Well, my truck has been running kinda funcky for a while now. Keep in mind It's been cold in Denver.

1st: On start up, My truck seems to miss. If I give it a little gas for about 30 secs and keep the speed at ~2500rpm. The "miss" goes away in kind of a fumbling action, all the while the rpm goes up to about a 500 rpm increase. It's kinda like a plug went out then eventually turns on.

2nd: I'm loosing coolant, somewhere. It's always dry underneath when it sits. But I can see drops hanging from the bell housing every now and then. I can smell antifreeze but I can't see it. The exhaust smells the same. I can't tell if there is white smoke or not because it is too cold.

3rd: I don't know if I'm seeing things or not, but sometimes I think I can see blue smoke.

4th: Off topic from the rest. I have a Black Magic fan. When I start out in 1st gear I can hear the blades hit one of the bolts in the front. It happens all the way through 1st gear (acceleration). in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th I don't hear it. Only when I accelerate in 1st. I don't know what is causing the fan or motor to move enough to touch each other. The distance is about an 1" to 1.5" gap. I can't exactly watch them in action to see what is going on.

5: I have one loud tick that is annoying. I assume It's valve lash adjustment that needs fixing.

Any thoughts or input would be great. Last tank I was getting 15mpg's uncorrected. I was going to try and pull the plugs tonight, and maybe tighten the head bolts to see if I can get any clues.

Thanks GOI. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

F.Y.I. 22re. Last I checked, Timing and TPS were spot on.

Check the EGR cooler on the back of the head, coolant passes through there and it it is prone to leaking. Check your EGR plumbing and operation for the stumble issue. Could be it is kicking on with the engine cold (the BVSV under the throttle body should prevent that). And check the motor mounts for the fan noise. Engine can move around a lot with a broken mount. Test: Floor or bottle jack under the oil pan (block of wood to protect the pan) and lift the engine. If you see a motor mount pull apart, that is the broken one!

BVSV? is that the red bob? how can you test to see if it is working? Can the EGR lines bring coolant to the intake, then burn it that way, since there is no apparent leak? When I opened the hood There is some black spatter right above the EGR valve on the hood. I'm really hoping that this isn't a HG problem! I just did that 3 months ago, and don't have the time/cash to do it again. Where else could water go?

Thanks for the ideas!

BCSV = Bi-Metal (vacuum) Switching Valve. Blocks vacuum when cold, passes vacuum when it it hot. It is the thing below the throttle body with two vacuum lines hooked to it.

well the sputter is getting worse. Before it just did it at start up, then went away. Now it does it at cold start, warm start and if you sit at a light for too long it does it then too.

Above the EGR valve in the back on the hood has some soot looking junk. Is there a way to disconnect this to see if that is somehow the culprit. I really just feels like a spark plug is going out or that a plug wire is failing. The only thing throwing me off is that I'm loosing coolant, and I don't know if they are connected or not. I've looked and looked and can't find the leak.

Anybody have ANY ideas.

Well today it was finally warm enough to see that white smoke is comming out of the exhaust and not condensation. so thus i'm determining that the HG is shot and needs replacing. So I'm going to call EB tomarrow and have him send me a new one. I'm not looking forward to this AGAIN. Why can't this thing just work! I want to drive it not fix it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

The key to fixing head gasket problems is to figure out what is causing them to fail and fix that problem before running the engine after replacing the gasket. Assuming the previous gasket was of decent quality and was installed properly, its failure is only a symptom of the underlying problem.

Well...My truck did overheat 2 or so times due to the fact that my fuse running the fan wasn't big enough to hold the current needed. From there I think it slowly went down hill. ON Monday The gasket Really gave way and my engine bay looks like an oily nightmare. With chocolate milk for oil. I pulled over and had my dad tow me home that nigh. FUN, FUN.

I also didn't know that I was suppose to re-torque the Head Bolts after the 1st warm up, then after 500 miles or so. I also don't recall flushing out the bolt holes, so a bolt may have hydro-locked.

On Monday I ordered a new Head Gasket set from EB, and I also ordered some ARP head studs from Summit Racing. Hopefully the ARP is a worth while investment.

SO...Many lessons have been learned on what to do and what not to do.

Question. What is the torque FT-lbs for the ARP head studs. I don't want to crack anything or over torque? What are the tricks to putting these in, other than having dry bolt holes, and installing the last 2 after the head is on?

Also, does anyone know how to clean the EGR stuff?

Thanks in advance,
GOI <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Ok, I'll answer two questions. EB recommends 62 ft. lbs. of torque. I bead blasted my egr. Seemed to worked pretty good.

80 ft.lbs. was what my ARP instructions said to use:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/EngineMods/index.shtml#CylinderHead

Chase the bolt holes with a tap or an old head bolt with a notch cut across the threads. Then clean out the holes with solvent and blow clear with compressed air across the surface of the hole. I double-nutted the studs to install in the block so I could use a socket on them and get then in fully.