bad day for my explorer

[nickb123]

just to make it short my 96 4.0 explorer overheated or at least got really hot (i didnt let it reach the red line). this happened when driving on the highway after about 20 miles at 65ish. All the coolant came out the water pump, so the rad was empty (and barley warm) and i dont know how much is in the block. I had my dad tow me with his 93 F-150 5 miles home. I bought a new water pump (has oringal), installed it and tomorrow im going to drain the oil to see how it looks. what are the chances that my engine is toast? and what should i check before i start it again? (it was 201 x.. miles on it.)

 

[yavapaires]

If you didn't let it get too hot for too long, you will probably be OK.You can drain the oil,but I would just pull the dipstick and see how it looks. Put some coolant in it and go from there. Good luck.

 

[4rd Xplora]

^^^^^ What he said.

 

[nickb123]

the oil on the stick looks OK, so signs on white. it was running for like 30 minutes but prob only like less than 3 minutes where the the temp was high. im also going to put in a new thermostat for good measure. Then run only water through to see if there are leaks or the motor dosent run...

 

[nickb123]

I got it all assembled. poured water in and it leaked bad. i traced it to an area right behind the thermostat area (after removing the power steering pump). in a little cavity where the intake, head and block meet. what could it be leaking from?

 

[4rd4life]

try and get a picture of the area its leaking from, but from the sounds of it id say you need some intake manifold gaskets. which if they are leaking i would change the oil after also

 

[nickb123]

This is not mine, I found it off the internet. But it is in that corner.

 

[Dono]

The corners are a *****. There is a very good chance the issue is the lower intake manifold.
But, there is a possibility its head gasket. Once you have the lower intake off, you should be able to tell for sure where the failure is.

At least, if you have to keep going and pull the head also, all that will left to pull off will be rockers, head bolts, and exhaust manifold. Really, not much more work.

Lets see what the other guys have to say about it.

 

[ahodges]

Yeah, I agree with Dono. My first guess is the lower intake manifold. It isn't all that hard to pull off and it isn't any good to you the way it is so tear in! If that intake has been off before, someone may have put the 4 piece gasket in there, meaning the front and back are made of cork. That is the worst gasket to install on there and the ends blow out really easy. That's my guess. If that is the problem, use the factory style 1 piece gasket when you reinstall it.

 

[nickb123]

I highly doubt the intake has ever been off, it had the original water pump. how long should it take to pull the lower intake and reassemble with 2 people with average knowledge about cars working in a cold garage?

 

[4rd4life]

its not that bad if you halfway know what your doing. id say for a first time between an hour and an hour and a half. the wiring harness doenst move much and it makes things a little tricky to work around but thats about it... when you finally get down to the gaskets look for tears or breaks in th gaskets where the water jacket run. or as someone mentioned above some gaskets use cork or silicone for the front and rear.. good luck

i just realized you asked how long to disassemble and reassemble, (assuming the lower intake is the cause of the leak) id say between 2 and 4 hours

 

[Dono]

I'd say that due to the way these lower intake gaskets go on these motors, I'm pretty sure they are not original. i can hardly wait to find out.

The water inlet/outlet to the lower intake is right on the end where you are seeing the leaking. You will see the gasket blown open probably.

p.s. I'm still on my original water pump. They seem pretty tough.

 

[ahodges]

I'd say that due to the way these lower intake gaskets go on these motors, I'm pretty sure they are not original. i can hardly wait to find out.

The water inlet/outlet to the lower intake is right on the end where you are seeing the leaking. You will see the gasket blown open probably.

p.s. I'm still on my original water pump. They seem pretty tough.

I agree completely with this..

I replace my original water pump at 100k as preventative maintenance with an aftermarket one and it failed within a year. aftermarket junk..

I don't know of any 4.0 that has made it to 200k with no problems so that's why I say it isn't the original gasket.

 

[nickb123]

I guess ill find out when i tear it apart this weekend.

 

[nickb123]

So i still havent gotten to fix the explorer yet. Im on winter break so i have time but the car i was driving in the meanwhile blew a head gasket with only 45,000 miles on it. anyways my explorer has been sitting out side, with water in it with no anti freeze. so it is now ice in the block. what are the chances the engine is usable with major re building after its been over heated, had ice in side the block and has 200K? would it be a better idea if i bought a different engine? how much would it bring the value up on my car if the engine had less than 100K?

 

[nickb123]

Any input?

 

[Dono]

none. are you sure its pure water that froze? if its mixed with some coolant or oil, id tbink your ok.
its impossible to know for sure though. im sure no one wants to give bad advice on this.

 

[nickb123]

i tried turning the new water pump and i couldnt. my dad pulled it into the garage and plugged in the block heater for a couple hours it is unfrozen. my dad is insistent that a new intake gasket and it will run but im not so sure.

 

[SoNic67]

The block has some freeze plugs that pop out if ice forms inside.
Check them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_plug

 

[koda2000]

even with freeze plugs out, there's a very good chance you've cracked something. water expands 15% when it freezes, that's a lot.