Thoughts on Damaged Engine?

gamefreakgc

gamefreakgc

Elite Member
I've got a 2000 5VZ-FE with 210k miles sitting in my garage at the moment. If I could get some suggestions it would be much appreciated.

Here's what I know:

1. Idles rough, no power whatsoever under load.
2. UPDATE: Throws codes P0300, P0304, P0306 and an O2 code.
3. The vehicle overheated previously, low coolant, looks burnt orange in color.
4. No visible coolant leak, or at least that I can see.
5. Oil is clean, tranmission fluid is clean. No contamination in either. Coolant could possibly be contaminated but not sure yet. Didn't look oily, just burnt.
6. Drove 20 min home with no overheating issues.
7. The owner said the engine lost power when it overheated and they parked it ever since.

What would cause overheating, coolant loss and multiple misfires in a short period? Maybe the cylinder head cracked and lost coolant? Had a small coolant leak and over time overheated, causing damage to the top end?

I will have the valve covers off Saturday to diagnose further. For now I'm treating the two as separate issues, gonna find the source of the misfire first.
 
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I'd start with a compression test to gather at least a general overall health condition of the engine. A peak under the valve cover is a good idea as well.

The orange color is probably due either to water to rust or coolant and oil mixing. My advice is to tell ya to start looking for a used engine in good health.
 
amalik said:
cool, thanks

well, technically -- OP is only looking at the engine, not radiator. but still good to know.
Click to expand...

I have a suspicion that the leak it either at the water pump or somewhere in the cylinder head, just a hunch. The pressure test does a whole lot more than just test your radiator, it pressures the entire system.
 
gamefreakgc said:
I have a suspicion that the leak it either at the water pump or somewhere in the cylinder head, just a hunch. The pressure test does a whole lot more than just test your radiator, it pressures the entire system.
Click to expand...


Oh cool so you can attach it to other components with the attachments
 
gamefreakgc said:
I have a suspicion that the leak it either at the water pump or somewhere in the cylinder head, just a hunch. The pressure test does a whole lot more than just test your radiator, it pressures the entire system.
Click to expand...

When motor is running and radiator cap is off do you see bubbles or foam? Usually headgasket failure will cause this type of issues. If the compression gasses are leaking into the coolent you should get bubbles or foam.
 
amalik said:
Oh cool so you can attach it to other components with the attachments
Click to expand...

Not quite. It still attached to your radiator cap (or overflow reservoir if rad doesn't have a cap) and forces pressure through all coolant passages. So pressure goes through the upper and lower rad hoses into the engine block itself and past the thermostat if it has a jiggle valve. Then you know exactly where the leak is.

JayRolla said:
When motor is running and radiator cap is off do you see bubbles or foam? Usually headgasket failure will cause this type of issues. If the compression gasses are leaking into the coolent you should get bubbles or foam.
Click to expand...

The coolant was so low and I forgot to bring water with me so I could not see the coolant at all. Gonna get a battery and some water to get it fired up again to check.
 
Are you seeing any type of visible smoke(white usually signifies coolant is burning) out of the tail pipe, or smelling a sweet smell coming out of the exhaust? That's usually a good indication of a HG that's toast and the pressure in the cooling system is pushing it into the cylinder. Compression and leak down and all that are definitely a good start, and if you want to go one step further, get a leak kit that has UV dye and a black light that you can use to try and find external leaks.
 
Once the truck is warmed up, if you have a hard upper radiator hose it's a sign you have a bad head gasket.
 
Twan said:
Are you seeing any type of visible smoke(white usually signifies coolant is burning) out of the tail pipe, or smelling a sweet smell coming out of the exhaust? That's usually a good indication of a HG that's toast and the pressure in the cooling system is pushing it into the cylinder. Compression and leak down and all that are definitely a good start, and if you want to go one step further, get a leak kit that has UV dye and a black light that you can use to try and find external leaks.
Click to expand...
Smelling the exhaUst. Sounds like a great Friday night activity.
 
Twan said:
Are you seeing any type of visible smoke(white usually signifies coolant is burning) out of the tail pipe, or smelling a sweet smell coming out of the exhaust? That's usually a good indication of a HG that's toast and the pressure in the cooling system is pushing it into the cylinder. Compression and leak down and all that are definitely a good start, and if you want to go one step further, get a leak kit that has UV dye and a black light that you can use to try and find external leaks.
Click to expand...

No sweet exhaust, I knew enough to check for that. I'll post up a photos of the gross coolant tomorrow morning in the light. It looks identical to when my brother's 2nd Gen overheated (I fixed it up enough to get it back on the road) with no head gasket issues.
 
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