Posted by Clint Dixon [172.68.58.86] on Sunday, May 13, 2018 at 19:39:24 :
Well, it took one day to tear everything apart and one day and a few evenings to put it all back together.
No odor of engine coolant now. I believe Kaegi was right. Those two head bolts that were washed clean were the source of the smell. I don't know yet if there is still the problem of running hotter than I would like, but if the weather breaks, I will run it for a couple of 30 mile round trips over the next week. If everything goes well, the real test will be the 200+ mile round trip to the Rally in June.
The temperatures will probably not be in the high 90's until after then, but it should give me a good feeling as to whether there is any difference now. The head gasket definitely needed replacing. There was also a lot of carbon in the combustion chambers. Looks like I need to set the governor a little higher than the conservative 3000 rpm that I currently have it at, get it up above 55 mph once in a while (I have 4.89 gears so it is not turning all that fast) and blow the carbon out.
If all goes well, I may even break with tradition of "don't fix it if it ain't broken" and treat her to a new set of plugs. Those that are in it look really good. They were in it when I bought it in 2000, so who knows how old they are. The thermostat is operating correctly and I had forgotten that I had installed a 160 degree one some years ago in place of the 185. If the temperature problem continues, the next step will be to check the water distribution tube and water pump. I think I checked the distribution tube when I replaced the water pump 15 or so years ago, but I may not have. Martie tells me I need to start writing things down and keep the log in the glove compartments of each truck.
Thanks to everyone for the ideas and suggestions. Hopefully I can repay the favor.
Junior
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