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Steady amigo, your glue may be melting.
Before you go off the deep end, it’d be useful to know a little more like how many miles on this V6; whether you noticed the ticking before your oil change(s); whether you looked at the oil you drained just after they changed it; the condition it was in; whether the ticking began imediately upon starting the cold engine or was it gone when you started up and reappeared after warm. AND is there an oil pressure gauge of some kind in this ride? What’s it say? Any indicator lights flashing? Anything else happening out of the ordinary?
I suggest you start it cold take a large handled screwdriver (handle side pressed to your ear please not the other way around) and listen carefully to each part of the valve cover, the head and block to try and isolate where it’s coming from and which front side of the motor, e.g., drivers side or passenger. See if it’s there when it’s cold or whether it starts after it’s warmed up.
Not likely, if at all, that this has anything to do with your filter. Could be dirt, valve tapping you never noticed before or something similar. The solution might be in adding a pint of STP oil treatment or something along those lines though I don’t know how ECTG or others around here feel about the value of such products. I wouldn’t do that until you have a firm grip on the source though. But I’d try and relax. Oh, and Happy Birthday !!! 🙂
MarkWhen you started off cold, was your cooling system topped off? If so, in that short a time, like ten seconds, if I didn’t know better I’d think a possible bad sender unit in your temp gauge rather than a genuine overheat problem. The no heat with the temp gauge high just after starting out and running downhill might mean the engine was actually cool and the thermostat hadn’t opened yet (because it hadn’t reached operating temp, not because it’s bad).
If it’s not the sender and you’re really losing that much coolant and not seeing where it’s going, I’d suspect boil over and evaporation while the car is moving. Pressure testing the system is still the best place to start, testing the sender with a vom would also be helpful. Adding some cooling system cleaner and flushing the system probably isn’t a bad idea either and check for coolant leaking on the floor on the passenger side or out of the heater box and heater input and return hoses. That might tell you something also.
Keep in touch.
MarkWhen you started off cold, was your cooling system topped off? If so, in that short a time, like ten seconds, if I didn’t know better I’d think a possible bad sender unit in your temp gauge rather than a genuine overheat problem. The no heat with the temp gauge high just after starting out and running downhill might mean the engine was actually cool and the thermostat hadn’t opened yet (because it hadn’t reached operating temp, not because it’s bad).
If it’s not the sender and you’re really losing that much coolant and not seeing where it’s going, I’d suspect boil over and evaporation while the car is moving. Pressure testing the system is still the best place to start, testing the sender with a vom would also be helpful. Adding some cooling system cleaner and flushing the system probably isn’t a bad idea either and check for coolant leaking on the floor on the passenger side or out of the heater box and heater input and return hoses. That might tell you something also.
Keep in touch.
MarkYea !!! Nice work.
Hope you didn’t toss that old shaft into the trash. You might be able to rethread or tape the holes and give it a second chance.Happy motoring !
Mark.Yea !!! Nice work.
Hope you didn’t toss that old shaft into the trash. You might be able to rethread or tape the holes and give it a second chance.Happy motoring !
Mark.My theory as to why it won’t start is because there’s water in the cylinders (from the blown head gasket) and as we know, a gasoline engine doesn’t run or start well on H20. Wish they did though. A bad water pump shouldn’t effect your timing. As I recall, listening to your video I heard something rattling around which could be a lot of things, something broken within the engine or maybe just the bearings on the water pump. Dunno.
MarkMy theory as to why it won’t start is because there’s water in the cylinders (from the blown head gasket) and as we know, a gasoline engine doesn’t run or start well on H20. Wish they did though. A bad water pump shouldn’t effect your timing. As I recall, listening to your video I heard something rattling around which could be a lot of things, something broken within the engine or maybe just the bearings on the water pump. Dunno.
MarkMy theory is that you’ve blown your head gasket and may have also damaged various components within the cylinders such as rings, pistons, rods, etc. I say that since you’re seeing water from the exhaust which, at this point, probably ain’t condensation. Still, a compression test would be helpful and you shouldn’t have to buy that sort of kit but as I said earlier, you can probably buy one or rent one from the local auto parts folks, like O’Reilly, NAPA Auto, Auto Zone, or one of the local independents (that I always recommend supporting).
If you can’t get ahold of one and the engine still cranks (but won’t fire), pull one plug at a time, when it’s out, have someone turn the ignition key and crank the engine. Make sure you still have water in the radiator. Do that with all the cylinders one at a time and see if you get water squiring or leaking out of the plug well. If so, that’s your answer and you can check the other internal organs of the engine when the head is off.
M.
My theory is that you’ve blown your head gasket and may have also damaged various components within the cylinders such as rings, pistons, rods, etc. I say that since you’re seeing water from the exhaust which, at this point, probably ain’t condensation. Still, a compression test would be helpful and you shouldn’t have to buy that sort of kit but as I said earlier, you can probably buy one or rent one from the local auto parts folks, like O’Reilly, NAPA Auto, Auto Zone, or one of the local independents (that I always recommend supporting).
If you can’t get ahold of one and the engine still cranks (but won’t fire), pull one plug at a time, when it’s out, have someone turn the ignition key and crank the engine. Make sure you still have water in the radiator. Do that with all the cylinders one at a time and see if you get water squiring or leaking out of the plug well. If so, that’s your answer and you can check the other internal organs of the engine when the head is off.
M.
” I have checked the spark plugs and they are wet and there seems to be very little water. i have checked the dip stick as well and no sings of water there when, i took out all the spark plugs only a drop or to came out.”
This doesn’t sound good K. Finding very litle water and wet plugs is like being a little bit pregnant. Either your head gasket is intact or it’s leaking and it sounds like it’s leaking. You can probably borrow a cooling system pressure tester at a parts store or a tool rental place. I think ETCG did a video on pressure testing cooling systems. It’s very simple and tells you a fair amount about whether you have leaks or not and where they may be.
A compression test of your cylinders is also quite useful. You can rent those kits as well in some places. I’d start there. If there is a leak in your head, you should pull it or have it pulled, inspected and take a look at the cylinders to see if any parts in there are toasted.
Mark” I have checked the spark plugs and they are wet and there seems to be very little water. i have checked the dip stick as well and no sings of water there when, i took out all the spark plugs only a drop or to came out.”
This doesn’t sound good K. Finding very litle water and wet plugs is like being a little bit pregnant. Either your head gasket is intact or it’s leaking and it sounds like it’s leaking. You can probably borrow a cooling system pressure tester at a parts store or a tool rental place. I think ETCG did a video on pressure testing cooling systems. It’s very simple and tells you a fair amount about whether you have leaks or not and where they may be.
A compression test of your cylinders is also quite useful. You can rent those kits as well in some places. I’d start there. If there is a leak in your head, you should pull it or have it pulled, inspected and take a look at the cylinders to see if any parts in there are toasted.
MarkI’d start with a pressure test of your cooling system would probably really help you figure out where the leak is. Always pressure test your radiator cap too, btw. Then check the cylinders for water and the exhaust as suggested. If you see system pressure dropping but can’t visualize the leak then water is going somewhere, most likely past the head gasket into the cylinders.
In theory, what might have happened is that adding water over two weeks may have diluted any coolant left to the point of being useless and lowered your engine temp boiling point so that without the cap, at 65MPH you may have boiled out all or most of your water. I’m wondering when you got off the freeway, how much water you finally added to it and whether it all went into the cooling system or elsewhere, as in a blown head gasket.
Also look around the front of the water pump, especially the shaft and the weep hole(s) on the side of the shaft and see if there are signs of water dripping corrosion. If so, I’d replace the water pump, gaskets and the belt.
I’d start with a pressure test of your cooling system would probably really help you figure out where the leak is. Always pressure test your radiator cap too, btw. Then check the cylinders for water and the exhaust as suggested. If you see system pressure dropping but can’t visualize the leak then water is going somewhere, most likely past the head gasket into the cylinders.
In theory, what might have happened is that adding water over two weeks may have diluted any coolant left to the point of being useless and lowered your engine temp boiling point so that without the cap, at 65MPH you may have boiled out all or most of your water. I’m wondering when you got off the freeway, how much water you finally added to it and whether it all went into the cooling system or elsewhere, as in a blown head gasket.
Also look around the front of the water pump, especially the shaft and the weep hole(s) on the side of the shaft and see if there are signs of water dripping corrosion. If so, I’d replace the water pump, gaskets and the belt.
Yep, a loose distributor cap can cause misfires which may explain what you heard at your exhaust. But when you road test it what’s it doing then? If it’s really missing, or backfiring, hesitating at speed under load, then I’d first look to your ignition cause you find a problem there anyway.
If you don’t have a scanner available to you even at a local parts store to see if you have any codes, then I’d start by fixing what sounds like a loose distributor cap. Try using the properly sized screws or check to see if you have to tap and rethread a hole because a screw broken off.
I’d check the inside of the cap for cracks, carbon tracking, etc., and when it’s running, you can mist spray a little water on the cap itself and check for sparks or arching. If you see that on the cap, replace it and see if that solves your misfire. If it’s still missing, check your plug wires and boots.
Yep, a loose distributor cap can cause misfires which may explain what you heard at your exhaust. But when you road test it what’s it doing then? If it’s really missing, or backfiring, hesitating at speed under load, then I’d first look to your ignition cause you find a problem there anyway.
If you don’t have a scanner available to you even at a local parts store to see if you have any codes, then I’d start by fixing what sounds like a loose distributor cap. Try using the properly sized screws or check to see if you have to tap and rethread a hole because a screw broken off.
I’d check the inside of the cap for cracks, carbon tracking, etc., and when it’s running, you can mist spray a little water on the cap itself and check for sparks or arching. If you see that on the cap, replace it and see if that solves your misfire. If it’s still missing, check your plug wires and boots.