Isuzu SUV Forum banner

92 rodeo 3.1 v6 carberated head gasket replacement

1K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  Sleeth21 
#1 ·
About to changed my head gaskets. I have ordered a heynes manual and gasket kit. Never done head gasket before. Cant find any videos or threads specific to my motor. So im looking for any tips, pointers, or links to other threads. Thanks
 
#2 ·
Do you know why it went. Your type of motor does not commonly need a head gasket. They usually die from something else. Follow common practice for something like a small block chevy. Buy new bolts from FelPro I would also suggest their gasket or Cometic MLS but only if you do both. You will need a torque wrench and angle meter. All torque specs and sequences can be found at 60degreeV6.com
 
#3 ·
It should be a pretty straight forward job. Once you have done one you have pretty much done them all. Take your time scraping off all the old gasket material, it can be a real beating.

Make sure you clean out the threads so you can get an accurate torque reading when you go to reinstall the heads. Its not as important when you using an angle meter but it is still a good practice. Also don't forget the anti-seize on the exhaust manifold bolts when you go to reinstall them.

Like geoffinbc said earlier, why did the head gasket fail? Was the motor overheated?
 
#4 ·
One particular thing to be careful of on the 3.1 is to be sure to put the intake gaskets on before you install the pushrods. And the Haynes and Chilton's manuals are typically wrong on the valve adjustment. You want 3/4 to 1 turn of the nut past zero lash, NOT 1.5. It won't run right.
 
#6 ·
That doesn't necessarily mean it has a blown head gasket. Dennis
 
#8 ·
Bad fan clutch.
 
#9 ·
4WD high or or 4WD low? The difference (for cooling) between running in 4L vs 2H/4H is that you are getting less air flow through the radiator for any given engine speed. I can't see why there'd be any difference between 4H and 2H though.

Is it still losing coolant even when it's not overheating? How does your oil look, and is the oil level changing?

I would not be jumping straight to head gaskets, there is a whole cooling system to look at first.
 
#10 ·
As previously mentioned, bad fan clutch. When the rig is fully warmed, the fan should be blowing strongly. I had an overheating problem with my Trooper and it ended up being the fan clutch.

There are a couple of brands listed at Rockauto.com, as I recall I got a Hayden clutch for my Trooper.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/isuz ... lutch,6812

Found one on eBay sold by Pep Boys for $40.68 shipped. Which would make it a better deal than Rockauto, where the prices are Plus shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hayden-Premium- ... t~&vxp=mtr

Also do not discount the possibility that the radiator could be partially clogged and not giving full cooling capacity.

Might be OK for normal, but not for higher-stress 4-wheelin'. You can pull the rad and have a shop do a flow test on it. Replacement radiators aren't too expensive for your rig (under $100) but you're gonna get plastic-tanked, aluminum construction. The aluminum rad likely will transfer heat better than the old brass radiator.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/isuz ... iator,2172

Sure doesn't sound like head gaskets to me, if you can drive it around town without problem.

I'm assuming there's no coolant in the oil?

You can do a test for combustion gasses in the coolant, with a special test fluid.

Test fluid at NAPA: https://www.napaonline.com/p/BK_7001366

To do the test, draw a coolant sample out of the radiator, add test fluid as directed. Turns yellow in the presence of combustion products.

HTH & G'luck with the repairs..........ed
 
#11 ·
Since the episode Saturday when it was hot and i added more my coolant levels as stayed the same. Iv lost some oil in the last 3000k when i changed the oil. Just checked under my oil cap and it was creamy.

So just going to go ahead and get a new rad its looking pretty ruff. And the test on the cooland. How do i check for a bad fan clutch? I see it spining when i start it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top