A little update.
I was driving the truck from the barn to the house the other day(about 15 miles cross town)
I heard a little pop sound and did not think anything of it(if you have to ask, you must just be a visitor, and not a resident!)
So I continued and began noticing a little smoke behind the truck(it was dark out.
Then I noticed the climb in engine temp.
Oil pressure was still good and it was running fine. So Go another mile trying to find a safe place to pull over(room wise that is)
So I get pulled over and shut the truck off. I start seeing a LOT of smoke.
I also hear boiling and the steam sounds. I grab the extinguisher
One of those words you do not ever want to see in a post, unless it is mentioned in the must carries list.
So i quickly tap the hood to feel for heat.
Nothing unusual. I try a quick glance through the grill
nothing. It is dark out.
So I pop the hood ready to combat the worst.
Clouds of steam and burnt oil roll up into the nights sky.
No Fire
NNNNNOOOOO FFFFFIIIIIIIRRRRREEEE!
So I must have looked stupid.
I was kind of celebrating the lack of fire while the engine sat there smoking.
So I put the extinguisher back in the truck.
I fan the steam/smoke out to get a closer look.
It looks like a blown head gasket.
So i go back to the cab to get my cell and call the house.
Whoops left it in the other truck.
When I say across town, I mean the long way through the country, that is not lit, and not heavily travelled.
You know the one where NOBODY pulls over to ask if you need help, even three sheriffs deputies that passed me. You know, cause a old truck with the hood up and tons of smoke pouring out mean I just pulled over to finish a call on my cell phone!
So anyways back to the story.
I remember that I have a mirror(the original mirror from the 3/4 ton in the box of emergency parts.
I take the mirror and angle it towards a bright yard light and use it to look at the dipstick.
There is oil on it, and no detectable brown foamy fluid, and no green fluid. SO no noticeable coolant in the oil.
So I sit there, and sit there, until the engine cools off. Which takes awhile on a 60 degree night(did I mention I forgot my jacket also)
So a couple hours go by. I look at every set of headlights that go by hoping it would be the mrs. scorning me for not calling here and not carrying my phone.
No such luck.
So it cools down enough that I decide a test start up.
Starts up, runs smoothly.
By the way.
I was a soldier in Iraq in 2004. My humvee was hit with schrapnel and the cooling system was destroyed. Did I also mention it gets hot in Iraq. So to get back(radio also out.
We began rolling back until the vehicle began overheating, then paused to let it cool, then kept going. Took awhile, but It beat sitting in one spot in the sunni triangle.
So anyways, remember my fondness for sitting in one place overseas I roll on to towards the house. until the engine got really hot, which was about 5 miles.
I would then use the mirror to check the oil, I would use my spare oil to add if it got low, but only after letting it cool, then would repeat the drive and the cooling until I got to the unfinished(probably for some time in the economy) part of my neighborhood.
I parked it under a street light popped the hood to look for any signs of damage(other than the smoke, steam, and overheating!)
I could see oil on one side that looked to have been blown out by a bad head gasket. I could see no leaking coolant other than the jet hot steam part.
I locked up the truck(By Accident- key wont open the lock outside)
and walked the rest of the way home-
Left to get truck at 8:30, supposed to get back around 9:15pm, actually got home,
2:24am
So a slight delay.
The mrs was asleep. She figured the barn gremlins had sucked me in causing numerous hours tinkering on the old trucks or tractors.
So the next morning went and got the modern truck and trailer, and returned for the 49 1/2 ton. So the door lock would not work with the key. So instead of breaking anything I cut the rear window gasket and pulled the back glass, opened the door and loaded it up on the trailer. Drove it right on.
Still no coolant in the engine.
So this past weekend I began to tear down the engine. No broken head gasket, all the pushrods and lifters were good, the head is still flat(no warping) the pistons are clean, the cylinders mirror like. the babbits all in order tolerance wise.
The cause of the problem was a small crack in the oil filter hose- near the housing that was showering the oil.
So I began cleaning parts and the rebuild, Since I have it in parts will repaint the correct gray(no new thread please), new sticker(thriftmaster) new oil hoses and heater and radiator hoses, radiator and heater core to shop for refurbishment, and then reassembly.
Thought I would share,
Remember to CHECK your oil filter hoses
Original is cool, but stranded sucks, so find the proper original replacement and get them replaced, your cool 1949 advance design cab that is all original is great until you lose it to fire or whatever.
Enough soapbox, back to browsing threads
Last edited by Yelostn78; 10/28/2008 3:08 AM.
