Ranger4x4 · 11-24-2007, 11:24 AM

today i parked and i noticed alot of steam coming from under the hood, I looked at the temp gauge and everything was normal so i shut off the truck and did my shopping to let everything cool so i could asess the problem carefully. I opened the hood and started the truck. What i saw kind of scared me. Coolant was leaking from the rear of the engine and dripping down onto the exhaust causing the steam. i removed the dipstick to check for milky oil but everything was fine. I added coolant and drove home. While driving home the truck started to run a little warmer than normal so i pulled over and let it cool just to be safe. once again the truck started to get hot as i was pulling into my driveway so i parked and to my suprise steam was coming out of the engine but the temperature was also dropping. i have since replaced the thrmostat and the housing gasket to no avail. i tried running the engine with the radiator cap loose and it ran fine no leaks no over heating. i examened the rear of the engine where it was leaking and felt some silicone like gasket fall apart in my fingers. this is as far as i have gotten today and im about ready to burn the truck!

and i just put new tires on it too!

75K30 · 11-24-2007, 01:11 PM

Before you taka a match to the poor thing, consider that blown head gaskets usually blow between cylinders and not to the outside. I say usually, because anything is possible.
Decent way to determine if the head gasket is alright is by doing a leak down check, or simply preasurizing the cooling system, You can rent a standard type cooling system preassure kit for free at many local auto parts stores. You do not want to use compressed air here, as you will probably over pressurize the system and cause more trouble.
After you pressurize the system, you will be able to track down your leak and determine where the source of the problem is.
Since it is leaking outside of th engine, it should be very easily detected. This symptom could be a bad freeze plug, or even a fitting from a hose that is leaking, and running towards the lowest part of the vehicle. May take a while to diagnose, but usually not a bad deal all around.
Since you are not making milk shakes in the oil pan, and there is not a sign of water under the oil fill cap, you are probably alright, and simply have a leak in some place other than where you think.
May check the plugs for any water or coolant residue. Water does not burn, and will collect on the plug(s) that has the bad gasket allowing water to enter the cylinder.

94Ranger4x4 · 11-24-2007, 02:25 PM

Well i took a leap of faith and bought radiator stop leak as a last resort. I drove around for a while and to my suprise it slowed the leak to a dribble. after tightening the radiator cap it completely stopped the leak. Is this a good forget about the leak type of fix and continue to drive the truck without worry or should i consider diving deeper into the gasket problem? As i write this im getting ready to return some other goodies i got to repair the truck so i'm probably going to jynx it and it will start leaking again. wish me luck!

joeydeherrera54 · 11-24-2007, 03:24 PM

i would never use that stop leak stuff because you have to think anything thats going to block a whole is also going to block the passages ways in the heater core and so on so alot of time you mess more stuff up the what you fix

94Ranger4x4 · 11-25-2007, 08:00 AM

Well it started to leak again.

we finally have narrowed it down to one specific part thanks to the handy Haynes Manual. I figure it is the intake manifold gasket that has blown out, because the RTV sealant that seals this is what fell apart in my fingers. I was wondering how long should it take to get to that gasket by disassembling the engine? I was thinking around 2 days just to let the RTV dry and seal before we start the truck and add coolant. And if we were to take it to the dealer how big of a mortgage should i take out?

75K30 · 11-25-2007, 10:06 AM

Am intake does not take too l ong to remove. In many cases much of the work is just in identifying vacuum hoses for proper installation once you go back together. I have found tht many components can just be left alone, and most of the time have enough slack to be left connected, and moved over to the side. Once the intake is off, you simply need to install new gaskets, and the use of a bunch of RTV is not necessary, nor is it going to require that any silicone dry for a day.
Most RTV is tacky and ready for install in about 30 minutes, and will be ready for use by the time you tighten the intake down and get everything ready to fire up.
This is a project that could be measured in hours (depending on tools and ability) and not days.

72'CaminoKid · 11-25-2007, 10:13 AM

agreed with everything 75 just said. after you put the silicone on, let it set about 25 - 30 minutes to let it firm up just a little, you dont want it completely dry but you dont want it fresh out the tube either. and remember to clean both surfaces really good before re installing

94Ranger4x4 · 11-26-2007, 09:16 PM

Well I took it to a friend who runs a PROFESSIONAL auto service and will get the job done right! he quoted me at around 200 to do the job. PLUS I got the gaskets for FREE!!

(thanks to a gift card and a black friday deal! no i didnt need to arrive at 3 in the morning to go shopping nor wait in a long line)

94Ranger4x4 · 12-06-2007, 08:36 PM

Well the ranger has been fixed finally and is back to offroading as normal, but the truck doesnt do to well on thin ice, I'll see if i can post some pics of the "frozen puddle" AKA its a **** pond mishap! It was a pretty interesting situation getting pulled out by a JEEP! lol it was fun anyway!

11-24-2007, 11:24 AM	#1
94Ranger4x4 Full Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Stuck in MA Posts: 31	Ranger blown head gasket? today i parked and i noticed alot of steam coming from under the hood, I looked at the temp gauge and everything was normal so i shut off the truck and did my shopping to let everything cool so i could asess the problem carefully. I opened the hood and started the truck. What i saw kind of scared me. Coolant was leaking from the rear of the engine and dripping down onto the exhaust causing the steam. i removed the dipstick to check for milky oil but everything was fine. I added coolant and drove home. While driving home the truck started to run a little warmer than normal so i pulled over and let it cool just to be safe. once again the truck started to get hot as i was pulling into my driveway so i parked and to my suprise steam was coming out of the engine but the temperature was also dropping. i have since replaced the thrmostat and the housing gasket to no avail. i tried running the engine with the radiator cap loose and it ran fine no leaks no over heating. i examened the rear of the engine where it was leaking and felt some silicone like gasket fall apart in my fingers. this is as far as i have gotten today and im about ready to burn the truck! and i just put new tires on it too!

11-25-2007, 10:13 AM	#7
72'CaminoKid Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,757	agreed with everything 75 just said. after you put the silicone on, let it set about 25 - 30 minutes to let it firm up just a little, you dont want it completely dry but you dont want it fresh out the tube either. and remember to clean both surfaces really good before re installing __________________ 99 suburban xlt 96 silverado 91 wrangler (my baby ) 08 Honday shadow 750 (my mistress)

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11-24-2007, 01:11 PM	#2
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3,292	Before you taka a match to the poor thing, consider that blown head gaskets usually blow between cylinders and not to the outside. I say usually, because anything is possible. Decent way to determine if the head gasket is alright is by doing a leak down check, or simply preasurizing the cooling system, You can rent a standard type cooling system preassure kit for free at many local auto parts stores. You do not want to use compressed air here, as you will probably over pressurize the system and cause more trouble. After you pressurize the system, you will be able to track down your leak and determine where the source of the problem is. Since it is leaking outside of th engine, it should be very easily detected. This symptom could be a bad freeze plug, or even a fitting from a hose that is leaking, and running towards the lowest part of the vehicle. May take a while to diagnose, but usually not a bad deal all around. Since you are not making milk shakes in the oil pan, and there is not a sign of water under the oil fill cap, you are probably alright, and simply have a leak in some place other than where you think. May check the plugs for any water or coolant residue. Water does not burn, and will collect on the plug(s) that has the bad gasket allowing water to enter the cylinder.

11-24-2007, 02:25 PM	#3
94Ranger4x4 Full Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Stuck in MA Posts: 31	Well i took a leap of faith and bought radiator stop leak as a last resort. I drove around for a while and to my suprise it slowed the leak to a dribble. after tightening the radiator cap it completely stopped the leak. Is this a good forget about the leak type of fix and continue to drive the truck without worry or should i consider diving deeper into the gasket problem? As i write this im getting ready to return some other goodies i got to repair the truck so i'm probably going to jynx it and it will start leaking again. wish me luck!

11-24-2007, 03:24 PM	#4
joeydeherrera54 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: grand junction colorado Posts: 83	i would never use that stop leak stuff because you have to think anything thats going to block a whole is also going to block the passages ways in the heater core and so on so alot of time you mess more stuff up the what you fix

11-25-2007, 08:00 AM	#5
94Ranger4x4 Full Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Stuck in MA Posts: 31	Well it started to leak again. we finally have narrowed it down to one specific part thanks to the handy Haynes Manual. I figure it is the intake manifold gasket that has blown out, because the RTV sealant that seals this is what fell apart in my fingers. I was wondering how long should it take to get to that gasket by disassembling the engine? I was thinking around 2 days just to let the RTV dry and seal before we start the truck and add coolant. And if we were to take it to the dealer how big of a mortgage should i take out?

11-25-2007, 10:06 AM	#6
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3,292	Am intake does not take too l ong to remove. In many cases much of the work is just in identifying vacuum hoses for proper installation once you go back together. I have found tht many components can just be left alone, and most of the time have enough slack to be left connected, and moved over to the side. Once the intake is off, you simply need to install new gaskets, and the use of a bunch of RTV is not necessary, nor is it going to require that any silicone dry for a day. Most RTV is tacky and ready for install in about 30 minutes, and will be ready for use by the time you tighten the intake down and get everything ready to fire up. This is a project that could be measured in hours (depending on tools and ability) and not days.

11-26-2007, 09:16 PM	#8
94Ranger4x4 Full Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Stuck in MA Posts: 31	Well I took it to a friend who runs a PROFESSIONAL auto service and will get the job done right! he quoted me at around 200 to do the job. PLUS I got the gaskets for FREE!! (thanks to a gift card and a black friday deal! no i didnt need to arrive at 3 in the morning to go shopping nor wait in a long line)

12-06-2007, 08:36 PM	#9
94Ranger4x4 Full Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Stuck in MA Posts: 31	Well the ranger has been fixed finally and is back to offroading as normal, but the truck doesnt do to well on thin ice, I'll see if i can post some pics of the "frozen puddle" AKA its a **** pond mishap! It was a pretty interesting situation getting pulled out by a JEEP! lol it was fun anyway!