onespiritbrain

Does it vibrate worse when you are accelerating and stops or gets better when you let off? If it gets worse depending on how much gas you give it then it’s probably cv axles. If it gets worse when you let off the gas then it’s probably a u joint. Where does it seem like the vibration is coming from? And the balanced drive shaft thing doesn’t make sense to me.. either the shaft is balanced or not. Unless the shaft is unbalanced on purpose to counter vibration from slop inside the differential, transfer case, or transmission (which I very highly doubt) then orientation doesn’t matter. I just saw that you said axle shaft rather than drive shaft. I’m not sure about the axles.. I’ve never heard of that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well getting the old one out was easy. Just unbolt and it falls away. The whole strut knuckle assembly moves and twists without the control arm and with a big tire still on there it is a nightmare getting the ball joint lined up. But after the tire is off you can maneuver it way better. Then there is the rear bushing hawairish was talking about. That strap has to go on last with the vehicles full weight on the control arm. Otherwise it looks like they put the bushing on wrong. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cylinder #1 Cylinder #2 Cylinder #3 Cylinder #4 Cylinder #5 I don’t see a significant difference in any of these. I will try to look into #6 tomorrow. I am still loosing coolant though.. I just really don’t want to rip the engine apart without being 100% sure it’s blown. I don’t see any coolant leaks anywhere still also. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s the only picture I got because I’m a noob and this job kicked my butt.. haha! Anyway it’s done. However I checked the other side and it hasn’t completely failed yet but it’s on the way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am blind I guess... I’ve got a slew of tools and parts to take back... and another day of driving on that thing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have the parts to fix this issue and I’m renting the tools on the way home. Pics to follow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just watched a Chrisfix video.. maybe it’s a damaged inner tie rod?? I looked at pictures of the inner tie rod on rock auto and I don’t see anything that could cause that kind of play. I mean it’s basically just threads on both ends, so is it the rack itself that’s damaged? Or is the joint the inner tie rod connects to serviceable?? Edit: Nevermind I see now that’s a ball joint on the inner tie rod. That must be what failed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had to turn around in the road today and I tapped the curb on accident. I’ve done worse off road so I didn’t think much about it until I got on the interstate and my driver front wheel started wobbling violently. It only does it over 55mph while taking a right curve and it continues after the curve is over until I slow down or whip the wheel to the left quickly. I dug into my wheel bearings when I got home and they were fine. While the driver side was in the air I whacked on everything with a rubber mallet but nothing seemed to be worn badly enough to cause that violent wobbling.. I looked at the bushings on the rack and pinion but they were fine also. I am thinking that the something broke inside the rack and now the wheel is allowed to move side to side. I got a video of the wobble.. I’m still investigating a possible blown head gasket and I really don’t need a rack and pinion failure right now... what else could this wheel wobble be? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah, I see. Well it could very well be a bad radiator. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Check the heater bypass hose behind your engine. That thing just caused me a huge headache chasing down a phantom blown head gasket. It’s the black hose in the center of the picture there. Mine looked a little decrepit from the top but the underside was leaking coolant. When you say popped the radiator, what exactly do you mean? Like blew the seal between the core and top/bottom pieces?? Or like a hose or something? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My endoscope was waiting on me when I got home today so I got it going and started poking around with it... Looked at that little bypass hose and this is what I found! Now this is after I already trimmed the hose back and put a new clamp on I know it’s not loose so I’m thinking maybe the hose is just deteriorated. Also the thing looks strange by how swollen it is just after the clamp. The upper radiator hose, heater core hoses, and that bypass hose are all swollen. These are all old hoses. They looked old when I bought this vehicle so I’m guessing they’re at least 100-120k miles old. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You could buy all the tools and parts you need for way less than $1400. I don’t know if that’s too much for a shop to quote or not, it’s probably not, but it’s too much for me to pay.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am wondering if that very small bypass hose leak slowly allowed the system to draw more and more coolant out of the reservoir bottle until it emptied the bottle and filled up with air. Then I panicked and filled the reservoir and radiator back up without burping all that air out and that’s why I saw it take a 1/2 gallon of water in 100 miles. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I rented the block tester(prt# 27145) from autozone and ran the test for over 10min at 185degF and it was just as crystal blue at the end as it was at the beginning... at one point there was even bubbles coming up through the tester from the coolant system without my assistance from the suction bulb; zero color change whatsoever.. *after 10mins* I did the foil test and I found that both new 5w30 and my engine oil bubble and sizzle right before burning up. I think I would need a hot plate that I could control the temperature on to tell if my engine oil bubbled any differently than the new oil. However, by eye it seemed like the new oil resisted burning up about twice as well as my engine oil. The new oil would “run away” from the flame and become quite thin before turning darker, bubbling, and burning up while my engine oil would quickly stick where it was, turn dark black, bubble, and burn up. I don’t think I am able to determine anything without better control over the test. It is quite strange.. I was so sure it was a head gasket. I must be a more subjective thinker than I realized, of course that would be natural for a subjective thinker haha.. Anyways, I have an endoscope on order from Amazon that’ll be here on the 17th. I plan to check the inside of my cylinders in all sorts of situations. It’ll also help me to look for external coolant leaks. Speaking of.. I did find and fix this yesterday after the leak down test: That is the small coolant bypass hose behind the engine and between the two heater core hoses! I can’t wait till this is over.. before I killed my previous engine I could start it and leave it running forever without worrying about it overheating.. every car I’ve ever owned I had to worry about it overheating, until this QX4. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s awesome I’m going to try the foil thing. Thanks dude Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is it even possible for coolant to leak into the cylinder but combustion not leak into the coolant?? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well I just performed a leak down test which it passed.... bittersweet because I was honestly relieved by my previous confidence in a blown head gasket. I’m ready to get this behind me. This car is going to stay with me forever. I don’t care how big a pain any of it is, it’s staying. I bought it with the small inheritance my dad left me, and I also fixed the transmission and engine with that same money, so it’s like a piece of him here with me.. I want to get this disappearing coolant and the following overheating condition taken care of now. I am going to do the Taurus electric fan conversion but this missing coolant thing has got to stop first. I am wondering about the intake plenum now.. I looked inside the throttle body and it was just black and sooty. My oil level does not rise, however, it was previously using more oil than it does now and I’m wondering if the missing oil is being offset by the introduction of coolant. And also since the water intrusion is so slow maybe it is falling out of oil suspension, evaporating, and being burned by the PCV function. I do have snot on the oil cap.. I don’t know anymore.... I already sold my bow, which I also bought with my inheritance, so shame on me for not doing this test first... Here are the spark plugs in order of; 1, 3, 5, 6, 2, and 4. I accidentally skipped 4 and did 2 first. Also I cleaned the number 2 plug before I took the picture. It looked just like 4 except the threads were wet with what looked like oil.. Here is this leak down test that I made: I set the pressure on a high precision regulator here at work and measured the leak rate. More than anything I wanted to put 200psi on the cylinders and watch for bubbles at the filler neck on the radiator. No dice... I did find that cylinder number 2’s exhaust valve didn’t seat right with the gentle opening and closing of rotating the crank shaft.. I guess the next step is to pressurize the cooling system and look for external leaks... I guess it might be good to send an oil sample to Blackstone to see if they detect coolant in the oil. I guess I will also add a dye to the coolant and all that as well.. Any advice is much appreciated. I will try whatever y’all tell me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ve decided against doing the bearings since I’d have to pull the engine.. I’m just going to tear into these head gaskets. I’ll have to get my other car back up to speed.. it’s infiltrated by spiders and wasps, needs a trans flush, and an AC service. Hopefully I’ll be able to order the parts this Friday. Wooh! I’m trying to get pumped about all of this haha.. I’ll keep y’all posted. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am still loosing coolant and I think it’s either a BHG or a cracked head... *I lose about half a gallon per 100-150 miles and I have zero leaks and zero sweet smells.* I do have slow bubbling in the reservoir after short/long drives above 90degF ambient. With the radiator completely full and at idle the coolant temp slowly creeps up to 225degF+. I want to do the right thing and make the repair, after compression checks and everything of course, but I am discouraged because I also believe the bottom end needs new bearings, mains and rods.. By the time I get HGs on with milling and replace all the bearings I am going to be above the cost of another JY motor... I also don’t want to mess with having the crank turned so I’d be slapping standard bearings on and hoping for the best..... And so... I am slightly inclined to just pour a block/HG sealer in and hope for the best, try to get enough time until my wife finishes school and I can afford better options. Opinions on what you’d do in this situation are welcomed.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bell Knob Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Does Isramex stand for Israeli and Mexican? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well you need all that stuff to put a proper charge in the system so you can see what’s going on with it. I guess you could just get the can tap and a couple cans of refrigerant and charge the system. That way you can see if the compressor will cycle or not. If the compressor does engage and you still don’t have cold air then you’re going to need the gauges for further diagnosis. The thing is though, if you don’t put in the correct amount of refrigerant, or if a lot of moisture has gotten in the system then you’re not going to be able to reliably test any of it. The cheapest option I think is going to be to let a shop evacuate the system and you can put two cans in and see what happens. Unless it is a nice shop they’re just going to vent the system to atmosphere though... I’m not going to tell you to just do that yourself but 9 out of 10 times they just open the system to atmosphere.. So get the system to zero pressure. Then with a can tap that will attach to your low side fitting and put exactly two full cans in. When you are putting the cans in try to run the AC. When the system detects enough pressure then the compressor will kick on and it’ll pull the refrigerant out of the cans a lot better. This is the type of can tap you’ll need: https://www.walmart.com/ip/EZ-Chill-Auto-Air-Conditioning-Refrigerant-134a/16888796?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=4616&adid=22222222228017563308&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=58368535008&wl4=pla-82766655888&wl5=9011022&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=16888796&wl13=4616&veh=sem Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It means your vehicle is running at 226degF+ instead of 185-205degF. It could be a faulty connection at the sender though.. either way it isn’t normal. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You will need from Harbor Freight: Manifold Gauges $60 Small Vacuum Pump $90 You will need from Auto Parts Store: R134a Can Tap $8 You will need from Walmart: R134a Refrigerant Cans (3-4each) $5 (You only need two cans but it takes forever once a can gets low... you’ll see what I mean..) It’ll be $160 but you’ll pay that to someone just to refill your system with refrigerant and check for leaks... The process isn’t hard either but you’ll have to go to a shop and let them recover any refrigerant left in the system. That’s step one; get the pressure in the AC system at zero. Then you’ll pull a vacuum for an hour and recharge the system. That’s it and you just put in exactly the amount listed on a sticker found in your engine bay. From that point on you’ll be checking to see if it works or not and if not then I’ll tell you how to check different parts of the system with the pressure readings on the gauges. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk