New Thread - Need Help

[SuperKirby]

Alright guys, I'm lost as to this one.
Picked up the combustion leak detector kit from napa. Watched a video on it. Seemed pretty easy so I got home and gave it a shot. According to the test I have no combustion gasses in my radiator. Just to make sure I was understanding how it worked I went and sucked up some of the exhaust. Sure enough it turns yellow so I must have been doing it right.

Tried to figure out what all I'm doing wrong. I have to be leaking from somewhere as I found some coolant drips on the bottom front of the engine, both sides. I also noticed that even after letting it idle for 10-15 minutes, I had no pressure in the radiator and could pull the cap with no issues, so I'm leaking from somewhere.
But that's not all. My exhaust is still "steamy" to me and I had a good water drip coming out of the exhaust.
I grabbed a flashlight and started searching for drips. Couldn't find where specifically it was coming from. I did find some other concerning things. The manifold from the #4 cylinder appeared to be leaking, probably oil? It was darker and more rusted looking around it. Then when I crawled underneath there's actual oil or an oil/coolant mix coming out of the manifold.
Last I drained my oil to see what it looked like. It wasn't white and foamy, but definitely more of a dark brown "creamy" look to it, and definitely more of a watery consistency than I would think oil should be. Some of that could have been that it was warm but I don't know.
Here's some pictures of what I found. Let me know what I'm doing wrong or what else to look for. I have no CEL or codes or anything like that.

exhaust:

Drivers Side Maniflold/Y Pipe:

 

[SuperKirby]

Sorry, not sure why those are so big. Better detail I guess.

 

[Wolfie_85]

The exhaust can be steamy looking on colder days. That's could be normal. Those leaks, though. I would see if I could borrow or rent one of those kits to pressure test the radiator (or just have someone do it). A coolant leak will make itself known if it's forced to. At the very least, it'll help you narrow it down.

 

[SuperKirby]

I was going to try to rent one. What about the stuff leaking out the manifold? That's not supposed to be there, right?

 

[malohnes]

Did you check the condition of your plugs yet? Burning coolant will show heavy deposits on a plug. That's a diffinitive sign.

 

[SuperKirby]

I did but can post pics from phone. I'll post them when i get back to a computer.

They looked bad to me but someone said it might be normal?

 

[Josh P]

Either a cracked head or head gasket would be my guess. The coolant is going into the exhaust port outside the combustion chamber.

 

[SuperKirby]

Heads are new as of two years ago and never overheated so shouldn't be cracked. Hopefully head gaskets in this case i guess.

 

[SuperKirby]

Here's the spark plug from cylinder 6. I didn't get a picture of number 4 but it was worse.
Sorry if it's huge again.

 

[arco777]

Sounds kind of like mine. It must be that time of year, you are like the 3rd person experiencing an engine eating coolant right now...

Peek in the cylinders and look for one piston being shinier than the others. Chances are it will be the one with your fouled up looking plug. It was for me. That's the one that was getting steam cleaned.

 

[2stroke]

That plug looks fine to me, I've seen much worse. What was the fluid running down the exhaust? My trick, taste it. I'm not lying, I've memorized the fluids by taste, it's probably what's wrong with me.

You can go no further until you compression test the engine and pressure test the cooling system.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Don't put too much focus on the steam out the exhaust. It'll be there no matter what. Combustion is a funny thing and when you look at the chemistry of what's happening, it becomes interesting. Long story short, you produce about a gallon of water vapor for every gallon of gas burned. Whether or not you see the water vapor depends on the temperature & humidity around you.

 

[SuperKirby]

Well guys, I think it's better? So here's how today went.

This afternoon I stopped by the parts store and borrowed a compression tester and coolant system tester. Started with the coolant. Took me forever to get that sealed up and when I thought I would get it it would still sound like it was leaking out around the tester. Started poking around and found there was an old o-ring or gasket (looked like maybe it was from the bottom of an old radiator cap?) Pulled that out, threw the tester on and pumped it up to 15 lbs. Held for several minutes. Could that really be all it was? I guess we'll see.
On to the compression test.
Due to the constraints of time, I started with the drivers side as that was where my concern was.
#4-160 lbs
#5- 135 lbs
[URL=http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=6]#6 -[/URL] 150 lbs
That's not a concern. Still bothered by the way the plugs looked I remembered that I had a couple spare spark plugs back from when I had my Bronco II. Went and checked and they sure looked the same. Gapped the 2 I had and put them in, then used the best of the old ones. Last, I noticed when I was trying to check the #6 cylinder I noticed a rough spot on one of the vacuum lines. Not sure what it goes to is called honestly. I probably should. (Line runs to the right fender by the brake vacuum booster, in front of the clutch master cylinder. One of the cables to the throttle body runs back out of it.) Anyway, it's got a little plastic disc in the line. I thought I remembered seeing a spare in my parts box. Went and looked and had one so I swapped that out. Put it all back together and instant smoothness. Don't know if it was plugs or vacuum but it was a million times better.
So did I overreact to the problem? Probably. Was it running poorly enough that I thought it was something major? Yup. I'll still put on new plugs and wires all around, do a tune up, etc. But yeah. I feel relieved now.
Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate it.

 

[2stroke]

I hate to tell you this, but that is a lot of variation in compression. Is it possible you didn't do every one the same? The engine should be cold, all plugs out, and full throttle while you crank the motor over for about 10 seconds. I like to do it twice a cylinder to get an average. If you pour some oil in cylinder 5, and it increases compression, it's not as big of a deal. If not, you probably have a blown head gasket.

Another thing to do with the radiator pressure tester is to start at zero pressure, and start the engine. If it builds over 15 psi pressure in just a few minutes, that indicates a bad head gasket.

 

[SuperKirby]

Oh bummer. I thought 25 lbs difference was within spec. Dang.

I guess on the plus side i already took a couple days off with plans of replacing them. No reason to waste the days off.

 

[natenkiki2004]

It's definitely an issue but it's not a HUGE issue. If that difference isn't coming from a head gasket issue and you can prove that then it's 'close enough' to keep running. Different places & people say different things, some say 10%, others say 20 PSI difference or so between min & max cylinders. You want them all contributing around the same amount.

Now it if twas 80 PSI or even a totally buggered cylinder like 20 PSI, you should think about a rebuild. 25 PSI difference is like 'worn engine' level as long as it doesn't cause any adverse side effects like fluid contamination or backfiring or dead miss.

 

[SuperKirby]

It's definitely an issue but it's not a HUGE issue. If that difference isn't coming from a head gasket issue and you can prove that then it's 'close enough' to keep running. Different places & people say different things, some say 10%, others say 20 PSI difference or so between min & max cylinders. You want them all contributing around the same amount.

Now it if twas 80 PSI or even a totally buggered cylinder like 20 PSI, you should think about a rebuild. 25 PSI difference is like 'worn engine' level as long as it doesn't cause any adverse side effects like fluid contamination or backfiring or dead miss.

See, and i was almost wondering if it was more ring or valve related and just getting worn out. I know i burn a little oil, especially on startup, but nothing too major where im adding a quart a day or could escape in my own smoke screen. I was contemplating a used engine and swapping them out but so far i can't find anything decent less that about 800. If i could find one for 5-600 i think I'd go that route.

 

[Number4]

One thing I don't see addressed is your oil. Your description of the oil indicates it contains antifreeze.

You either have a blown head gasket, leaking intake gasket or a leaking timing cover gasket.

If you don't address this, the antifreeze will turn to acid in the oil and cause issues with the metal components as well as reduce oil flow.

 

[SuperKirby]

Head gaskets it is. Took 2strokes advice, put the coolant pressure tester on it cold, started it up and walked away. Gave it 5 minutes, wasnt even warm yet and shut it off at 20lbs. The system is rated for 13. That answers that question.

 

[2stroke]

Head gaskets it is. Took 2strokes advice, put the coolant pressure tester on it cold, started it up and walked away. Gave it 5 minutes, wasnt even warm yet and shut it off at 20lbs. The system is rated for 13. That answers that question.

On a positive note, I hit the junkyard today. I think I have the non-AC blower box you need, I pulled it from an 84 bronco II. It looks identical to the one in my truck. $30 and its yours. I also asked about re-buildable core engines for myself, and while they have non in stock, they do have good running engines (with warranty) for $350. I'm not sure about core charge. I would personally just replace the head gaskets, but that also includes pressure testing and milling the heads. I had a place in Buffalo, MN do the last ones I did, and it came out to about $180. Over priced IMO, but they did a great job. While the 135 psi is out of spec, it really isn't that bad. That and your radiator pressure indicate a leak between the cylinder and water jacket. Bars leak wont help in this situation. If your oil is clean, it should be safe to drive for a while.

Confirmed: The part I grabbed has the same number as the one under my hood.