Howdy everyone.

Here is the situation. 1992 Ford Ranger 4x4 2.9 6cyl. Knew there was a small leak somewhere in the coolant system. Was small so was going to bring it in to get looked at monday. It's sunday and while driving back from a couple mile trip and after starting from a stop the engine started losing power around 30 mph. I babied it the next half a mile to my friends parking lot. It was blowing a lot of water vapor out of the grill. I opened the hood and there is a small hold in the top passenger side of the radiator... so I am pretty sure that was the leak and I think it blew off all of the coolant. By the time I had parked it the thing would not move even when giving gas. The engine seems to be running smooth and after I let it cool down I was able to start it right up and drive it to the correct parking spot, but it lost all power by the time I needed to reverse it in, so we had to push it backwards in to place. There is no foam in the oil and no smoke from anywhere except the hole in the radiator. I am contemplating putting some water in it and then seeing if the power comes back. Can overheating make it lose power if the head gasket has not blown or the head(s) have not cracked? I have the 1990 so my understanding was they were using better thicker heads by then. I just got it about a week ago for a winter car as I cannot drive the trans am up here in Minnesota in the winter. If I put water in the coolant system and it gives power back am I good aside from having to get the hole in the radiator spot welded or replaced. I will tear it down and replace the gaskets and or block if I have to... but I don't want to so I am hoping this is "just" an overheated issue. I guess the main question is will overheating drop the power off like that on its own? Thank you very much everyone for any answers.

Edit: By losing power I mean I can rev it all the way up but less and less and then nothing is making it to the wheels...

do you have automatic transmission?

something is a miss here... how long were you driving it before it seemed to overheat and want to stall?

i would check the coolant level for sure, adding what needs to be and filling the over flow bottle.

as for heads and cracked heads, gaskets, they take a bunch of punishment before they are screwed to the point of destruction, the prob is from the sounds of it, you don't know the history of the truck. can you buy a compression tester from an auto place and test the cylinders?

i would start there. if the dipstick oil seems clean and the water/coolant seems clean, and you don't have a tell tale sign of water/coolant puddling on the intake things might be ok as long as you didn't add cold water to an over heated block/motor. this could cause all hell to break loose for sure.

__________________
Don't spend good money fixing phantom problems. Test, diagnose, and buy the right part(s) to fix the right problem. Read & learn here
http://www.aa1car.com/index_alphabetical.htm
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/main_...articles_1.php
check that sensor BEFORE replacing
http://www.aa1car.com/library/2002/cm70248.htm

It is a 5 speed. The lady who sold it to me said she sold it because her husband passed away a few years ago and it was his truck. Yeah I had to ask why she was getting rid of it when I bought it, she is such a nice old lady too. She said he was a mechanic and that since he passed she only used it when it was really snowy out or she needed to haul wood chips or something. Looks like when he would do a tune up he would just zip tie the previous tune ups wires up inside of the engine compartment ( a just in case maybe?). It was a good sign to me as far as knowing it was taken care of. It has some miles on it, 286k. It has 90% tread left on the tires. The 5 speed shifts pretty damn smooth considering it's age. She said they replaced or overhauled the transmission 7 years ago. They replaced the auto hubs with manual locking hubs. The coolant is definitely "low", as in it ALL evaporated out of the radiator. I did not add any last night as I did not want to add it to the overheated block, was just a hunch but glad I didn't after you said that! haha. I do not have access to any "specialty" tools where I am, but have my tool bag in the back of the truck, with everything I would need to tear it apart, which I hope will not have to take place. Do you think it would be safe to add water and antifreeze now, a day later, and see if when I start it up if it takes off like new? I just can't find a definitive answer anywhere that says excess heat can zap the power like that or not. Of course out of optimism I want to say yes partly because after I let it cool down about 10 min I was able to drive it maybe a block to the correct parking spot, again that was on perceivably zero coolant. I am getting on the phone with a second personally known mechanic today to see what he says. The first one said "the engine is screwed, junk it". That didn't sound right to me. I know I got this truck for the worth of the tires and the CD deck but I learned to drive stick on it over this last week and have grown very fond of it. The only other problems with it is that the throttle was sticking but I took care of that with some lithium grease, and the doors do not lock... well and the coolant leak, which I was going to have fixed today .Thing ran like a champ, other than having to shift down to 4th when going up a hill on the interstate . Thank you for the response my friend and thank you ahead of time for a response to this.

Edit: it only overheated this one time. It had the coolant it had in it when I bought it until this. It had a slow radiator leak that I did not add coolant to. It seems to me that it finally lost enough coolant to overheat and blew off the rest in water vapor.

Do you think it would be safe to add water and antifreeze now, a day later, and see if when I start it up if it takes off like new?


yes it is ok, you can also add water/coolant into hot motor as long as the motor is running/circulating. this will/shouldn't crack things... warning do at your own judgements.


"The coolant is definitely "low", as in it ALL evaporated out of the radiator."

before you drove it ? or after? if you drove it before checking levels for the first time.... did you learn something?

A pin hole in a rad will not cause excessive problems, so i am having troubles here. all it would/should do is leak under pressure.

you could be running into some sort of overheating prob from lack of circulation or thermostat not opening? heater works good?

and my guess is motor is fine.

__________________
Don't spend good money fixing phantom problems. Test, diagnose, and buy the right part(s) to fix the right problem. Read & learn here
http://www.aa1car.com/index_alphabetical.htm
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/main_...articles_1.php
check that sensor BEFORE replacing
http://www.aa1car.com/library/2002/cm70248.htm

I am assessing the coolant is essentially all gone because it kept steaming for a while and when I started it back up to put it in the new spot when it lost power it was not even steaming at all. So I figure it is all gone because it got hot enough to lose power but nothing else evapped out of the radiator. I think the slow leak made it so low while driving it began to boil over and from there it all went. It must have been on that borderline when I started driving. Just finally got a hold of my trusted mechanic. He said he thinks the comp was taking the power away as it was getting too hot and that I "probably" did not blow or crack anything. He said add about half capacity of water then immediately drive somewhere close to get antifreeze if it will run. He said the chance that it is such a bad crack or blown gasket that it would spill enough coolant into the engine that it would seize it is very low. That was my concern, that if I did try to just fill it up and drive that it could seize the engine from an internal coolant leak. As far as the small hole in the radiator he said very few people will try to weld those now and that a new one is probably in order. He said he can probably get me in next week for that. I am relieved for the moment that he said it can lose power from overheating alone without there necessarily being a cracked head or blown gasket. I am going to wait until it gets a little warmer out and add that water and try to get to some antifreeze. Thanks for the help Pinto, if you have any more info I am definitely interested in hearing it. If I do not hear conflicting info/advice from you or someone else before I go through with trying this in a couple hours, I will jump back on and let you all know how it went, and hopefully someone will stumble on the thread in the future and it will help them out .

I wouldn't do anything until a compression test, may be all in vain. then I would move to checking if the timing is advancing, for codes in the computer, and fuel pressure test. If these tools are not accessible, then you're going to be guessing left and right, really can't diagnose with out tools. I've read that you could put a balloon over the coolant fill on the radiator, turn the engine over, and watch it fill with air for cylinders leaking, but moot point since your radiator is smoked.

your problems could be mechanical or electrical. fwiw the upgraded heads are still prone to cracking, but they normally crack on top of the heads. If that happens, there is no decrease in performance, just coolant flowing into the oil.

Thanks psychopeat... still think I will try to add some water to "see what happens". There is no mayo in the oil at least, and oil was not spraying out of the radiator! haha. Best case, it starts up and drives... worst case... catastrophic failure. Just at this point doing this "the right way" would cost more than the truck. Was really looking for the odds on this one to see if I should play them. Seems 60/40 to me right now and for this case I like those odds. I will keep everyone updated. Thanks again!

I've read that you could put a balloon over the coolant fill on the radiator, turn the engine over, and watch it fill with air for cylinders leaking, but moot point since your radiator is smoked.

huh? how can that be done properly? or you saying that the over fill tube is plugged also? and wouldn't it expand with the heat alone from the water getting hot? air entering or not?

smoked rad would be a split small pin hole is nothing to bad yet. small escape of vapour at best, depends on where/what area the hole is at and flow rate. hasn't been stated as of yet.


He said add about half capacity of water then immediately drive somewhere close to get antifreeze if it will run.


HALF?????? <<< i have to question this big time....

but its your motor.

__________________
Don't spend good money fixing phantom problems. Test, diagnose, and buy the right part(s) to fix the right problem. Read & learn here
http://www.aa1car.com/index_alphabetical.htm
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/main_...articles_1.php
check that sensor BEFORE replacing
http://www.aa1car.com/library/2002/cm70248.htm

yes, that would need plugged. there's no heat, it wouldn't need to run long enough to make any. if you have cylinders pushing air into the cooling system (like a air bubbles in the radiator from leak down test, but naturally happening because the cylinder is under compression), the theory is that the air is going to fill the balloon because it's "leaking" into the cooling system from the cylinder.

ahhh ok i see what you mean, i guess that would work. i was scratching my head a bit there.

pete you seem very knowledgeable in mechs, haven't you ever drove a car/truck in your years with a leaking rad before? i know i have over the years and they can be driven many clicks with care to check and add as necessary. hell last explorer the little woman drove for 2 years had a small leak in it on top... we just checked level every 2 weeks and kept going.... this is why i question the rad part of it

__________________
Don't spend good money fixing phantom problems. Test, diagnose, and buy the right part(s) to fix the right problem. Read & learn here
http://www.aa1car.com/index_alphabetical.htm
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/main_...articles_1.php
check that sensor BEFORE replacing
http://www.aa1car.com/library/2002/cm70248.htm

Haha I was not trying to start a shit storm. I was just saying half I figured I would eyeball it and fill the rad. Then a little might leak on the way. The store is literally 2 blocks away. The heat kicks and after turning it on and filling the rad the heat still works great. 1% power to the wheels again after filling the rad and running it. Unhooked the battery to clear any possible codes... no help there. I have taken some pics and am about to upload them. They are from around the heads and some things that aroused my suspicion. Thank you all for all of the feedback so far. When I get the pics up the ones from around the heads look like there has been oil and or something else build-up around where the gaskets are accumulating over a long time. Please let me know what you think when you see them.

----------



----------









more to come. some are just odd things in the engine such as unknown wires etc.

----------



^this is where the rad is leaking

^rad leak spot again




^this is the throttle... was rusty and sticking so I used lithium grease to free it up... not sure if relevant... but there it is

Haha I was not trying to start a shit storm. <<< lol..... didn't think any was started....


i was just thinking it was funny to fill a rad 1/2 way then drive it for all the effort it takes to open the tap to let it drain to add coolant, why risk over heating again. 2 blocks? walk maybe? lol


from the pic it is hard to say what is what... the evap can shows a bit of build up from years of wear.... nothing to get bent over.

__________________
Don't spend good money fixing phantom problems. Test, diagnose, and buy the right part(s) to fix the right problem. Read & learn here
http://www.aa1car.com/index_alphabetical.htm
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/main_...articles_1.php
check that sensor BEFORE replacing
http://www.aa1car.com/library/2002/cm70248.htm

How about the build up around the seams where the heads meet the block? If that is what I am looking at. 4th and 9th pic...

Edit: also, anyone know any other possibilities not related to the head gasket or heads?

hope you didn't pay much for it..... now that i have seen all the pics..... looks like you have a project there..... the last 91 ranger she just sold (GF) with the 2.9 in it would have been your best friend compared to what you are showing.... and we knew it had a small leak in it and possible head gasket prob for the green was on top of the intake. never had any major probs with that truck. she drove it nice and it was the frame crack (rusted hanger) reason for selling it.

your pics show any number of things, any way to clean all the grime off with a bunch of spray degreaser and a hose... then check for current leaks and probs? and we are back to the same thing... if it runs good and you can fix rad... run it for the winter beater motors are still pretty tough things


those pics 4 & 9 show a problem alright ... maybe blowing the heads is doing the truck a favour.... lol

__________________
Don't spend good money fixing phantom problems. Test, diagnose, and buy the right part(s) to fix the right problem. Read & learn here
http://www.aa1car.com/index_alphabetical.htm
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/main_...articles_1.php
check that sensor BEFORE replacing
http://www.aa1car.com/library/2002/cm70248.htm

Paid 500... figured the tires and cd deck were worth that. I am down for getting elbows deep in it I just need to know what to go after here. So, pics 4 and 9... bad head gasket? Warped head? Able to tell at all? Should I take it apart down to the heads and take a look at the gaskets to make sure? Everything else works fantastic on this truck and I would be willing to do some head gaskets and bolts to get it back on it's feet. It will run but not drive like this. Only about 1-5% of the power is getting to the wheels. I have to rev it up to reverse it into a spot. I am no car expert, hence why I am here asking, but I have done some car work and think I can do head gaskets. I have never done internal engine work though. I am down to try if I can be pointed in the right direction. Do you see anything else that just doesn't look right? Thank you everyone.