CMOS and everyone else, thank you for your help so far. I'm a little confused at this point for two reasons:

1)The mechanic I had look at it I thought he said the coolant line was over pressurizing. He said the hoses were really tight and that when he opened the cap coolant was spraying out. Everyone says to get a pressure test done, but if there is pressure in the system how could my head gasket have failed or in the process of failing?

2) My car does idle pretty rough when first started cold, after about 5 mintutes of running it idles just fine. I the exhaust does smell bad and I noticed some black soot on the snow where the tail pipe is. After a few minutes the exhaust looks pretty normal. Shouldnt the exhaust be white?

Also, I really didnt notice any coolant level change from the resevoir when I drove home from work. (180 miles highway)

I am going to have someone I know throw it on a lift tomorrow and see if we can see where its leaking. (If we can find one) Also going to do a pressure test on the coolant system, and hopefully a compression test on the cylinders as well. He was a little hesitant on the compression test, because he said on cars that havnt had the plugs changed in awhile he has seen some problems with them snapping or breaking.

Any suggestion You can give me, or things to look for when I go tomorrow?

Thanks again for all the help so far. Hopefully I dont have to junk this car.

- Kyle

 

It looks like to me that if the system was overcharging then the coolant would be pushed back into the reserve tank. If the cap is working properly then you should see a great amount of coolant in the tank and then it would over flow.

I would do the pressure test on the system first before I started taking the motor apart.

Take the plugs out and check them for any coolant and if they are very old then maybe you need to replace them with new plugs and wires and that may help rid yourself of your clicking.

The leaking back at the oil filter could be a freeze plug, a heater hose or more than likely it is the heater control valve. I replaced the one our '96 twice during the time we had it. They are very common for leaking around the control rod that sticks out.

The '96 that we had developed a valve clicking when going up a steep grade on the interstate. I did a very thorough tune up and had the injectors cleaned and that did wonders to help that out.

Hope some of this helps, don't throw in the towel on this car because they are very well built and should last alot longer than 135K miles.

 

gcosmo, good info. Thanks.

In your experience, did you notice the engine running rought at first? Mine takes a few minutes to run normal. If my issue was similar to yours, I wonder what could be causing that.

Does anyone know if knocking/clicking noise is an inication of a head gasket getting ready to go? It seems like some people on other sites I'm searching say it is.

Let me know

 

kyle,

Head gaskets don't "get ready to go". There's no warning. Either the gasket will blow or it will hold. It is what it is.

Your truck still runs. Run it. Be patient and take your time troubleshooting. If your gasket is gonna go or if the head is going to crack (highly unlikely) then it's just gonna happen.

As gcosmo stated, this engine should last a lot longer than 130K. Take a deep breath, and methodically troubleshoot the issue.

Keep us postedas to what you find.

CMOS

 

Yes, I have had it running alittle rough on start up. That's when I did a thorough tune up and solved alot of it. If you haven't done these things, I sugest that you try them and see what it does:
-Change plugs and wires.
-Clean the MAF. (very carefully)
-Clean the IAC or just replace it if it looks carboned up.
-Take the throttle body off and clean it, they like to build up alot of carbon around the butterfly that will cause it to idle rough.
-If you have never replaced the O2 sensors, most people have changed them by 75K-85K miles. They are a common thing on this model Explorer to fail but usually show a "check engine".
-Have you tried or ever put a can of "Sea Foam" injector cleaner in it? I would try that as well.

There is a good amount of things to try before I pulled the heads off. You wouldn't want to go to that expense and then find out that you still have your same problem. Could be a head gasket but I'm with CMOS, usually if it goes it goes. Have you ever ran with it running extremely hot, if so the heads on this motor are not very forgiving when it comes to overheating.

Hope these ideas help, Do a thorough search on here for '96 and see what you come up with, you may get some more ideas as well.

 

Well, to update this. I had it put up on a lift where I could see under it. The guy who knew what he was doing pointed out where there was some bubbleling coming from the head gasket. It looked like it was coming out along 3-5 inches of it.

Everyone I have talked to said it would be over $1000 to do this job and since this will tighten up the top end of the motor, I am likely to kill the bottom end of it soon enough. If the car was say only worth $3400'ish to me. Is it worth fixing. What would everyone on here do?

Would anyone try that liquicd steel head gasket fix, or something similar?

Thanks for all your help trying to figure this out.

- Kyle

Also to answer the last post. It has never been over heated. Temp guage has been eratic, but coolant system working as it should.

 

ANY of that "liquid fix" crap is, crap. Will not work.

Other than this issue, what is the general condition of the vehicle? $1000 to replace the head gaskets is much better than $10,000 or $15,000 to get another car.

IMO - if the general condition of the vehicle is pretty good, fix it.

CMOS

 

Do people think I would get another few years out of this car? I def can't buy a car for $10,000 was gonna try to get a honda or something good on gas for about $7,000.

The car is in good shape. I hit a deer so I replaced the front header panel, grill and the radiator. I got money from the insurance. ($3,500) The hood has a dent in it and the bumper has a dent as well, so I would think the car is worth $3000, but to put possibly $1300 for a head gasket would be a risk I dont know if I can afford to lose. most people on here seem like they would change it. Every mechanic doesnt really want to do it, because they said I will be upset when the motor blows in 6 mos. So far it has run great. Interior is in great shape. Not rot or rust on the body so far, which is good considering being in New England.

Thanks for all the advice on here:

Before:
http://www.geocities.com/kyles609/img00007.jpg

After:
http://www.geocities.com/kyles609/img_0819.jpg

 

The "motor blowing in 6 months" is just a BS translation (from the mechanic, not you) for "I really don't want to change the head gaskets. It's a difficult job, and I'd rather do easy jobs."

These a good motors in these vehicles. No reason why you can't get another 100K out of it with proper maintenance.

What are your options here? Ditch the car at a junkyard, then buy another one? If you do this, you're still losing money as there is value in your car (as it can be fixed). It sure wouldn't make sense to fix it then sell it, so . . .

Shop around at several places to get prices on the head gasket repair. Find a small shop that is hungry for business and acts like they WANT your business.

Good luck.

CMOS

 

Replacing a head gasket doesn't mean you have to rebuild the heads and stuff. The price seems awfully steep. Was it for more that just replacement of the bad head gasket and possibly machining the head surface?

 

Well, I hate that you have a head gasket problem. I would check around several places and get a few estimates. DO NOT use the sealer additive, you will wish that you hadn't. You are pretty close on the price if it were fixed ($3400). You are probably going to have to have the heads checked to be sure they aren't warped or cracked, so the price may be alittle high to repair.