I have a '92 ranger XLT with a 4LV6 engine, two wheel drive Manual transmission.
In the summer I posted a thread which everyone helped identify as a blown head gasket.
After I had that fixed (the heads were scanned and planed), the engine light went on which ended up being an O2 sensor. More alarming, the anti-freeze gurgled, especially after I turned off the truck. I had to top the anti-freeze (about a pint) after any drive over thirty miles or so. The fluid would gurgle but the temperature gauge never went above normal. I could remove the rad cap without excessive steam. My brother thought it might be an air lock so tried to burp it. The anti-freeze still gurgled upon stopping. I use the anti freeze at half and half.
When I took the truck in to get the O2 sensor repaired (after three months due to travelling and paying for the first repair and with the advice of the mechanic to keep an eye on the gauges), the mechanic said the gurgling was because of a worn Radiator cap. When I replaced the rad cap. For about two weeks and a hundred or so miles all seemed well. Then, on a highway drive I noticed there was no heat in the car and I heard a rattling. I pulled over immediately. Again the temperature gauge did not show overheating but there was steam coming from the right bottom rear of the engine. I towed it to the mechanic who told me a frost plug blew and the head gasket had blown again. When the mechanic fixed this, the next time I drove the truck, about 30 miles, the upper radiator hose split ( about two inches up from the water pump clamp). It looked like it had ballooned though it didn't seem overly worn. I replaced the hose but there is white smoke coming out the exhaust as well as at the manifold / exhaust joint area. Again there was no sign on the temperature gauge of overheating, the gauge went just above normal and went down as the thermostat opened.
So my question; what is happening here?
Paul

 

The blown head gasket is pressurizing the cooling system perhaps?

 

Did you have the heads resurfaced before doing the head gasket?........possible one or both are warped after a bad overheat.

OK, edit...........You did have them resurfaced........Check for cracks in block? intake gasket good?

 

You must really like that truck. Personally if that happened to me once I'd trade it in for a new one - the cost of all the work would be prohibitive to me.

But as to your question, afraid I can't give you too much help other than to say it sounds like you have something in the coolant tubes - debris or otherwise blocking flow. Freeze plugs don't just blow for no reason other than they get too hot and pop out under pressure.

Have you flushed your coolant system? I still say you have an air pocket - caused by debris.

 

I would also suggest you check the coolant temperature sensor and the temp gauge. Either the sensor is not sending the correct information or the gauge isn't working properly. Something should be telling you all is not well with the cooling system before head gaskets and freeze plugs blow.

 

Thanks for the quick replies.
The mechanic said the block was good. I guess what my real question is, was the licensed mechanic any good?
I had to make a decision and the truck ran really well. Even during the problem period it ran really well so it was a flip of a coin to fix or find a possible new headache within my price range (I have a separate summer car)
There's no way I'm going to pay for another head gasket job so I'll be shopping for a newer version.
However, I'm a curious type so how do you check for blockages or air pockets.
Paul

 

Easiest way to do it is to flush the block. They make kits to do it - but basically you're draining the coolant and then sticking a hose in there to wash it all out.
www.TechGuys.ca | How to: Flush your radiator / cooling system

Sums it up.

BTW: This won't be a definitive test, the coolant system isn't a single pipe only, it has multiple paths it can take so the blockage might still get missed - but it might help and certainly can't hurt.

 

Freeze plugs then to just get tigher when they get hot.

I think they are really there to clean out the sand after casting because with the event of antifreeze there would be no need for freeze plugs?

 

Is you mkank torqueing headbolts in proper sequence & increments then retorqueing after motor gets hot & cools? GOOD LUCK!

 

Yeah, while I don't know how thorough you were with doing the head gasket, you must resurface the heads if you plan to have success, and you must also replace the head bolts, no reusing old stuff. Also make sure the cooling passages are clear. And never use tap water. While you are at it, replace the thermostat, coolant temp sender, water pump, and any older hoses. Replace the radiator cap. Use OEM parts.

 

Thanks all again,
I had a liscenced mechanic do the frost plug/head job. He said the frost plug still dripped slightly so he put some Barr's Stop Leak in????
Anyway, I may attempt the fix in the spring (it's 6 deg. F up here in the Great White North; 7 1/2 hours north east of Mr. Ford's Detroit). I've never done a head job and most of the cost is labour so I will probably be picking you brains again; but first.
It's an older truck and with enough pressure to push out a frost plug and split the upper rad hose, I would have thought the radiator would leak, but it doesn't. Does this suggest where the blockage might be? I will do a back pressure flush and the suggestions by Khan Tyranitar.
All the while I will keep an eye out for another vehickle. There are enough new parts on this truck to look out for something I can use my 92 for a parts truck. What years are crossover for parts?
Paul, being stubborn.

 

Nothing wrong with being stubborn.

I have a '77 Honda CB550K that I bought from my uncle for a pittance. I got what I paid for too! My own stubborn attitude with that bike got it running - but not before it set me back about 3 times what I paid for it, tore a tendon off my elbow, stretched a ligament in my back/pelvis, and in general alienated me from my friends, relatives, and coworkers. But it runs great now, I know the engine upside and down, and proudly ride it whenever I can. I made other friends to make up for the lost ones - JB Weld, STP, Aluminum tape, Valvoline, Craftsman.

Persistence is a good quality to have, but you have to watch out and make sure it doesn't turn into a bottomless pit of money.

 

If the coolant fell out through the freeze plug hole, the sensor would not be immersed in coolant, and would not report high temperature. The sensor must be touching the coolant, steam will not make it show a high heat condition, so if the coolant was low or gone, the sensor would show normal or cold temperature.
I would have liked to have seen the last head gasket failure parts. I would be surprised if dropping the coolant caused a head gasket to blow out.
Hoses may look good on the outside, but if you inspect the inside, you may find the inner wall to be cracked all over the place. This hose may have been 17 years old...
If a cylinder head is cracked, it can allow combustion gases to pressurize the cooling system too much, and the hoses will balloon and look as if they are about to pop. They are.
Anyway, if you haven't replace the radiator and heater hoses, it would be a good idea to replace them with brand name hoses. It is too much labor to install low quality hoses. They may be new, but they won't last like Gates or GoodYear hoses.
tom

 

I find steam will make the temperature sensor work VERY well. If one every blows a hose steam is all there is to put the gauge into the red.

Something does not add up in my mind on the history of the truck in the OP based on the limited info posted here.

 

A step by step of what happened
1 Truck running well then- white smoke, drive the two blocks home and tow it to the Licenced Mechanic.
2 LM removes head – I take the heads to an engine shop to get them scanned and resurfaced.
3 LM puts heads back on.
4 Engine Warning Light comes on within two miles.
5 I need to travel to the city 850 miles return- LM says he's sure the light is an O2 sensor and I can make the trip but watch the gauges and get it scanned when I get back.
6 The anti freeze gurgles when I stop the truck. I lose anti freeze which I top up with half and half mix. The gauges do not get above normal, even when the fluid is gurgling, I can remove the radiator cap without excessive pressure or steam.
7 My brother thinks there may be an air pocket and tries to burp the system- no improvement.
8 Drive for next 6 weeks. Anti freeze continues to gurgle most of the time when I stop yet gauges read normal (water temp and oil pressure) The truck runs well but uses more gas than usual.
9 LM hooks up diagnostic scanner and gets a reading that the computer needs rebooting. The LM reboots and says to return if the light goes on again.
10 He also tells me my radiator cap is not holding pressure and I should replace it. This should stop the gurgling.
11 The Engine light comes back on the driving home.
12 I replace radiator cap- gurgling stops.
13 LM hooks up Diagnostics and gets mixed readings. He guesses it is still the O2 sensor and replaces it. The Engine Light stays off. The truck runs well and I get better gas mileage.
14 Two weeks later I am driving on the highway when I start losing power and hear a rattling. I pull over to find a white smoke coming from the back of the engine. I get the truck towed to the Licenced Mechanic.
15 He tells me the left rear frost plug has blown and replaces it. He then tells me the Head Gasket has blown again and replaces that. He says the frost plug drips slightly so he puts Bar's stop leak in the cooling system.
16 I drive the truck home- 11 miles. The truck runs rough and stalls easily when shifting gears.
17 The next day I drive to the next town and back- 33 miles
18 The next day I drive across the road and see smoke from under the hood. There is a three inch long split in the upper rad hose at the water pump end, two inches in from the clamp. There are signs of ballooning.
19 I replace the rad hose. White smoke billows from the exhaust. I limp the truck home.

Paul