Intermittent hard start, and bubbling coolant after shut down.
May 21, 2018 | 07:36 PM
#1
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Intermittent hard start, and bubbling coolant after shut down.
So I have two issues, unrelated but I need some help.
First off I have a 1989 4x4 22RE with 186,000 on the clock.
Sometimes the truck starts right up, sometimes it has to crank quite a few times and then fires up. Hot or cold start doesn't seem to affect it, and I have no idea where to start looking.
Second issue just started today. After driving to the store and back, my dad noticed a large puddle of coolant on the ground. After shutdown it makes a gurgling noise. He said there's no obvious oil in the coolant and the truck didn't overheat and ran fine, the gauge stays about halfway where it always sits after warming up. Radiator was replaced about 15,000 ago, and thermostat about 3,000 ago.
Just looking for some direction on where to start troubleshooting when I get
home from this trip. I'm paranoid about it being a headgasket.
First off I have a 1989 4x4 22RE with 186,000 on the clock.
Sometimes the truck starts right up, sometimes it has to crank quite a few times and then fires up. Hot or cold start doesn't seem to affect it, and I have no idea where to start looking.
Second issue just started today. After driving to the store and back, my dad noticed a large puddle of coolant on the ground. After shutdown it makes a gurgling noise. He said there's no obvious oil in the coolant and the truck didn't overheat and ran fine, the gauge stays about halfway where it always sits after warming up. Radiator was replaced about 15,000 ago, and thermostat about 3,000 ago.
Just looking for some direction on where to start troubleshooting when I get
home from this trip. I'm paranoid about it being a headgasket.
May 23, 2018 | 11:21 AM
#3
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Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Near Grand Junction, CO
Is your coolant overflow system & tank working as it should? If not, the spilled coolant could be from the overflow. My '87 (224K miles) made a gurgling noise when shut down until it finally sucked up all the coolant the cooling system needed to get rid of air bubbles. This took several days and almost a gallon of coolant added to the overflow tank. This was after a new water pump was installed.
Hard starting could be due to a weak battery. Maybe that needs to be checked too.
Hard starting could be due to a weak battery. Maybe that needs to be checked too.
May 23, 2018 | 11:44 AM
#4
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So I got to see the truck for myself. Turns out the alternator/waterpump belt had broken and my dad drove it like that 😳, so I replaced the belt and looked to see if there was any damage.
Now that it was obvious why it overheated and bubbled coolant out the reservoir, I checked the plugs, coolant for oil, ran it without the radiator cap to see bubbles, and finally just smelled the exhaust. No obvious damage to the headgasket or cracks in the head, runs just fine too. So I'm not worried.
As for the hard start, I'm kinda lost. Battery is brand new and it turns over strong, sometimes it takes a few cranks for it to actually fire. Sometimes it starts right up like normal. The intermittent thing has me thinking it might just be electrical somewhere. I put a new distributor in (had a bad RPM pickup sensor and threw a code), wires, plugs, ignitor, and coil, still has the same issue.
Now that it was obvious why it overheated and bubbled coolant out the reservoir, I checked the plugs, coolant for oil, ran it without the radiator cap to see bubbles, and finally just smelled the exhaust. No obvious damage to the headgasket or cracks in the head, runs just fine too. So I'm not worried.
As for the hard start, I'm kinda lost. Battery is brand new and it turns over strong, sometimes it takes a few cranks for it to actually fire. Sometimes it starts right up like normal. The intermittent thing has me thinking it might just be electrical somewhere. I put a new distributor in (had a bad RPM pickup sensor and threw a code), wires, plugs, ignitor, and coil, still has the same issue.
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