1996 4.0 Contaminated Coolant

[nmdag]

Long story short. $4000 later my truck still isn't working. Radiator and hoses were replaced in January after I got sick of adding a jug of coolant every 2 weeks. Just now after a trip to the store where I noticed a performance drop I see my coolants a milky brown color. What could it be? Been told it could be the gasket which would be terrible. I added a bottle of sealant to the oil gotta let that do its thing first. Any DIY coolant flush techniques so I can see if the sealant does its job?

 

[Mbrooks420]

4,000? What all has been replaced. Does it appear oily? Any water in the oil? I'd be very careful with leak stop products. Most are snake oil and can cause much more harm.

 

[J_C]

Yeah I'm wondering if you meant $400 for a shop to do radiator and hoses? Check engine light on? Any OBDII trouble codes set? V6 or V8?

Have you checked the oil? If it is contaminated it can wear down the engine, or if you're getting a misfire or burning coolant it can foul (ruin) the catalytic converter.

Typically a compression test would be done, perhaps as a formality in this case because you're probably looking at taking the heads off, looking for signs of a gasket failure and if the gaskets look good then checking for head warpage or cracks. Hopefully it just needs a head gasket (and intake manifold) gasket set. After that's done, check compression, then replace the oil and coolant.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Title says it's a 4.0.

 

[fast_dave]

4.0 OHV or SOHC?

 

[96eb96]

4.0 OHV or SOHC?

One choice in 96, only OHV for any engine.

 

[fast_dave]

Hows the area around the timing chain cover - any coolant weepage?

One engineering flaw with this engine is V-6 OHV timing cover has a very thin gasket that has two LARGE coolant ports going through it.

Time, water pump & engine vibration, and 1000's of heat cycles wear on this thin paper gasket.

The 2 large ports leave only 1/8" inch of gasket material for a sealing surface surrounding the outer and inner side of the coolant ports.

In short: If you're weeping coolant around the outside of the timing cover, you're almost definitely weeping coolant on the inside of the timing cover, leading to your coolant mixing with your motor oil.

Luckily, I replaced my timing cover gasket before it got to that point.

Look for my past post re: Timing Chain Cover Gasket replacement factory gasket is green/teflon coated paper.

Hope that helps!

 

[1998Exp]

Hows the area around the timing chain cover - any coolant weepage?

One engineering flaw with this engine is V-6 OHV timing cover has a very thin gasket that has two LARGE coolant ports going through it.

Time, water pump & engine vibration, and 1000's of heat cycles wear on this thin paper gasket.

The 2 large ports leave only 1/8" inch of gasket material for a sealing surface surrounding the outer and inner side of the coolant ports.

In short: If you're weeping coolant around the outside of the timing cover, you're almost definitely weeping coolant on the inside of the timing cover, leading to your coolant mixing with your motor oil.

The O/P complained about oil in the coolant.