1998 explorer sport...water leaked out of exhaust pipe...after overheat...

[mark11]

1998 6 cycl OHCM Recent had overheat...pulled off road immediately...waited 30 min..filled with water...water gauge dial in H...immediately went down to norm. Engine cranks, NOT turn over enuff to start. Got solid jump start for 15 minutes...same deal. no complete start. Towed to my place, looked everywhere for loose hoses, cables...no leak anywhere else. Oil a bit low, filled it. Fine. still, no start. Battery only 1 month old. New starter? Warped head? Bad head gasket? Had this problem last year and used BLUE DEVIL to seal it...been solid all year long. Any suggests I BLUE DEVIL again? But...have to get it started to use BLUE DEVIL and have engine run for min. 45 min for BLUE DEVIL to actually seal.

 

[swshawaii]

Does the engine turn over slowly when cranking the starter but not start? Or is it just clicking and not turning over?
If the engine's not turning over sounds like possible hydrolock. Remove ALL spark plugs and try cranking the engine
over. Any water discharging from the spark plug holes? If so, probably time for new head gaskets, or much worse.

 

[mark11]

It's actually done a little of both...when I let it sit for a bit...it's turned over slowly, but consistently, just not STARTING. When i've done that too much...since BATTERY reads low...it'll start only CLICKING. have checked BATTERY twice now with charger and have tried charging it...no good as in a no good jump. I WILL try the spark plug remover route tomorrow and prat there's no water. Will update all here on progress. I'm a HUGE BLUE DEVIL GASKET SEALER fanatic...one 70.00 cannister saved me over 1,000.00 last year

 

[lobo411]

Obvious head gasket/cracked head. Do a proper repair, including having the head pressure tested at a machine shop, or junk the truck if you're not willing to do it right. Sealers can only carry you so far. They can't fix the real problem. Hopefully, you haven't cracked the block...yet.

 

[boominXplorer]

Heads are probably warped like a banana. It's most likely done. Do a compression check and I bet the middle cylinders will be low.

 

[koda2000]

You're done.

 

[boominXplorer]

Another note on the head gasket sealer. It might of saved you money then but now it will need major work done. No mechanic will warranty their work without replacing the entire cooling system. This will cost about the same as your previous savings and you still have an engine to replace. Then come winter how clogged is the heater core?

Head gasket sealers are to keep vehicles out of the junkyard just a little longer. Once it's in there you might as well run it till it dies and junk the truck (probably your best bet if you have low compression)