Coolant issue

[kkg1280fl]

As I was driving home from a wedding today, I noticed my 91 XLT was running hot and I smelled the infamous "maple syrup" smell so I pulled over at a gas station and popped the hood. There was no smoking and the temp gauge hadn't gotten in the red zone yet. It was at a high normal. My reservoir was very low and dirty so I added water. I checked the oil dipstick and it was clean and there was no smoke. Within about 20 minutes or so, I was back on the road and the temp was back to normal with no smells.

Do I just need to add coolant or is this an indication of a head gasket leak?

 

[wood1]

More likely the lower intake gaskets. Try retorquing the LIM bolts. If you find some are loose your gaskets are likely going to need replacing at some point. Old coolant will degrade the gasket to the point where it will fail. I made mine last far too long with some Barrs Stop Leak. Eventually screwed up and had to replace the heads because of an overheat.

Fix it before you need new heads dude.

 

[kkg1280fl]

Thank you!

 

[Anime]

New thermostat, flush system, add all new coolant.

 

[kkg1280fl]

Ok will do! Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Tony H]

18ftlbs is the correct torque. When I replaced the Lower intake I went to 20ftlbs.
what's 2 ftlbs among friends

 

[kkg1280fl]

Whoa Tony! Speaking a foreign language there! lol I'm a newbie! (and a girl at that too ) Go easy on the technical terms.

So far: new thermostat, flush, new coolant, retorque ummm something. Well I'll leave the retorque-ing to my mechanic buddy but I'll do the flush and the new coolant myself. Thanks!

 

[Tony H]

Whoa Tony! Speaking a foreign language there! lol I'm a newbie! (and a girl at that too ) Go easy on the technical terms.

So far: new thermostat, flush, new coolant, retorque ummm something. Well I'll leave the retorque-ing to my mechanic buddy but I'll do the flush and the new coolant myself. Thanks!

Sorry. It's hard to tell how much experience someone has.
The Torque Spec I gave you is how tight to make the Nuts and Bolts that hole the Intake Manifold to Engine. Doing this job, it is critical that the Hardwhere is evenly tightened.