stormin94

Change your oil, and see if it looks like a milk shake, like if water got in there. I've seen strange things happen if the timing chain gets neglected for too long. It likes to eat through the water pump, and then sometimes into the block, so you might be getting that too, unless you know for a fact that your timing chain has been replaced recently, I'd check that just to be sure, because you are naming all of the symptoms the customer who brought in his 22RE truck named, and he suspected a failing head gasket also.

DATTOY

When i bought the truck 3 months ago, the guy said it was a new motor with 80,000 miles on it, along with the tranny. But no receipts. I check my oil almost every other day, because of the fear of a head gasket going out.

Is it normal for a head gasket to go after 80, on an 84?

stormin94

It's not normal for a head gasket to blow anyway.

rowdy235

If you're referring to the engines reputation, the 22r is not particularly known for blowing head gaskets; though it does happen.

King of Crown Town

Great answer! You put my mind at ease! I was topping off the tranny fluid and had the truck idling while doing so. When I was done, I notice some water on the ground next to the muffler end. Your answer explained exactly what was happening. Thanks!

All that head gasket talk was freaking me out! The HG got replaced 50k ago!

abecedarian

Some water dripping from the tailpipe is absolutely normal on cold starts. It could be enough to make a wet spot on the ground a foot or more in diameter. If it's cold enough outside, you might also get some steam along with it.

As mentioned, one of the byproducts of burning fuel is H2O. The fact that the exhaust system is cold due to it being cold outside, causes the H2O vapor to condense on the pipe and eventually puddle enough in the muffler to get blown out the tailpipe. It should however stop once the exhaust has warmed up, the O2 sensor is functioning and the choke (on carb'd vehicles) has pulled off or (with efi) the coolant temp has warmed up enough to let the ECU go into normal operation.

If you're getting water dripping from the tailpipe after the engine has fully warmed up it's either that it's cold outside and the exhaust pipe behind the converter is cold enough to cause the water vapor to condense, or the fuel mixture is too rich, or the headgasket is in fact blown. Depending on the severity of the head gasket breech, you may or may not get the characteristic white smoke associated with a blown headgasket. However, if it is the headgasket, the exhaust will have a 'sweet' smell, not entirely unlike burning corn or maple syrup.

If fuel or oil is getting into the cooling system, you should see a rainbow-like film on top of the coolant when you open the radiator (do it cold!).

If you open the radiator cap and start the engine when cold, if you see bubbles in the radiator, it's likely the headgasket has blown. Also, the spark plug in the affected cylinder(s) will be noticibly cleaner than the others.