Coolant smell, noise and flow issue?

[BlakeOfDoom]

ok here goes, I just recently had the heads replaced on my 91 navajo. Since the replacement, I have had a smell of coolant wafting into the cab while driving and it is also present in the engine bay. I replaced the thermostat as well since the prior owner decided to cut the guts out of the old thermostat and re-install it.

I am not experiencing any overheating issues, the engine seems to be cooling just fine and The temperature gauge does not even hit the halfway mark.

Sometimes when I come to a stop like a t a light or sign, I will get a strange popping clicking and sound coming from the engine bay. This sound is not always present it comes and goes whenevr the Explorer gods deem it suitable.

I also noticed that this sound was present when I shut the engine off, the sound still persists, which leads me to believe that it is not from the suspension, valvetrain, or the hamsters that ensure I get from point A to
point B, and occasionally point C.

Is anyone here familiar with symptoms like these? I have not pressure tested the system or checked the radiator cap though these tests wil happen soon. I also plan on checking the heatercore, I did notice the smell when I decided to put the heater n full blast driving on the freeway home. The engine was not hot but I decided to see if this would help identify the problem.

Any ideas on what I should be checking? are there any sensors prone to failing causing these symptoms?

 

[BlakeOfDoom]

Just a quick question. Could burping the system help me out at all? Could that be where these weird sounds are coming from? I'm seriously at a loss here.

 

[MrQ]

You are not alone here. I have my own issues with the cooling system in my Ex.

I doubt burping the system will help since the sounds you are hearing seem mechanical in nature. It may be a water pump failure.

 

[BlakeOfDoom]

The water pump is fine, No noise is emanating from it at all. The thing is this noise does not have any particular rhythm, I'm doubting it is anything mechanical since the noise is still present even after the truck if off. I have a leak in the front by the thermostat housing but it is not bad at all. Only a pressure test of 30 psi makes it apparent.

My main concern is the fact that the noise is preent after the truck is off. It does not last very long, but it is present.

 

[MrQ]

Is the sound like "tink..... tink, tink...tink" ?

 

[BlakeOfDoom]

Kind of, but there a few pops in there as well, like I said there is no particular rhythm, and the noise is really audible in the cab. I could not really hear it under the hood.

What I had to do was run the truck, pop the hood and jump out to hear it. It only seems apparent when it is in gear too, I haven't really heard it in park.

 

[BlakeOfDoom]

Come to think of it, when I installed the new heads I just filled up the radiator and that was it, no bleeding, nothing, could that be the route of my issue?

 

[geoph1986]

the noise is still present even after the truck if off.

Is the noise almost like a gurgling, or slowly bowing into a cup of water with a straw? If so, you probably have air trapped in the system.

 

[BlakeOfDoom]

I don't hear any gurgling or bubbling or anything. It is almost like metal is contracting and expanding from heat, I gues that would be the best way to describe it.

 

[geoph1986]

Well it sounds like a dilly of pickle of a jam you're in...sorry I can't be more help.

 

[KobeJ05]

Is the sound like "tink..... tink, tink...tink" ?

isnt that normal? cause i hear that after i come back from somewhere or when i park it.