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Mazda Projects \ The dog ate my homeworkThe dog ate my homework
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mazdatweaker
+1y
Well, this was just lovely.
I haven't been around for a couple of weeks.
This is why.
It's back together now.
July 2, I was on my way from Atlanta, to Gaffney, South Carolina; a three hour trip. I had won a moped on E-bay and was enroute with a full tank of gas and a fully charged AC system.
And the dog.
And ex-girlfriend as a ridealong.
75 miles away from home, the smell of antifreeze starts to enter the vents. I shut off the AC, notice the temp gauge is slightly high, think this is due to the AC, extra passenger weight, and the really hot weather. I pull into a filling station, no big deal, add water.
Once again on the freeway, 10 minutes later, the temperature gauge starts climbing. Again I find a filling station. This time after pulling the cap and getting a faceful of scalding water, even though the top of the radiator was cool to touch, I think that maybe the thermostat has decided to go on strike. There is an AutoZone or Advance nearby, so after adding water AGAIN I go find the parts store, borrow some wrenches and pull the thermostat. Add water, and get back on the freeway.
With the thermostat now out of the equation, the gauge reads between half and two-thirds. . .while I continue travelling north on I-85 towards Gaffney and the moped. . . until the engine starts losing power. . .and I think. . .what NOW. . .as I now can only move at 60, then 50, then 48, then 45, then less than 40, then me thinking if I can just get to the next bridge over the freeway just ahead at least there will be some shade, then I am on the shoulder coasting with a motor that has stalled while I push in the clutch and shift into neutral until I run out of momentum on the side of the road.
And the temperature gauge never indicated anything other than a normal reading. . .so I am thinking fuel pump. . .
Eerie.
Hot.
Silence.
Miles from home.
Where ALL THE TOOLS ARE.
The truck is out of water. . . because of a pinhole in a bypass hose.
And now once it has cooled down, it sounds like it is freewheeling due to lack of compression while trying to start it.
But it least it is freewheeling. . .daylight isn't entering the block at weird, punched through block holes. . . a testimony to using good oil.
Later, at the first attempt at investigation, with the radiator cap off, big fountains of water are being blasted out of the radiator neck.
No adding water and continuing my quest at this point . . .
6 hours and $350.00 dollars later, a flatbed towtruck drops off me, the truck, the ex-girlfriend at the house. The dog got to ride in my now non-operational truck for the 87 mile ride back to Atlanta.
This is a Thursday.
Friday, I get the head off, after doing a compression test.
1-4 show 120 psi.
2-3 show waterworks and 80 psi.
This is kind of aggravating, as I had put a new head gasket on in September, just a few months earlier.
I send the head to the machinist, to verify it isn't cracked.
With the head off, I look at the cylinder walls.
It got so hot I see weird heat transfer spots on the cylinder walls. But no cracks.
With a wrench on the crankshaft, there are really odd crunchy scraping sounds while the pistons are moving in the cylinders.
Going to have to do further teardown to ascertain damage.
Least I didn't sling a rod . . . I can do an in-frame easier. Especially now since I FINALLY have power steering for the hand tools . . . an AIR COMPRESSOR.
It doesn't take long to get the pan off and pistons out. Seeing 6 quarts of water on top of an oil slime while draining the oil is not a good sign.
Needs rod bearings.
Good thing I couldn't get the engine started after it overheated. The stripped bearings would have taken out the crank. And the engine.
Now it is a waiting game to hear from the Machinist.
On the 7th or 8th I find out the head is not cracked. But due to wear on the cam journals, the machinist recommends replacement of the cam. The following Sunday, I visit the local vehicle stripout center, where I find an '89 with 146k and oddly enough, a recent head / water pump / timing belt 2.2 motor. Sad to say, someone had already beat me to the head, taking the rocker arms, shafts and cam saddles . . . which pretty much ruined the usefullness of the entire head. But the cam was still off to the side, as were other things that I needed, since I was now committed to not only repairing, but upgrading the engine sitting in the frame at the house. The cam was 12 or 13 dollars.
.40 over rings. . . $ 40.00
.20 over rod shells $ 26.00
head set . . . $134.00
oil filter . . . $ 4.50
oil . . . $ 12.00
RTV sealant . . . $ 20.00
antifreeze . . . $ 6.00
*!# bypass hose. . .$ 10.62
It's back together by the 17th, but with the plugs out, I cannot get the engine oil light to go out while attempting to prime the lubrication system. I know it has oil in it. . .and crank the motor about 40 seconds with no success. The battery goes flat.
I charge the battery for 20 minutes and attempt to prime it again . . . another 40 seconds of cranking and the light stays on.
A third round of charging, cranking, and still the light stays on.
The fourth round FINALLY makes the light go off after about 6 sseconds. That was close.
I replace the plugs and yes, the engine starts and settles down to an even idle once the lifters pump up. Really clattery at first, and then everything quiets down once the 15w-40 does what it is supposed to.
I think about this and realize that if the water hadn't of been sucked into the oil pump when the head gasket failed, the pump probably would have worked better right away . . . note to self. . . .ALWAYS PRIME THE OIL PUMP WITH GREASE NO MATTER WHAT WHEN PAN IS OFF.
Two weeks and a lot of money, time, and aggravation over an overlooked part.
And the guy who had the moped in Gaffney? He hit me with a buyer's strike on E-bay, because I didn't pick the moped up and pay him in CASH within 7 days of auction close. Even though I sent him e-mails attempting to explain that emergencies happen, and that once I had the truck back together, etc., he still went ahead and acted evil. My final e-mail to him was. . .had you been WILLING to accept Paypal. . . you would have already had gotten your money. But some folks don't think clearly when it comes to either time or money. My truck is back together.
Now, if someone on this board will explain to me how to upload pictures onto this website, I will post some of what went into this reman.
No photobucket.
I haven't been around for a couple of weeks.
This is why.
It's back together now.
July 2, I was on my way from Atlanta, to Gaffney, South Carolina; a three hour trip. I had won a moped on E-bay and was enroute with a full tank of gas and a fully charged AC system.
And the dog.
And ex-girlfriend as a ridealong.
75 miles away from home, the smell of antifreeze starts to enter the vents. I shut off the AC, notice the temp gauge is slightly high, think this is due to the AC, extra passenger weight, and the really hot weather. I pull into a filling station, no big deal, add water.
Once again on the freeway, 10 minutes later, the temperature gauge starts climbing. Again I find a filling station. This time after pulling the cap and getting a faceful of scalding water, even though the top of the radiator was cool to touch, I think that maybe the thermostat has decided to go on strike. There is an AutoZone or Advance nearby, so after adding water AGAIN I go find the parts store, borrow some wrenches and pull the thermostat. Add water, and get back on the freeway.
With the thermostat now out of the equation, the gauge reads between half and two-thirds. . .while I continue travelling north on I-85 towards Gaffney and the moped. . . until the engine starts losing power. . .and I think. . .what NOW. . .as I now can only move at 60, then 50, then 48, then 45, then less than 40, then me thinking if I can just get to the next bridge over the freeway just ahead at least there will be some shade, then I am on the shoulder coasting with a motor that has stalled while I push in the clutch and shift into neutral until I run out of momentum on the side of the road.
And the temperature gauge never indicated anything other than a normal reading. . .so I am thinking fuel pump. . .
Eerie.
Hot.
Silence.
Miles from home.
Where ALL THE TOOLS ARE.
The truck is out of water. . . because of a pinhole in a bypass hose.
And now once it has cooled down, it sounds like it is freewheeling due to lack of compression while trying to start it.
But it least it is freewheeling. . .daylight isn't entering the block at weird, punched through block holes. . . a testimony to using good oil.
Later, at the first attempt at investigation, with the radiator cap off, big fountains of water are being blasted out of the radiator neck.
No adding water and continuing my quest at this point . . .
6 hours and $350.00 dollars later, a flatbed towtruck drops off me, the truck, the ex-girlfriend at the house. The dog got to ride in my now non-operational truck for the 87 mile ride back to Atlanta.
This is a Thursday.
Friday, I get the head off, after doing a compression test.
1-4 show 120 psi.
2-3 show waterworks and 80 psi.
This is kind of aggravating, as I had put a new head gasket on in September, just a few months earlier.
I send the head to the machinist, to verify it isn't cracked.
With the head off, I look at the cylinder walls.
It got so hot I see weird heat transfer spots on the cylinder walls. But no cracks.
With a wrench on the crankshaft, there are really odd crunchy scraping sounds while the pistons are moving in the cylinders.
Going to have to do further teardown to ascertain damage.
Least I didn't sling a rod . . . I can do an in-frame easier. Especially now since I FINALLY have power steering for the hand tools . . . an AIR COMPRESSOR.
It doesn't take long to get the pan off and pistons out. Seeing 6 quarts of water on top of an oil slime while draining the oil is not a good sign.
Needs rod bearings.
Good thing I couldn't get the engine started after it overheated. The stripped bearings would have taken out the crank. And the engine.
Now it is a waiting game to hear from the Machinist.
On the 7th or 8th I find out the head is not cracked. But due to wear on the cam journals, the machinist recommends replacement of the cam. The following Sunday, I visit the local vehicle stripout center, where I find an '89 with 146k and oddly enough, a recent head / water pump / timing belt 2.2 motor. Sad to say, someone had already beat me to the head, taking the rocker arms, shafts and cam saddles . . . which pretty much ruined the usefullness of the entire head. But the cam was still off to the side, as were other things that I needed, since I was now committed to not only repairing, but upgrading the engine sitting in the frame at the house. The cam was 12 or 13 dollars.
.40 over rings. . . $ 40.00
.20 over rod shells $ 26.00
head set . . . $134.00
oil filter . . . $ 4.50
oil . . . $ 12.00
RTV sealant . . . $ 20.00
antifreeze . . . $ 6.00
*!# bypass hose. . .$ 10.62
It's back together by the 17th, but with the plugs out, I cannot get the engine oil light to go out while attempting to prime the lubrication system. I know it has oil in it. . .and crank the motor about 40 seconds with no success. The battery goes flat.
I charge the battery for 20 minutes and attempt to prime it again . . . another 40 seconds of cranking and the light stays on.
A third round of charging, cranking, and still the light stays on.
The fourth round FINALLY makes the light go off after about 6 sseconds. That was close.
I replace the plugs and yes, the engine starts and settles down to an even idle once the lifters pump up. Really clattery at first, and then everything quiets down once the 15w-40 does what it is supposed to.
I think about this and realize that if the water hadn't of been sucked into the oil pump when the head gasket failed, the pump probably would have worked better right away . . . note to self. . . .ALWAYS PRIME THE OIL PUMP WITH GREASE NO MATTER WHAT WHEN PAN IS OFF.
Two weeks and a lot of money, time, and aggravation over an overlooked part.
And the guy who had the moped in Gaffney? He hit me with a buyer's strike on E-bay, because I didn't pick the moped up and pay him in CASH within 7 days of auction close. Even though I sent him e-mails attempting to explain that emergencies happen, and that once I had the truck back together, etc., he still went ahead and acted evil. My final e-mail to him was. . .had you been WILLING to accept Paypal. . . you would have already had gotten your money. But some folks don't think clearly when it comes to either time or money. My truck is back together.
Now, if someone on this board will explain to me how to upload pictures onto this website, I will post some of what went into this reman.
No photobucket.
nc4life
+1y
First sorry about you luck, dam! Glad you got it fixed. Now about the photos, since no photobucket look at the bottom of the postreply you will see two tabs one says options and the other is upload attachments, you just browser you computer the attach. Hope that helps
tunameltman
+1y
Yeah man sorry bout the streak of bad luck, but also if you have a myspace account you can upload the photos there, right click the photo click copy picture location, hit the img button on the post and ctrl+v, hope that helps man!
mazdatweaker
+1y
Just in case you were wondering what the silly piece of metal next to the coil is for. . .
mazdatweaker
+1y
It's there so you don't have to disconnect stupid electrical feed lines from the distributor with greasy fingers.
toddzda
+1y
Wow. Glad to hear you got it fixed. I noticed most trucks in the jy i have seen has a bad hose like that. I wonder if those hoses are the reason alot of mazda sitting in the jy.