Hi everyone,
Hopefully I'm just being paranoid and an automotive hypochondriac but:
Yesterday, I took a friend out for a ride in the truck around town. Truck started great, warmed up as I was driving around and I saw the engine / coolant temp increase during the warm-up as always. As always, the temps climbed until they reached approximately 185 - 190 degrees. Usually, after that first rise, the temps will drop down to about 182 when the thermostat opens for the first time and the cool / cold water from the radiator circulates in through the block.
Yesterday, however, it dropped down to about 170 degrees and then started climbing back up and from there it stayed stable for the rest of the drive.
So, because I'm paranoid I decided to do a test I've read about several times on the HML:
1: With a cold truck, open the coolant surge tank to equalize pressure
2: Close the cap again and start the truck
3: Let it run for about a minute
4: Shut down and open the coolant tank's cap again
If there is any pressure in the tank at this point, it supposedly may indicate the dreaded cylinder #8 issue (a crack in the cylinder wall) because 1 minute supposedly is too short a time to warm up the coolant so any pressure build up logically must come from something else.
Well, I went through the test and unfortunately I *did* notice a little bit of pressure build up in the coolant surge tank after the first minute of running the engine.
So, I am of course now worried that my truck may have developed that dreaded cylinder number 8 issue.
My question is this: Can anyone think of any more accurate methods for diagnosing / confirming the issue?
Hopefully I'm just being paranoid and an automotive hypochondriac but:
Yesterday, I took a friend out for a ride in the truck around town. Truck started great, warmed up as I was driving around and I saw the engine / coolant temp increase during the warm-up as always. As always, the temps climbed until they reached approximately 185 - 190 degrees. Usually, after that first rise, the temps will drop down to about 182 when the thermostat opens for the first time and the cool / cold water from the radiator circulates in through the block.
Yesterday, however, it dropped down to about 170 degrees and then started climbing back up and from there it stayed stable for the rest of the drive.
So, because I'm paranoid I decided to do a test I've read about several times on the HML:
1: With a cold truck, open the coolant surge tank to equalize pressure
2: Close the cap again and start the truck
3: Let it run for about a minute
4: Shut down and open the coolant tank's cap again
If there is any pressure in the tank at this point, it supposedly may indicate the dreaded cylinder #8 issue (a crack in the cylinder wall) because 1 minute supposedly is too short a time to warm up the coolant so any pressure build up logically must come from something else.
Well, I went through the test and unfortunately I *did* notice a little bit of pressure build up in the coolant surge tank after the first minute of running the engine.
So, I am of course now worried that my truck may have developed that dreaded cylinder number 8 issue.
My question is this: Can anyone think of any more accurate methods for diagnosing / confirming the issue?
