"pkurtz2" <pkurtz2@cox.net> wrote in message
news:CUizf.34840$0G.31090@dukeread10...
> Ulysses,
> Your problem sounds IDENTICAL to mine. If your truck has 275,000 on it, I
> would say its due for head gaskets anyway. If you know you can do it
> yourself, it will probably only cost you about 150 bucks to do it.
I've looked at the situation and have been putting it off mainly because it
looks like the exhaust manifolds are going to be a nightmare to remove. At
the moment the engine runs amazing well for the number of miles on it and
easily passes the California smog tests.
Thanks for the info. This narrows it down as I'm no longer getting smoke on
startup and it was white, not blue. If the stop-leak did what it said it
would do then by temporarily sealing the head leaks that would indicate to
me that they are indeed leaking.
I've read several claims of 350,000 miles on this particular engine in the
Explorer and most of those folks were still driving them so based upon that
I think it would be worth the trouble to replace the head gaskets and get my
(last?) 75,000 miles out of it.
I get a
> discount at O'reillys becuase I am an automotive student, so its only
going
> to cost me about 100 bucks. One of the primary reasons on my truck I think
> that its the headgasket is due to the fact that when I turn the truck off
it
> still pushes air out of my radiator into the expansion (overflow) tank. If
> yours does this, and when you open the radiator on a cold engine first
thing
> in the morning, and you get pressure out of it.. You probably have a
leaking
> head gasket... Leaking Valve seals usually dont cause rough starts unless
> its allowed to go on too long and the plugs are indeed fouled. That is the
> second symptom of leaking valve seals. But the first symptom of leaking
> valve seals, is blue smoke when you first start the engine. Thats cause
its
> burning the oil that dripped into the engine when it wasnt running. Just
> watch your tail pipe when first start your car (should be easier to see on
a
> warm engine). So the next time you take it to the grocery store and turn
it
> off for like an hour and then restart it.. If your valve seals are
leaking,
> this is when you will really notice it.
>
> "Ulysses" <therealulysses@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:11sqi2elue0qhdb@corp.supernews.com...
> > Your diagnosis sounds good to me but what if it runs rough at start-up
but
> > is not losing coolant? I have a '92 Explorer 4.0 V6 OHV with a mere
> > 275,000
> > miles on it and it runs rough at first then smooths out after a minute
or
> > two (or if I rev it up a little at first). I also have not pulled the
> > plugs
> > recently but could leaking valve seals cause this? I recently replaced
> > the
> > radiator because it was dumping coolant out of the reservoir and it had
> > white smoke coming out the tailpipe (burning coolant?). I added some
> > (GASP!) stop leak that is supposed to seal cracked heads and leaky head
> > gaskets and the smoke went away but it still runs rought at startup. I
> > also
> > recently replaced the water pump and have cleaned the MAF and the other
> > (?)
> > sensors. The intake manifold gaskets have also been changed. I realize
> > at
> > this many miles it could be more than one problem. Could a clogged
> > radiator
> > also cause pressure build-up and coolant loss and contribute to a head
> > gasket leak?
> >
> >
> >
>
>
