umm..cylinders and such

[noxiousCaitSith]

i recently had my cylinder replaced along with the head gasket thing. anyway, it's now messed up again i'm sure since there's water coming out of the exhaust. i'm pretty much sick of this vehicle but if there's something easy that i could try to make it less crappy before i can sell it i would like to. i took the thermostat out after i put everything back together cause it was overheating when i left it on, i dunno if it was the thermostat not letting coolant through...but i doubt it cause it was brand new. so i'm testing it right now. i don't know what the problem was. but i bought a pretty much brand new cylinder. and if it's cracked that means it's probably out of the warranty cause they have some thing on it that if it melts that means the temp got way too high and you didn't install it correctly or something. i dunno. i'm guessing we did it wrong. anyway. i don't even know what i'm asking other than is there anything else that would cause water to come out of the exhaust even after i've replaced the cylinder head?

 

[Rottie]

Is it raw water or steam/smoke? A little water on the ground under the tailpipe is normal. After years of selling parts, I've seen many thermostats (mostly the aftermarket cheapies) that were bad right out of the box. Also, if the coolant wasn't filled properly it could still be low allowing the engine to overheat. Torque on the head bolts is another issue. If they were not torqued properly, the gasket will not seal and will leak. Where did you get the head? Is it a remanufactured one or one from a used Explorer? Did you do the labor or was it done by a shop/dealership? A few more details of the original problem and the repair would be helpful.

 

[noxiousCaitSith]

there's smoke coming out too. so i think it's something bad. i tested the thermostat by putting it in boiling water. it seems to be working but i'm not sure what happens once i put it in.. me and my dad and grandpa did the labor...and i torqued the bolts...i followed the directions carefully though i've never used a torque wrench thing before. and they said it might not be totally accurate. i got the head at clearwater cylinder so it was remanufactured. as for filling the coolant properly i dunno. my dad did that i think and he knows a lot more than i do about cars.

 

[Rottie]

Well, the only thing that would make it smoke water vapor (white smoke, not blue) is a cracked head or a blown head gasket. I can only assume that you installed a new head gasket when you put the new head on (not trying to sound insulting, just covering the basics here) and torqued the head bolts in the proper sequence. If you had REALLY bad luck, a cracked engine block could cause it to smoke if the crack is between the cylinder bore and a coolant passage, but this is a lot less likely - though not impossible. What I would do is remove the spark plugs. Hopefully you will see one that looks different from the rest. This could be a good indicator of the side of the bad cylinder. If not, a compression test would also help point to the bad cylinder. It might not even be on the side of the engine that you put the new head on. I don't know how it was diagnosed in the first place to make you change a cylinder head, but you might be working on the wrong side.

As far as it still overheating, check the coolant level in the radiator. Fill it up to the top with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water, and leave the cap off. Then fill the overflow tank to the "Full Cold" mark. Start the engine and let it run. After a few minutes the water level in the radiator will drop when the engine warms up and the thermostat will open. Then, top off the radiator and put the cap back on. After it's warm, fill the overflow tank to the "Full Hot" mark.
Another source of overheating is the water pump. Pretty easy and straight forward job to do. Just follow the process in a Haynes manual or some other instructional guide.
If all else fails, take it to a mechanic and let him diagnose it for you. Then report back here and maybe we can get you through this. Don't get discouraged, this doesn't sound like a total loss yet, just a little more work. There is a really good group of people here that will offer whatever advice they can, just keep us filled in with the details. Hope this helps!

 

[daffy]

If I remember right those head bolts are torque to yield, meaning throw them away when you pull them, and use new. Did you re-use the bolts?

 

[shamaal]

You keep mentioning cylinder in the singular. It's not unusual for both cylinder heads to have a crack when the engine has overheated. A simple compression test will provide the status of the cylinders. One screws a cylinder gauge (available at a parts store) into the spark plug ports one-by-one and then compare the readings. It will tell you if you have problems.

Good Luck.