DantheMayun Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Just about 2 weeks ago my pathfinder started to have a slight tapping noise on idle. Nobody seemed to think anything of it at the time. But about a week later white smoke started to pour out of the exhaust! I checked the radiator and of course it was out of antifreeze so I poured more in with head gasket treatment that would supposedly patch the gasket. At first it worked but the next day it started smoking again. Today out of curiosity I opened the oil cap to find a peanutbutter colored residue in the oil cap So my question is, is it worth it to put money to try to fix the engine I have now or should I try to find a new one to swap it with? Just for reference it takes about an hour for it to burn through half the antifreeze in the radiator. All opinions are very much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Obviously, don't drive it anymore. It really depends how many miles are on the engine and if you think you might have starved the motor (bearings) of oil. Does the dipstick pick up anything liquid down in the pan? Odds are a head gasket alone should fix you up, but lets cover all the bases... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If it starved the engine of oil, which I dought its time for a complete rebuild/replacement. If it just sucked antifreeze into the chambers and it leaked into the pan a head gasket will do you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If it starved the engine of oil, which I dought its time for a complete rebuild/replacement. If it just sucked antifreeze into the chambers and it leaked into the pan a head gasket will do you. no..if antifreeze leaked into the pan, you're screwed. Antifreeze eats bearings. That's why when people forget to drain coolant out of the engine when they do a rebuild, they have a knock. Antifreeze eats engine bearings away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Ethylene glycol (green antifreeze) kills the oils calcium which controls the formation of sulfuric acid, hydrochlorc acid, and phosphoric acid, which if left unnoticed may cause engine damage. Never changing your oil also will cause this, because the calcium becomes depleated. But cavitation will happen long before acid formation. As far as a newly "rebuilt" engine knocking because the old anti-freeze was still in, that should be taken with a grain of salt. If the engine was truly rebuilt how come there is still anti-freeze in it? I mean cracking the heads and flipping it on a stand will drain it. As would Hot tanking it too get the junk off. The most likly cause of a knock after a rebuild its because of installing the bearing wrong/with out lube or not lubing the oil pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DantheMayun Posted December 3, 2011 Author Share Posted December 3, 2011 I don't think I starved the engine. It seems to be running fine the last time I drove it. My problem is I don't have the mechanical skill or patience to completely take apart an engine, or maybe I do idk haha. So my plan is to take it to a mechanic I know I can trust, but I don't want to pay him 1000$ to take apart the engine and tell me that I need a a new one. And correct me if I'm wrong, maybe dropping a used engine into it seems easier then tearing everything apart to replace the head gasket. Idk I'm not to familiar with what I'm doing. ( I wish I was though lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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