I recently acquired a 95 Trooper manual 4x4 with a 3.2 v6. The little Trooper gets a warm when idling at stops, and the mechanic for the previous owner suggested that the head gasket was blown. When I checked it for 4/5 of the tale-tale signs for a blown head gasket before acquisition, I found that it didn't have any of them.
I later pulled 5/6 of the spark plugs (the one right by the master cylinder is a real booger), and saw no fluid splashing out when I turned the engine over.
My thoughts are that it is either the radiator or the water pump (although I'm still looking to see if it's actually consuming water somewhere).
I did a heat test with the radiator by running the engine for a bit (drove thrice around the block), then turning it off, and feeling for cold spots with my hand, and found that about a third to a half of the radiator was cold. I've pulled and flushed the radiator, flushed the block, washed off the outside of the radiator and ac intercooler, installed a new thermostat, installed a new upper and lower hose, and am waiting for the sealant around the thermostat to cure before pouring in fresh fluid.
While I was waiting on the engine to dry, I pulled off the throttle body and cleaned it up a bit as well.
I'm hoping this does it. I'll try to get some pictures, or be better at taking pictures for future posts. This Trooper has plenty to work on, so I'd like to add to the knowledge bank as I go, and hopefully help somebody else out in the process.
- Bubbles in the radiator when running? nope[/*]
- Water vapor coming out of the tailpipe when running warm? nope[/*]
- Milky Oil? nope[/*]
- Copious amounts of radiator fluid spilling over the blocks from the headers? nope[/*]
- Spitting radiator fluid out of spark plug holes when turning over the engine? didn't check before purchase[/*]
I later pulled 5/6 of the spark plugs (the one right by the master cylinder is a real booger), and saw no fluid splashing out when I turned the engine over.
My thoughts are that it is either the radiator or the water pump (although I'm still looking to see if it's actually consuming water somewhere).
I did a heat test with the radiator by running the engine for a bit (drove thrice around the block), then turning it off, and feeling for cold spots with my hand, and found that about a third to a half of the radiator was cold. I've pulled and flushed the radiator, flushed the block, washed off the outside of the radiator and ac intercooler, installed a new thermostat, installed a new upper and lower hose, and am waiting for the sealant around the thermostat to cure before pouring in fresh fluid.
While I was waiting on the engine to dry, I pulled off the throttle body and cleaned it up a bit as well.
I'm hoping this does it. I'll try to get some pictures, or be better at taking pictures for future posts. This Trooper has plenty to work on, so I'd like to add to the knowledge bank as I go, and hopefully help somebody else out in the process.