1995 4.0L inline 6.

radiator blocked. ran hot on interstate. milky oil. started if you pumped pedal. idled rough. ran rough. only couple miles before would run hot again. took a while getting it the 5 miles to my house... shutting her down every couple miles when she'd start to get hot. got her home.

drained oil and coolant. replaced radiator, dismantled and cleaned cylinder head, level every which way across head didn't reveal obvious warp. cleaned rocker arms, rods, intake manifold, wanted to clean valves but could not get the retaining clips to separate from the valve tip... like they were freakin welded or something. replaced head gasket, thermostat, manifold gasket. cleaned ccv and other air hoses. reassembled. refilled fluids.

now still takes a pump or two of pedal to fire, idles kinda rough but not too bad really, would idle all day with some white smoke from tailpipe. stops after idles for a few minutes, but when fired up, leaking water at exhaust manifold-tailpipe junction and oil or dirty water at tailpipe-caty junction. can drive for a couple miles and then... runs hot.

this is not a hobby. this is my primary means of transportation. can't afford to scrap her and get something else. can't afford to pay a real mechanic to fix it.

PLEASE HELP!!!

 

failed to mention that i also replaced spark plugs.

 

Did you have the head pressure tested / fluxed? If the radiator was plugged chances are everything else is too, bad overheat probably took out the head and/or block.

ETA: Bone yard motor time.

 

Couple questions for you before I try to diagnose this problem.....
Is your check engine light on - if so get it checked, this could pinpoint your problem right away - maybe misfire or something
1-did you flush the cooling system when you had the radiator off and everything apart - something could still have some part of the cooling system clogged, causing the flow of coolant to stop
2-did you replace the thermostat and gasket - the thermostat could be faulty and not opening causing the flow of coolant to stop
3-did you check the mechanical fan clutch - if the fan clutch is faulty and fails to engage, then the engine won't spin the fan to pull air through the radiator to supply additional cooling to the coolant
4-did you change the spark plugs -they could have become fouled out by the blown head gasket causing the rough idle and taking a while to start
5-is there a faulty fuel injector(s) - this could also cause rough idle and troubles starting - could be that a fuel injector got too hot from the engine overheating
As for the water in the exhaust...can you get a drop on your finger and taste it? May sound crazy, but don't burn yourself, but if that drop has a bitter sweet taste to it, then it is coolant, and I would say that either your head gasket is leaking again or your head is warped from the overheating. If your head is warped, then a cylinder or multiple cylinders could not be holding compression which would cause a weaker explosion and a rough idle - good way to check is rent a compression tester and see if each cylinder holds and has the same compression.
Other than that, I'm out of ideas, I know it's a lot, but without being there it is hard to pinpoint the problem.
Good Luck
-CZ

 

Sorry for restating somethings that you stated, you replied while I was typing my reply up.
-CZ

 

Didn't see this either.

 

no. pressure test or flux

 

Is your check engine light on - (No check engine light)

1-did you flush the cooling system when you had the radiator off and everything apart - something could still have some part of the cooling system clogged, causing the flow of coolant to stop - (Did not flush after installing new radiator)
2-did you replace the thermostat and gasket - the thermostat could be faulty and not opening causing the flow of coolant to stop (yes, replaced thermostat and gasket)
3-did you check the mechanical fan clutch - if the fan clutch is faulty and fails to engage, then the engine won't spin the fan to pull air through the radiator to supply additional cooling to the coolant (clutch fan is engaging like usual)
4-did you change the spark plugs -they could have become fouled out by the blown head gasket causing the rough idle and taking a while to start (yes changed plugs)
5-is there a faulty fuel injector(s) - this could also cause rough idle and troubles starting - could be that a fuel injector got too hot from the engine overheating (how do i pinpoint faulty injector)
As for the water in the exhaust...can you get a drop on your finger and taste it? May sound crazy, but don't burn yourself, but if that drop has a bitter sweet taste to it, then it is coolant, and I would say that either your head gasket is leaking again or your head is warped from the overheating. If your head is warped, then a cylinder or multiple cylinders could not be holding compression which would cause a weaker explosion and a rough idle - good way to check is rent a compression tester and see if each cylinder holds and has the same compression. (sounds like compression test is next on the list, huh)

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the fuel injectors, that was just an idea, the check engine light would pick up a faulty injector, but not to sure on a OBD-I system. Renting a compression tester would probably be a good start, at least then you maybe able to pinpoint which cylinder is leaking (at least that what it sounds like, coolant leaking into cylinder, cylinder not firing, then pushing coolant out exhaust valve, then leaking out manifold and pipe junction).

When torquing down your head bolts (I hope you used new ones), did you follow the correct pattern, then go back over that pattern and recheck the torque. Also did you clean out the block internal threads for the head bolts? I did a head gasket on my pick-up, got new bolts, but didn't clean out the internal block threads before installing new bolts, got a false torque reading and the gasket starting leaking again, lesson learned.

 

man you are a ton of help and very much appreciated. really, thank you...
no didn't get new bolts. only ones i saw on autozone.com were freakin $200+. and apparently i'm ashamed to also admit i didn't clean the internal block threads. i did follow tightening pattern though.

 

No problem man, info is free.

I don't know on your year, but my pick up was a 2000 chevy and the head bolts where what they called "stretched head bolts" which means over time they will stretch. That's why I had to get new ones, but mine were only about $20 per head.

Every head job I do now, I will clean out the old threads, because there will still be old threadlocker/locktight (you did use that I assume) in the block, then the bolt catches and gives a false reading. But hey, you did follow the pattern, some people don't and that's where they get problems.

Hope all goes well.

 

so might it possible... considering i gave a warp test with a level my shade tree best effort... that i break the sucker down again, this time clean the block threads, then put new bolts in... that it could get'er done?

last question (for now)... i've got all the new retainers/seals and o-rings for the valves, but couldn't get the retainer clips off to pull the old off and put the new on... could what i'm experiencing be those old valve seals/rings leaking?... any suggestion on how to get the retainer clips to separate from the valve tip after i've compressed the spring?

 

The valves wouldn't have anything to do with the water in your exhaust, they may cause the engine to run rough if they aren't seating right against head, the cylinder wouldn't hold compression because of the gap between the valve and head. But the water seems like either a bad gasket or warped head.