My 89 22re was leaking coolant into a cylinder so before doing the HG I retorqued the head. I found several as much as 15# under spec. Only got to drive it a few times since. Now it fires right up w/no miss or white smoke.

Motor is suppose to have been rebuilt ~50k ago. Top of the head looked pretty clean. I never overheated it, just added coolant every week. Next month I plan on taking it on a 2-3k mile backcountry trip into Idaho. You think it will hold up?

 

i would not take a chance....I would drive it all over town before doing a trip that long.

 

Replace the HG. It could be fine, but, I wouldn't want to break down in the middle of nowhere 1k away from home. The metal ring around the piston on the HG had to have gotten burned a bit. I would say its only a matter of time.

 

So, are you saying the motor was driven atleast 50k with a leaky headgasket?

 

No. It started during a road trip in May. We were on the sands dunes along the Oregon coast when it started to overheat the first time. I replaced the tstat, water pump and fan clutch right away. I put as much as 1.5k on it since. Most while on the roadtrip. The drive to work is 1.5mi.

After it overheated that first time... The motor didn't smoke when warm. On the initial start after sitting for a few hours it would miss on one cylinder for 30-60 seconds then clear up. When I'd start it cold, it would miss like I said but no smoke for about the first 10 seconds. Then it would burp a garbage can size cloud or two and taper off to nothing. I figure the coolant was getting pumped out of the cylinder, collecting in the cat and pipe. When they got hot enough the coolant would flash off and make smoke.

Another thing I observed was that I couldn't run the motor with the rad cap off. Coolant would slowly run over the top. Especially after the tstat opened.

I pulled the plugs a couple days after it started missing on start up. All looked good, same color, etc.

Since retorqing it fires up smooth, no smoke to speak of and I can leave the rad cap off and watch the fluild in the rad while it runs. I can clearly see when the tstat opens and no fluid boils over.

I got quotes of a grand for a HG and 2400 for an engine.

 

Boiling, or combustion in the cooling system? I'm still going with teh metal ring had to be damaged. Replace it!

 

x4 on the replace...
My v6 showed absolutly no sign of HG failure before blowing - I went to accelerate and boom - white smoke, misfire, temp gauge shooting up. all within about 20 seconds.

 

Thot I post an update. After retorquing the CH I got about 3000 miles out of it. Did the road trip thru Idaho, http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ad.php?t=49052 and made it back to work. Lasted another month or so before it started leaking again. Checked torque and all are tight... Bummer is we gotta run to Jones Creek OR planned for saturday. I think I'm gonna dump some stop leak in there and make the run anyway. One of the guys will bring an empty trailer in case it gernades... I see a new motor in my future :-)))

 

shouldn't be that bad at all to replace buddy. I almost guarantee you it wont make it. Not trying to burst your bubble, but your situation is EXACTLY what happened to me, almost perfect timeline. I had #1 start missfiring for a while before warming up, then it would clear. Then I had the white smoke for a few seconds after start up. Then the overheating. It finally almost hydrolocked on me from the coolant in the cylinder leaking SO much. I wouldnt risk it there. I would park the thing and change the HG. Also by letting it missfire like that, you are letting electrolosys eat between your head and block. Essentially what it's doing is eating the block and head material at the point of the leaking HG. Sounds like a leaking cooling jacket into the cylinder.

 

Ohh nicee..that gives me confidence..

..Agreed Replace it..and get it inspected. maybe it would make it ,but thats a long tripp to be nail biting the whole way.

-Also where at in Idaho? Like Upper north by sandpoint/ Coeur D Alene?

Or down south by Boise?

 

since it seems you have your bases covered, i'd just run it until it blows, then rebuild it. i cant believe it went that far already. awesome trip, i wish i had room to roam like that.

 

YEah, Just read through the trip thread. That looks sick!