New Chinese heads, using anti-freeze

[RustyMacintosh]

Somethings now right here. I have two brand new Prostar aftermarket heads. We pulled the OEM;s, chucked em.

Everything was fine, but twice I noted if you with a warmed up engine to into a store, stay maybe 30 minutes come back, there is a misfire.

Yesterday we took it up the hill and back about 60 miles. This morning it is 1/2 gallon low on antifreeze and the reservoir is empty.

I fired it up, went to the back exhaust, sniffed the exhaust, normal smell. No antifreeze smell. No excessive vapors. No misfire.

I put my hand over the radiator cap, I could feel a slight vacuum. As it ran and warmed up, I could continue to feel a vacuum. The engine would slop up a bit of coolant if I took my hand off. It warmed up and idled correctly.

I put the cap back on when I could feel the thermostat open.

So where could the coolant have gone too? Do I have an intake leak? One of those heads failed?

Ideas?

94 XLT 4.0

 

[Rick]

Did you check the dipstick to see if the oil has been contaminated?

Could it be that the system just "burped" and just needed more coolant after you replaced the heads?

 

[RustyMacintosh]

No coolant in the oil, no oil in the coolant. I did find there was a 9lb cap. I refilled the radiator three times, each morning the reservoir was empty and the coolant about 4 inches below the cap,.

So yesterday I got pissed off. If the heads are leaking, WHERE? I found in my garage a radiator cap tester I had forgotten about, it must be 30 years old. But it fits the large caps. I pumped things up to 17lbs....slowly the needles sank.

But that was when I noticed a drip at the top incoming hose at the radiator. I moved the clamp back a bit, then tried again.

17lbs sank slightly to 16..it held for 30 minutes--not quite to 15.

I refilled everything. Then put a new 16lb cap on. Fired it up, let it warm. Once the temp was (somewhat) at operating temp, I brought the rpm's up to 2500 where I held it for 15 minutes. The radiator fan clutch kicked on and off twice. I could feel the heat from the engine then the thermostat opened---the heat pouring off the radiator cooled down, the fan clutch unlocked--I still held the r's at 2500 or more.

I saw the gauge at the 10oclock position where it never left that spot.

THen shut it down. About 10 minutes or so it gurgled inside the top radiator cap. I could see fluid burping into the reserve tank. It came within 3 inches of the top.

Turning the key back on--but not ON, the temp gauge was at 2pm. OK, engine acted like a heat sink.

30 minutes later it was cooled down. The ambient temp was about 50. The reserve tank was now down to about a 1/4.

Opened up the cap, it was at the top.

I THINK....but today I will know for sure because I am going to a radiator shop to have him sniff the cap opening for exhaust leaks....

I did get a misfire when I restarted it but I am now thinking the EGR valve hung open. Nothing like before the heads were replaced. Where it would misfire for 15 30 seconds then clear up. I had to bring the r's up to 2500 for a bit. That might be an issue.

Stay tuned...still working out the kinks. If the head gaskets failed or the head was bad from China, I will report back.

 

[Roadrunner777]

I had this, though I would have called it low/rough idle, like a missing cylinder. The trigger was the exact same thing, drive to warm, park 30 min, start again, get a little miss for about 5 minutes. I never solved it, but I did narrow it down to something getting hot. It only happened on 80 degree days or warmer, and only on asphalt. My running theory was... there's term for this, but it eludes me at the moment, but it has to do with fuel vaporizing in the lines.

 

[RustyMacintosh]

we found water in the oil. valve cover is milky, it is coming down....maybe a head gasket, maybe a intake, something...

 

[RustyMacintosh]

we found water in the oil. valve cover is milky, it is coming down....maybe a head gasket, maybe a intake, something...

http://i63.tinypic.com/20ig9jc.jpg

 

[shucker1]

That's never a good sign....

 

[RustyMacintosh]

Head gaskets were cut wrong. I just left a searing review on Amazon for the seller. The stuff is crap. We pulled everything, almost every gasket matched up to a Felpro was off by a bit, or cut wrong, or as in the head gaskets, had passages blocked, and others open, with pin-holes instead of finger sized holes.

Its going back together, I learned a lesson, BUY LOCALLY! Buy name brand.

New head bolts used once, only 200 miles...I guess they might be OK

 

[Kesp4.0]

I had this, though I would have called it low/rough idle, like a missing cylinder. The trigger was the exact same thing, drive to warm, park 30 min, start again, get a little miss for about 5 minutes. I never solved it, but I did narrow it down to something getting hot. It only happened on 80 degree days or warmer, and only on asphalt. My running theory was... there's term for this, but it eludes me at the moment, but it has to do with fuel vaporizing in the lines.

Are you referring to vapor lock?