"pkurtz2" <pkurtz2@cox.net> wrote in message
news:ka%yf.23842$0G.17919@dukeread10...
> OK here is a new one for yall....
> I have a '00' Ford Ranger 3.0L Flex-Fuel 97,000mi, 5spd, 3.71 rearend.
> Suddenly I noticed one cold morning when I started my truck that it
sounded
> like it had a miss. It also vibrated what I would consider harshly
(compared
> to normal). What I dont get is that if you rev the engine real quick a
> couple times it will go away. Or if you let the truck sit and run for like
> 2min it goes away?? I havent pulled the plugs yet to see if they are
fouled,
> but its only got 97000 and I changed the plugs at 50,000mi, and they
looked
> great when I did it. I was just stuck in the mode of my old vehicles. I am
a
> ASE mechanic myself, and we have another one in the family. I asked him
what
> he thought the problem might be, and he couldnt even remember working on
the
> internals of a 3.0L engine.
> NOW, to add to that issue, at the same time I noticed my coolant seems
> to be disappearing into the thin air. I was driving along one night and
> noticed my temp gage just bottomed out. So I checked my radiator and it
was
> almost bone dry. It took a full gallon of antifreeze to refill the
radiator,
> at the same time I looked at my overflow tank and it was almost full. Now,
> correct me if I am wrong, but isnt that tank for expansion during hot
engine
> run, and its supposed to pull coolant BACK into the radiator when it cools
> down? When I pulled the cap off the radiator to refill it, it was under a
> strong vacuum. I thought there was a valve in the cap that is supposed to
> allow flow back into the radiator when it cools down??
>
> Now here is what I think the problem is, you tell me if I am barking up
the
> wrong tree. I think the two problems are interlaced. I think that the
rough
> idle when I start the truck on cold days is due to head gasket shrinkage.
I
> also think this shrinkage is causeing air to escape into the coolant
system.
> I think that this is causing my truck to spew coolant out of the expansion
> tank.
I think at minimum, you need a new radiator cap.
Dave
