I got this truck from my dad and got it running a little bit ago. I got work needs doing and what better to do it with than a free truck from the old man. My dad was reporting a lot of overheating. Got into the engine, a few parts later, broke the knock sensor and said to hell with it. 5 years later, he says I can have it. I got the knock sensor out and put it all back together. Here is what I've got on it so far.

First. When idling, there is a very rapid rattling sound just behind the front axle. Torque converter maybe? I don't know. I haven't messed with transmissions before

Second, I think it's got a blown head gasket. Mysterious overheating, despite being full of water(I have not been able to recreate this issue since I got it up and running. I even drove it for an hour and let it idle for 2 more hours). The coolant reservoir smells like fuel. More specifically, exhaust. It vibrates a lot when I'm on the throttle, which makes me think its missing when under load. There is a very definitive soft popping sound out of the exhaust. Not quite backfiring or performance car exhaust popping but soft popping. In time with the engine and constant when I'm on the throttle. And finally, I hear water gurgling when I lightly press the throttle. Anymore than that and I can't hear much out of the engine bay that isn't the engine

Other than those 2 issues, albeit potentially catastrophic, she runs decent. I am pretty well learned and experienced with mechanical contraptions and have very good general knowledge on how to work on stuff. I just need a good direction. I don't want to make this my daily until I feel like I can trust it so I'm ready to get to work on it. Any tips for handling picky parts are definitely welcome

 

Sure sounds like a head gasket and/or a damaged head. Pull the spark plugs, read them and do a compression test. You will probably wind up rebuilding or replacing the engine.

 

How would I do a compression test? Find something to thread into the spark plug holes, attach a pressure gauge that reads the pressure then stays at peak pressure? Like a tire pressure gauge? Then cycle through all the cylinders. What kind of pressure am I looking at? 200-400 psi?

 

Parts stores rent/loan compression gauge kits, see below link for an example. Pull the fuel pump fuse, block the throttle wide open, screw the gauge into the spark plug hole, have a helper crank the engine till the gauge stops rising, note the reading. The readings should be even within 10 to 15%, absolute reading will probably be in the 100 to 150 psi range. If you have any low cylinders, pour a teaspoon of oil into the cylinder, test again. If the reading is significantly higher, that cylinder has bad rings. If not, that's a valve or head gasket problem. Note - either pull the coil pack connectors or bag and tuck the plug wires away so you don't get zapped or jump sparks to anything.

https://www.harborfreight.com/Compre...-Pc-62638.html