sputtering

[beastpath]

so I started up my truck today to drive to college and she started sputtering and sounded really rough when in park, but mostly in drive while sitting with my foot on the brake.

When she gets going she sounds normal, but every time I have to stop at a red light or something the sputtering happens again. Feels almost as if she is going to stall.

Same thing happened on the way back from college.

 

haven't done codes yet

From what I've read on here I was thinking: oxygen sensor? distributor cap and rotor? fuel filter(cept i just replaced it) timing belt slippage?

 

thoughts?

[Kingman]

With your foot on the brake?

 

Does it do it when your foot isn't on the brake?

 

I'm asking because mine sputters like a mofo if I depress the brake and let off, I has a leak somewhere.

 

Check all your vacuum lines. The vacuum lines to the EGR can cause some pretty nasty sputtering issues at no throttle if they're cracked, just went through that one myself.

[beastpath]

sorry, yeah, when i accelerate after being stopped it sputters badly too until she gets going a bit

[beavis0076]

U sure this has nothing to do with your tapping noise?? has that gotten worse? any new noises or rythems lately?

[beastpath]

U sure this has nothing to do with your tapping noise?? has that gotten worse? any new noises or rythems lately?

 

lol, was about to edit my post and say that the tapping noise is very audible now and doesn't go away any more, but is still intermittent.

[beavis0076]

if it does not go away ( the tapping) , I would say you have a real problem. Its under warrenty right? I would take it in. Good chance your problems are related.

Edited April 9, 2009 by beavis0076

[adamzan]

Try wiggling the wires on your MAF sensor. Simon is God when it comes to this

[beastpath]

ill try that, but i think its something worse. i drove it again this morning just down the street, and the temperature gauge rose to way above the halfway mark.

 

may as well just take it in....

[beavis0076]

Keep us posted. I would ike to know what happend.

[beastpath]

update: havent taken her in yet, been to busy. Been riding my bike instead.

 

went out today to see if anything had changed. checked radiator fluid...was very low. added some, topped up the reservoir then started her up.

 

same chugging noise, ticking is more constant, and.....white smoke coming out the exhaust.

 

haven't had a chance to drain any oil, but checked the dipstick and no rad fluid on that.

[Kingman]

How long did the white exhaust last? Loss of coolant, heating up past normal, and constant white exhaust means a blown or leaking head gasket. Coolant eats away at internals, and can cause low end ticking which graduates to knocking fairly quickly. It would also explain running rough and sputtering.

 

When my Suburban blew it's head gasket, a huge cloud of white blew out the exhaust and continued to until we pulled off the road and shut it off. We couldn't see anything wrong with the oil from just the dipstick. When we tore into the engine and drained the oil, it was obvious there was coolant in it.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Kingman

[beastpath]

yeah, im thinking leaking head gasket. there was no loud bang or anything, but it would explain temperature rises, loss of coolant and the white smoke.

 

what do you mean "low end ticking"?

 

should i replace myself? or have a shop do it in case anything else has been damaged?

[Kingman]

They don't go with a bang.

 

Low end, the bearings and sleeves that hold the rods to the crankshaft, etc. are a weaker material then the rods themselves, and coolant eats away at these, which gives way to free play movement causing a tick in the low end (bottom part of the engine). Once what is holding the rods to the crankshaft completely deteriorates, boom you throw a rod and the whole thing comes apart. I believe the rods are 2 piece, and are held together by pins around the crank shaft. There's a good chance of separation in this design, especially when another force is acting on it, like coolant erosion.

 

In fact, my step dad's Tahoe has a leaking head gasket, and under load at low RPMs (like up a hill in high gear @1700 RPM) the ticking is extremely audible. His has been leaking for a good year now, and it's really starting to get bad.

 

If it is a head gasket for sure, the longer you let the coolant sit in there the more damage it will do.

[beastpath]

oh. gotcha. i thought when head gaskets gave they blew. that would explain the ticking then wouldnt it.

 

how badly will this have damaged the bearings you think? salvagable?

 

I guess I'm asking if the engine can be saved?

[Kingman]

Then can leak or blow, yes.

 

Tahoe: Leaking, slowly showing symptoms. Ticking, good mix of oil and coolant, constant steam out the tailpipe. No loss of power, or fuel mileage though. The engine WILL blow sometime, soon or far off we don't know.

Suburban: Blew driving down the road. No sign of it whatsoever. Sudden loss of power, instant cloud of white out the exhaust, oil had some water in it, cylinders affected were hydrolocked. But since it was only ran for a few min after it blew, and the oil was drained shortly after that, no damage was done. We just threw 2 new head gaskets in there and she was golden.

 

Like I said, if it's a tick caused by a leaking head gasket, then I'd say it's going to need to be fixed. Once the damage is done, it's done. However, it takes time for this kind of damage to be done. It won't be overnight, it might take a few weeks or months before you start hearing it. But I was also thinking about it, and if the coolant thinned the oil a little, there might not be enough thickness and pressure, and if the oil just seeps past a lifter O-ring, the tick it would cause won't go away.

 

I read somewhere this engine you have you got from someone or had someone rebuild it...? If someone rebuild it, they might not have sealed the head gaskets properly and you are now paying the price of that mistake. If not, then never mind.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Kingman

[beastpath]

yeah I got the engine from a company which supplies rebuilt blocks. it has a warranty for parts...but not for labor.

 

Naturally I'm wanting to get it fixed, just wondering what else in the actual block will need to (probably) be fixed.

 

Its been ticking for a while now, but running strong otherwise. The other day was the first time it felt seriously bad, and today was the first time i saw white smoke.

[Kingman]

Do an oil change and see if the tick goes away and inspect the quality and pureness of it before we get too far ahead of ourselves...

[beastpath]

good idea. although tick hasnt gone away with other oil changes.

 

just called a repair shop though and they wanted 1100 - 1300 to do the head gasket..more if the heads are cracked.

[Kingman]

Well then at least inspect the oil.

 

That's not an outrageous quote, either. It's a DIY fix if you have the know how.

[beastpath]

will check the oil tomorrow.

 

will probably end up taking my 2 weeks vacation inbetween school and summer session to do this.

[Kingman]

Hopefully someone else will chime in and give their opinion on the matter, I'm sure there's some fault in my logic somewhere that was overlooked and could be leading you down the wrong path...

[beastpath]

lol. nah. i dont see any flaws in your logic.

 

as soon as i saw the white smoke and coolant from exhaust i thought "head gasket", just wanted some more confirmation though.

 

thankfully, the ticking is only from the passenger side, so i'm betting on the gasket only being bad on that side. is the best way to check for this to disconnect the header pipes on both sides and see which one spews white smoke? or is there another way?

[Kingman]

I suppose that will work...lol.

 

Check the plugs for abnormalities.

Edited April 14, 2009 by Kingman

[beavis0076]

shoot, if you have a warrenty I would take it back. Tell them you want the whole thing replaced and hold your position. See what they are willing to do.

if you do it yourself, you may very well void your warrenty.

[beastpath]

ill give em a call, warranty expires in 3 weeks anyhow, lol. plus, it only covers parts.

 

for now though, as I'm 99% sure its a head gasket......what do i need to be looking to do?

 

shall get gasket set + timing belt/tensioner from parts dinosaur, new hoses etc

 

do i need to do both gaskets? or can i get away with doing just one?

 

get the heads checked out by a shop in case of warping or cracking yes?

 

anything else I've missed?

Edited April 14, 2009 by beastpath