4.0 OHV Bad Water Pump -- Head Gaskets Okay?

[97Sandbox]

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

 

[Mbrooks420]

Consider the motors probably junk. Never trust a previous owners story of why a vehicle doesn’t run. There’s a good reason he doesn’t want to spend $200 to have it fixed.

 

[97Sandbox]

Yeah that's my worry.

It sucks I can't go look at the truck in-person because its so far away. The last thing I want to do is pay $1000+ to ship it to me in Wisconsin only to find out the engine's trashed.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I’d be hard pressed to pay more than a thousand total for it. I’d wait for one that didn’t need shipped.

 

[97Sandbox]

I've come to terms with paying $500 to $1200 for an Explorer to be shipped. It sucks, but daily-driven vehicles older than 5 years are usually rusty around here and 2nd gen Explorers are almost universally trashed. I'm also looking for a 2wd model, and there just aren't many of those that ever came up north. They pop up out west and in the south, but never near me, so it'll be worth it to have a clean one shipped.

The owner of the Sport I'm looking at is asking $650, which doesn't seem entirely terrible -- even with questionable head gaskets -- but given the chance of paying $1650 and ending up with another big headache, the risk probably doesn't outweigh the reward. Oh well, I'll find something eventually!



...and if you're wondering how on earth cars rust so fast where I live, consider the mountain of salt behind my XLT is less than 20% of what just the city of Milwaukee uses in a given winter. Keep in mind we often see snow from late October to early May up here!

 

[Mbrooks420]

I hear ya. I live in the rustbelt, but got lucky and scored a truck that had lived in the desert it’s whole life. Only had to drive 2 and a half hours.

 

[BKennedy]

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

Where is the vehicle located? Maybe someone on the board can take a look at it for you. I don't think a failed water pump would mean the head gasket is blown, but cannot tell from here. Maybe tell the seller you will pay an extra $250 to take it to a mechanic and get it fixed

 

[97Sandbox]

Where is the vehicle located? Maybe someone on the board can take a look at it for you. I don't think a failed water pump would mean the head gasket is blown, but cannot tell from here. Maybe tell the seller you will pay an extra $250 to take it to a mechanic and get it fixed

That's a good thought. The truck is in Rohnert Park, CA -- south of Santa Rosa. I haven't been active on here long enough to know anyone in that area.

I agree a failed water pump shouldn't be too big a deal, but the owner's mention of steam coming out of the engine bay has me concerned. Maybe it was steam from coolant leaking out of the bad pump, or maybe something bigger.

I've had a belt snap on my SOHC before (failed tensioner) and the engine got hot before I pulled over, but not hot enough to see steam. My key reason for posting this was to get an idea if anyone with an OHV has experienced a water pump failure and seen steam and what their experience was regarding head gaskets.

 

[BKennedy]

Rohnert Park is up by Santa Rosa. Don't know any members or anyone up there. I would take a hard pass on a vehicle that costs more to ship than what its worth

 

[97Sandbox]

I hear ya guys. Thanks for talking some sense into me!

There will always be more and certainly nicer Explorers for sale in the future. It's probably best that I hold out for something decent enough that it'll run for a couple of years while I save up for an engine swap.

 

[EB4X]

I'm in southern California, I've you want to be checking Offerup / Craigslist ads around here for a good one (as I can do for you to a degree as well) --maybe find one w/dented fender but solid maintained drive train but will let go for cheap due to age and fender etc. I can be your mediator / setup guy here. Ironically that's how I ended up with mine! ....buddy and wife moved to Idaho in a hurry and then decided they needed a cheap 4x4 up there.... well long story short shipping company couldn't get "grouped" shipment going which would be finacially viable to his part of rural Idaho and got postoned etc... OOPS....maybe I should have left this last statement out! ? In all seriousness though let me know...I have significant free time on my hands due to my current life circumstances.
Of course owning my (ohv) and having to do a few things on it.. I now know more about them, and what to check for than when I owned my ohv Ranger which happen to be almost completely trouble free.

 

[97Sandbox]

I'm in southern California, I've you want to be checking Offerup / Craigslist ads around here for a good one (as I can do for you to a degree as well) --maybe find one w/dented fender but solid maintained drive train but will let go for cheap due to age and fender etc. I can be your mediator / setup guy here. Ironically that's how I ended up with mine! ....buddy and wife moved to Idaho in a hurry and then decided they needed a cheap 4x4 up there.... well long story short shipping company couldn't get "grouped" shipment going which would be finacially viable to his part of rural Idaho and got postoned etc... OOPS....maybe I should have left this last statement out! ? In all seriousness though let me know...I have significant free time on my hands due to my current life circumstances.
Of course owning my (ohv) and having to do a few things on it.. I now know more about them, and what to check for than when I owned my ohv Ranger which happen to be almost completely trouble free.

Thanks, I'd honestly appreciate any help! I'm checking Autotempest every couple of days but any other eyes keeping a lookout are welcome.

I'm hoping to find a '95-'97, manual, 2WD Sport without significant rust. A dent, bad wheel bearing, ripped upholstery, etc. is certainly not a deal breaker for me -- just looking for a relatively solid truck that I can slowly build a project out of.

 

[Josh P]

Checking craigslist, there is a white 97 sport manual with a sohc listed in Rohnert Park. Chances are the engine is junk. I've learned to never trust anyone on craigslist. I've bought a few parts cars, and engines and was told it only needed minor repairs to be good again. The parts I needed were ok, but not sure if a melted piston is a minor repair...

 

[Komkid13]

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

Take a look at the plugs they always tell the story

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

 

[Komkid13]

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

Start it up and see if there is steam coming out the tail pipe also look at number 3 cyclinder plug

 

[Mbrooks420]

You can easily have a headgasket failure and burn up the coolant in the cats.

 

[97Sandbox]

Unfortunately, the bigger issue at this point is the water pump is so far gone that the fan blades can almost hit the back of the radiator while it spins -- if the serpentine stays on long enough. If you started the truck and tried to get it up to temp, I'd be afraid you'd just do more damage. I'm guessing that's why the owner doesn't want to mess with anything.

 

[German Engineer]

If it's not otherwise in absolutely perfect condition (meaning so cheap yet otherwise so perfect that it's worth swapping out the engine) then I'd personally stay away from that truck. Who knows what happened and what the owner did when it overheated, with a little bad luck you might even end up buying a cracked motor block.

Now if it happened to your own car (or a trustworthy relative's or close friend's car) and you knew what, when, why and how it all happened and you were thinking about how much to spend on repairs, that would be a different story then (Then you'd at least have a reasonable basis to guess how big the problem is and you could evaluate all the risks.). But buying from someone who just tells you a cute little story that may or may not add up.... nah.

What are the chances that it all happened just like the owner described? And what are the chances the guy drove around with this bad pump for weeks, if not months, just kept pouring some water into the coolant reservoir to fill it back up, and while he drove around like that the engine overheated 20 times?

Don't ever get 'desperate' or overly emotional with used cars, try to be rational. There's always other nice used cars you can come across, Explorers or not.

 

[briwayjones]

Hey all you 4.0 OHV guys! I've been looking for a replacement 2nd gen with an M5OD ever since my 5R55E XLT bit the dust. I found a '97 Sport that's clean and a bargain, but it's only cheap because the water pump is shot and the owner doesn't want to replace it. He told me the last time he drove the truck, the belt came off (because the pump shaft wobbles) and he saw steam so he parked the Explorer and that's where it's been since.

This leads to my question: if the coolant got hot enough to steam out of the radiator cap (at least I assume/hope that's where it came from), is it likely the head gaskets blew? I'm glad to buy the rig if I can get it going with a new belt and water pump, but head gaskets are more than I can take on right now.

Any input is much appreciated!

In my experience they are likely blown. The head gaskets on these engines blow pretty easy.

 

[97Sandbox]

If it's not otherwise in absolutely perfect condition (meaning so cheap yet otherwise so perfect that it's worth swapping out the engine) then I'd personally stay away from that truck. Who knows what happened and what the owner did when it overheated, with a little bad luck you might even end up buying a cracked motor block.

This one was fairly clean, but still had issues here and there. I'll be V8 swapping whatever Sport I end up with, but I'd rather start with a running and driving 4.0 OHV and upgrade suspension and brakes before I get too deep into an engine swap.