ok thanks northeaster79! i'm gonna redo my valves when thier warm....i am having a new problem now....

and i really hope it's not my water pump......they say to replace the water pump when u do a head gasket job, and i never did.....

so i took it for a test run for about 30 mins and when i pulled over the and checked under the hood, no leaks or nothing but my upper rad hose is super tight , full of air pressure!! i have some serious air building up in my coolant system, particulary the upper rad hose..

what could this be? air in the coolant system? how do remove this? i've heard of running the engine and filling the coolant untill the "gurgling" sound goes away

so tried that and, OK no gurgling but the when i drove home and checked the pressure was back. i should tell you also that my heater core has blown and no longer works.
so maybe i have air stuck in heater core?

someone told me to park my truck on a good incline as to "burp" the system.

anyone tried this?

 

I'd check the integrity of your timing chain cover and guides next time you pull the valve cover..
to remove air in your coolant system, park the truck in neutral, pull the radiator cap, and run the engine.. add 50/50 until full.. the engine will "burp" and you might get a bit of overflow.. The level will drop, so keep adding until it takes no more.
On your compression
That's VERY low, but chances are your rings are pretty well toasty at that stage, so its not much to worry about.
Worry about your timing chain and guides. I really hope you did them with the head.

 

hi peow130! thanks for the advice.....I did NOT do the timing gasket and water pump and all that jazz when i did the new head, but i weas told and from shinning a flashlihgt down there it lloks good.
my tension was good, the previous owner did the chain like 7 years ago and I havn't drove it that much .....so i try'd the burping method today....still hear some gurgles in the heater core(dash).....

so maybe i'll try again.....

 

Have you done a compression test recently ?

 

hey Blueman! i really do have that on the back of mind as well, aside from this air locking issues in my coolant system, i must re-check and set my valves while hot, then do a proper comp test, dry and wet , because i havn't done a wet test yet and now you guys are making me think my piston rings are done or die'ing. Now i feel bad for going so deep with the new head that i should've done the piston rings too , and the water pump. arghhhh!

I got a question for you guys? when your truck is on level ground, and you remove rad cap and start the engine......do you see your coolant moving/pumping, if so what direction should it be going? I look into my cap and the stream is very very slow but does seem to flow left to right(looking from directly above radcap)

Shouldn't my water pump be strong enough to see a current? i'm really starting to think my water pump is clogged or almost dead.

do i spend the money and get professionally burped and serviced only to find out my water pump is screwed anyway ? is there a test for the water pump other than the "swoosh" sound by pinching the upper rad hose and listening test...?

 

Sounds like your water pump "MAY" be OK, sounds like what I see in mine. Have to remember the water needs a bit of time to pick up heat as it flows through everything, too fast and it won't cool correctly, look in a diesel radiator sometime . Might try this one since it so freakin' cold up there.... Slip a piece of cardboard down in front of radiator to block air flow and allow it to heat up a bit more, make sure you have the heater set to max also. Then follow 130's advice above . Also... if you can, when you fill the radiator, after the initial drop in water level,bring the RPM"S up to about 2000, should drop the level a bit more then get the cap on there before you let the R's drop back down.

 

hey thanks for advice Blue 89 Runner! i will try the old cardboard trick, but i'm also going to park it on a severe incline. I think there is air trapped in the heater core, since my heater core is not working maybe i could just bypass the hoses in the engine compartment? I have to do a long drive his weekend and with air in the system i'm not confident on driving it. I would have to pull over every 20 mins and let the air out of the upper rad hose. If i don't the rad cap or upper hose will blow.

 

Why is the heater not working ? I'd leave them hooked up or you might face the same problem when you hook them back up. BTW, how do you drive around in sub zero temps with no heater ????? Are you sure the cap is working correctly, air or not, it should vent at its stated pressure... IMO

 

the heater core stopped working 3 years ago and i never replaced it becasue it is PITA to get at and expensive to replace, also I don't drive far with it. I bought a small electric 12 volt heater when it gets real cold....otherwise i use my credit card to scrap the interior windshield!! lol i do want to replace it...my middle section heater core hoses have been bypassed a bout 2 years ago becuase i just don't use it and the hoses need replacing as well. So yea, i have absolutley no heat! hahah bundle up when i go 4runnin!
-i'm gonna go get a new radcap...see what happens....

hey i wonder if anyone has ever tried putting the rear heater core in the front ?!...they are prolly not the same size but i wonder if i can rig it...hmmm