Stock91

First off, I have found this site to be extremely valuable during the first phase of my "overhaul".

The symptom: Leaking oil and eventually coolant in the oil. Overheating because all the coolant was gone and replaced by oil, yeah oil in the radiator.

The solution:Replace timing chain and other associated parts, have the Head and Valves machined and valves reseated.

While Im in there some other parts will be replaced.

My questions are these:

1.) To remove the oil pan, can a guy just remove the oil pump strainer/pipe then the pan slides out over the differential? This wont effect the crankshaft at all?

2.) Can the pistons be re-seated while the engine is in the truck? Im avoiding the crankshaft. (no engine lift)

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

bruzer1123

I am no mechanic expert by any means, but it sorta sounds like you lost your head gasket. Typical symptoms are milky oil and white exhaust. Maybe others will chime in.

In order to remove the oil pan on our trucks, (I am assuming you don't have a 4" lift or a straight axle but IFS) you need to drop the front suspension. This involves unbolted the driveshaft (4 bolts), undoing the front bolt, 2 19mm bolts on the underside and the axleshaft side bolts (not sure of their name). Once the suspension is down, the oil pan should easily come down.

Good luck.

abecedarian

1- depending on the truck (4/2wd, lifted/stock) the oil pan can be a bear to remove. basically though, removing everything underneath it will let it come out.
2- the pistons can be serviced without removing the crank. the head obviously must come off and you may have to remove the ridge at the top of the cylinders caused by the rings.

before you start pulling the head apart though, check for timing chain wear in the timing chain cover. you can pull the valve cover off and shine a flashlight down the front, driver's side of the engine and look for grooves worn into the cover. that could be the cause of your problem there. and it's possible to replace the chain and cover without pulling the head.

Stock91

I have pulled the head and today am pulling the timing chain. I believe I found the "smoking gun" last night when i got the oil pan pulled half way out, a timing chain damper was in the oil pan. From what I have read and heard, the timing chain cover may be the culprit, due to a loose chain.
It is a 4wd, and from Bruzers post I think if I lowered the diff, the pan will come right out. Everything is stock.

As far as the piston heads...Do they need to be disconnected from the crankshaft? Im figuring while Im this deep in the motor I might as well hone the thing. I'd appreciate any opinions on this one because Im just not sure if its needed, but if its better in the long run and do not need to remove the engine, I might go for it.
I had to laugh when my Haynes manual said to turn the engine upside down..

abecedarian

if you undo the connecting rod caps from the rods, the pistons can be pushed out the top. cover the studs with vacuum hose though so you don't scratch the crank.
check the timing cover though. if you find the grooves worn through into the water pump area, that needs addressed too.

Stock91

Thanks ! Back to work on it for a bit.

Stock91

Holy Smokes! Theres a hole THROUGH the timing cover! (Back to work)

abecedarian

if cleaned real well and blocked/masked on the water pump side, the hole can be repaired with jb weld. and that's where all your water went- into the crankcase, and let the oil into the water.
now, check your crank and rod bearings if the engine was ran more than a few minutes with coolant in the oil.

Stock91

Stupid question, , how do you chk rod bearings? What do I look for? And yes it was run more than a few minutes

Id upload some pics but cant get the file small enuff.

abecedarian

easiest way to check the bearings is to remove the caps and inspect them. the only real difficult ones are the crankshaft main bearings since there is one-half of the bearing stuck between the crank and the block.
if you pull the cap off and look at the bearing and see any galling, pitting or even debris embedded in them, they should be changed.
careful when removing them- best to do one at a time and reinstall them before going to the next, or at least separate them so you know which goes where and which is the upper and which is the lower.
if any are stuck between the block and crank, sometimes, you can push it out with a stiff piece of plastic or wood, and reinstall it the same way. note there are keyways on each bearing piece so you'd have to push from the opposite end to remove it and from the keyed side to reinstall it, sliding it around the crank, squirt some oil on it before reinstalling.