I just completed a motor swap on my '92 4x4 pickup. After a few minutes of idling coolant starts to leak from my exhaust manifold. My first thought is that i bought a motor with a bad head or head gasket. But am hoping i have some hoses on wrong or something. Does anyone have pics of cooling hoses on the intake side, diagrams, advice?

 

What motor?

 

It's a 22RE.

 

there are no coolant hoses near the exhaust manifold.

coolant in oil? would look like chcolate milk.

 

There does not appear to be any coolant in the oil.

 

sure its not water?

 

i have to admit that because it has fresh oil it is very hard to tell. i guess a should drain it and see if anything floats. I was hoping that i hooked up a coolant hose wrong on the intake side mixing coolant with the air and running out the exhaust.

 

If it's cold outside, it's normal for it to drip water from the exhaust. The catalytic converter's job is to convert hydrocarbons, NOx, carbon monoxide and other gases into carbon dioxide, nitrogen and dihydrogen oxide (water). After running for 5 min or so it should stop.

Just watch it closely. Or, you could try "collecting" some water in a clear glass or white container, you'll be able to tell real quick if it's coolant.

 

That's probably it. The main products of combustion are water and CO2. Once the engine and exhaust are at operating temperature, the water stays in vapor form and you don't see it. But when the exhaust is cold the water will condense and drip from the tail pipe.

Usually, you can just pick it up on your fingers and smell it; coolant has a distinct "sweetish" smell. If it just smells like, well, exhaust, it's nothing to worry about.

 

you said "leak from the exhaust manifold", but it's really liquid coming out the exhaust pipe at the back of the vehicle, right?

if oil has mixed with the water for awhile, there could be a whiteish mayonnaise on the underside of the oil fill cap on the valve cover, and/or under the radiator pressure cap.

if it's not liquid coming out the exhaust pipe, "After a few minutes of idling coolant starts to leak from my exhaust manifold" can be a crack in the water jacket of the block, and it can be leaking right under the exhaust manifold... I had this problem, it can be difficult to locate the source of the leak.