I have a jasper engine in my 97 and i get a faint smell of coolant from time to time. When jasper rebuilds these 4.2 engines do the use this "updated" lower intake gasket or no? The engine was replaced in november of 05. Since then and approx 40k miles the coolant level has droped about1 inch in the over flow tank. I have about a year left of warranty left but i would like to run this truck till there is nothing left. Right now the truck has 190k on it.

 

well if the coolant is dropping and you see no leaks..its got to be going somewhere..and I'd bet its the #1 or 4 cylinder. If its still under warranty I'd take it back and have them replace the gaskets with the updated Ford OEM ones. If you dont and your warranty expires and you get the hydrolock issue then you are looking at rebuilind the motor again.

 

Well jasper tells me the gasket is not covered under the warranty. What the going rate to replace the gasket w the updated new one. How much of a pain in the *** is it to do, maybe i'll do it myself if i find the time

 

I used to praise Jasper. Now I don’t. My Jasper only lasted 52K miles. Can’t believe they would not include gaskets they furnished with a remanufactured motor. Did you have the motor installed or did you do it?
A 1 inch drop in antifreeze over 2 years is not too bad. Wonder if your heater core is beginning to leak. I get a faint odor of antifreeze once in a while.
Happy Holidays

 

I noticed a faint odor from time to time outside the truck before , but now it is becoming more common. And now i'm down about 4 inches

 

Pull the front two plugs,#1 and #4,and turn the engine over to see if coolant is in these cylinders.
And/or,let your truck sit for 8 hours or more after the engine has been shut off.Remove the oil drain plug very slowly,and partially,to see if there is coolant present.Coolant will settle to the bottom of the pan and will come out before the oil will!

 

well now my over flow tank is empty! and i have a check engine light. So what i did when i got to work was open the rad cap to relieve pressure then shut the truck off. Guess i'll be doing my gaskets on my birthday

 

just did the intake today. Not a bad job, took about 4 hours. But i think my coolant leak was at the thermostat housing. Once i got the plenum off i could see things a little better.