where is my coolant going!?

BDEUCE · Post by **BDEUCE** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 11:53 pm

okay, now i'm nervous...i have questions. I have a 90 2.9, 162000 original kilometers. i have a new rad, waterpump, thermostat plus housing, hoses, and had the core flushed due to lack of heat. I can't keep coolant in it - it's down about a liter (quart and a bit) about every 4 days. no green on the snow, no trace of coolant anywhere. my neighbors thought i was crazy laying under my truck while it idled for 20 mins. i'll top up the neck of the rad, and fill the overflow to the cold line, and then it's gone a couple days later. the actual rad takes about 1/2 to 3/4 of a liter. i checked the little line to the overflow, it's clear. i thought maybe it was just boiling over when hot, and then drawing from the bottle, but there is NO trace of coolant anywhere. i checked the passenger side carpet, no luck there either. i'm going to take it to a rad shop, to do the dye trace thing - maybe a pinhole only when i'm at 3000 rpm or something stupid

like that.

the question i fear...if i had a cracked head, would i notice driveability issues? it runs like a top, starts strong in the cold, heats up good. accelerates strong, sounds great, not even a miss. i don't smell any coolant burning off (unmistakable), nor do i smell coolant from the pipe, and no white smoke, either.

i'm really at my wits end here.

04sd · Post by **04sd** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:33 am

I think you probably have a cracked head and it's going out the exhaust. I don't think you're losing enough to notice it in the exhaust. You could try some sealer in the coolant but at best it's a band-aid.

Rockcrawler · Post by **Rockcrawler** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:48 pm

Check under the oil fill cap if you see some white film on it then its leaking into the oil. and when you change the oil look for water in it. My v 8 does the same thing but runs just fine so i put it off as magical water

BDEUCE · Post by **BDEUCE** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:27 am

04sd wrote:...I don't think you're losing enough to notice it in the exhaust.

right now, as a point a to b vehicle, i am losing alot. my morning commute is 13 mins, then back home at the end of the day. so a quart, sometimes more of coolant, in 78 mins of driving is alot. if it is going out the exhaust i should notice something, right?

BDEUCE · Post by **BDEUCE** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 6:59 pm

I talked to a mechanic friend today. he's a good guy, i trust his experience. he said alot of the cologne v6 motors he worked on often had head gasket failure, usually around 140000 km's. he said if it runs good, it's more likely that it's just a gasket though. he said i had valve tick though, and maybe another incentive to take the heads off. he drove it, smelled the exhaust, and commented on the sag rear end.

so i ask, how hard is this to do? this is a push-rod engine? i was removing and rebuilding inline fours like they was going out of style - is that comperable? this is my first v style engine, actually. if there is no camshaft in the head, is there still a need to buy a gasket "head set"? had to get them on sohc and dohc four bangers.

if i need the heads i'm torn between getting new heads, valves et al. maybe a good time to think about a whole top end - rods camshaft rockers and such.
maybe a good time to 4.0 swap...

"the road to hell is paved with good intentions." - samuel johnson 1775

04sd · Post by **04sd** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:58 pm

If you've done 4 cyls before, the V6 is no different except you need to pull the intake manifold before the heads. You'll need a head gasket set of gaskets. If I were pulling the heads I think I'd take them to a shop to have a valve job done and checked for cracks. You could also replace the lifters while you're at it if you want to quiet down the vlaves.

BDEUCE · Post by **BDEUCE** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:30 am

well, it's official. I popped the rad cap this weekend and found a few chunks of what appears to be gasket material. learning experience for everyone!!

no biggie - i have done more research on this, and i'm going to call a machine shop today - i took my i-4 heads there before. gonna change the valves, and rockers, gasket, head bolts, and whatever else i run into.

are there alot of options for camshafts for the 2.9? i have been playing with the idea of getting a 'hotter' cam, but truth be told i don't know what to look for.

i'll probably be doing this swap in the fall...at least it's not leaking green fluid...

tekatlarge · Post by **tekatlarge** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:06 am

BDEUCE wrote:Are there alot of options for camshafts for the 2.9? i have been playing with the idea of getting a 'hotter' cam, but truth be told i don't know what to look for.

For all your cam and cam related needs I recommend Camcraft. http://www.camcraftcams.com/
Charlie is a good guy and knows his cams. I had CamCraft Grind me a cam for my 2.9 to work with my Supercharger. He also used to or still makes roller rockers for the 2.9. He had just started selling them about 2 to 3 years ago. Check him out, He is on of the few of us left that know anything about a 2.9.

Have fun spend lots of $$$$$$