blown head gasket in truck

T77911S · 06-18-2009, 03:33 AM

yea, me dumb. driving home yesterday it started running hot. i thought it was just the radiator hose collapsing again and it would open up like it always did. well, it just stayed there at about 3/4. i did not think it was hot enough to do any damage. yea, me dumb. anyway, now my 170k mazda 2200 needs a head. plan on taking it off tonight and tomorrow. the motor needs a rebuild but i cant do it now.
there was a small hose spewing water out. not sure if the head gasket caused the hose to blow or the heat just blew the gasket. makes me feel better to think the head caused the hose to go.

(could not find one with tears)

wilke3169 · 06-18-2009, 03:52 AM

Hey there, make sure to have the head checked. A guy at work had this happen and I guess the head is aluminum and warps easily. He ended up replacing the head after the head gasket didn't seal the first time.
This was the older 4 cylinder model, I assume thats what you have.

Good luck.
Kevin

fingpilot · 06-18-2009, 06:10 PM

Change every rubber hose you can while the head is off. The boiling water (steam) probably weakened them all, amd maybe even melted/burst the one that was leaking.

R U sure you lost the head gasket? Oil in water, water in oil, compression?

Also, as I remember, that engine has a fuel filter attached to the block under the intake runner with two bolts. Easy to replace when runner is off, impossible to replace when on. relocate filter, or put inline one in if so.

T77911S · 06-19-2009, 09:19 AM

fuel filter is on fender wall.

pulled the head yesterday. 3 hours. #4 was wet. cant decide if i should pop the pistons out and re-ring. money is VERY tight right now. wife bought a store so we lost her paycheck.
if i did, it would jsut be new rings and rod bearings and put it back together.
i can still cross hatch markings on the cyl walls. i get the head back today. could have it running saturday.
there was a little pitting around #1, where the metal band on the head gasket was sitting. dont know if it will be a problem. considered a little JB weld and file it smooth. what da ya think?

Heel n Toe · 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fingpilot

Change every rubber hose you can while the head is off. The boiling water (steam) probably weakened them all, amd maybe even melted/burst the one that was leaking.

Sometimes a heater hose will spring a small pinhole leak and cause you to lose coolant slowly... slowly... slowly... over the space of several minutes.

So the coolant level/amount creeps downward to the point some parts of the engine are getting coolant and some parts aren't... and this could allow a 3/4 reading on the temp guage while parts of your engine are much, much hotter.

fingpilot · 06-19-2009, 08:19 PM

I don't know if the JB Weld would stand up to the heat and compression of combustion. That's a trough one.

If you can see the cross-hatching, the walls are probably OK. Change the oil early first time, put it back together and go.

Good luck, it DOES always seem to rain at the worst moment.

T77911S · 09:13 AM

well, it was the weekend from hell. its back together, how it is still running i will never know.
i spent all day cleaning the gasket off the intake. i have never had this happen. i pulled the oil seal off the cover for the cam shaft, it was hard as a rock. it came apart and about half way around, the outer edge of the seal was welded to the cover. i started to t pick it off, between that and the intake i had enough. i was desperate so i bought some of that spray on gasket remover. it turned the rubber seal back to rubber and it came right off. still had to work at the intake but it made a difference.

this was not my weekend at all. i am leaving some stuff out to keep it short (er). this is this worst i have ever done. i forgot to tighten the cam sproket nut. yes i started it. it ran fine for a few minutes. i was not in a hurry at all. i had to remove some stuff to take a part back off that had a little water port that had corroded and i did not see it until after it was on.
after i realized the cam nut was not tight, i put the sprocket back on, had to use a new hole since it was buggered up. fired it up and ran smooth. how i did not bend valves i will never know. gonna do a compression check just to make sure. i need to replace the cam sprocket now. $100, cheaper than a head.

i wish the mazda forum was as active as this one. i think there are 6 people on. i have an ad out there for parts.