Update and more on "Blown head gasket - repair head or replace engine?"

[twotnbugs]

Okay, are you ready for this? So, the new, $5500 Jasper engine worked great for about 3k miles. Then the Explorer overheated again. Talk about freaking out. Turns out that the weather had just started getting hot here, and the radiator had tons of gunk in it from the liquid glass type substance that the previous owner had used. When my mechanic put in the new engine, they flushed the radiator and thought we could use it. Wrong.

At that point (~3k miles), we replaced the radiator. The old one weighed about 30 pounds. The guys couldn't believe it. Anyway, after that happened, the engine started knocking/pinging. I am certain that there was no knock or ping before the new radiator was installed.

We are now at the 6k mile point, and the engine is still doing this. It is louder sometimes than others, but it always does it. What could be going on? Why did it start this when the new radiator was put on? Am I going to have to live with this or is this a sign that our $5500 is going to bite the dust? Thanks for any ideas/suggestions you have.

 

[Teejay4490]

Demand another engine, thats horse ****. You didnt drive it all over town overheating did you?

 

[twotnbugs]

No, we pulled over immediately when the explorer overheated. The first four times it overheated (with the old engine) trained me well. LOL!

So, would the overheating cause the knocking or is it related to the radiator being replaced? Why would my mechanic, the one who installed the Jasper engine and the subsequent new radiator, say that it can be normal for engines to knock a little, they all have different sounds, this is not a big deal, etc.? I told them that the knocking only started after the new radiator was installed. Should I take it somewhere else?

 

[rickybobby]

Yes, find another shop that sells jasper engines

 

[Teejay4490]

Make him pay for it. Engines don't just knock.