Ran it for a few minutes yesterday. Not losing coolant, idles smooth, no visible leaks of any kind. As it warmed to temp, I started getting the white smoke out the exhaust and lots of smoke off of both cats. I was told it could be old coolant, spilled brake fluid, PB Blaster, etc, so I let it run to burn off.

Had the radiator and exp tank caps off to bleed air. A few minutes later coolant burped out of the radiator. Not like a volcano, but a good bit came out. I shut it off immediately.

Thoughts?

And yes, I know I'm in over my head repair-wise. But I'm way over budget already and trying to do what I can myself before throwing in the towel on it all.

 

 

At the seam. Mine doesn't have any other markings on it that I can see.

 

what you described is normal for a truck at temp.

 

 

Ultragauge. It'll run you about $90 but it'll be the most peace-of-mind-inducing $90 you ever spent. Get the dash mount because the windshield mount doesn't work with the angle of the windshield on Discos, at least for me.

As far as your burping radiator goes, jastutte is right that it's normal. However, unless you want to make a huge freaking mess, get a spill-less funnel like this one. Close your expansion tank cap. Put the funnel into your radiator and pour coolant in until the funnel is about 1/3 way full with coolant. Depending on what type of radiator you have, the radiator attachments that come with the funnel may not work for you. I have a Nissens 64029, so I wrapped the nipple on my funnel with plumber's tape and literally screwed it into the threads of the hole in the radiator. The tape helps it maintain a seal. The name of the game here is to "burp" your coolant system to get all of the air out. You can't do that just by taking your caps off and running the engine, coolant will flow out of the top of your radiator. The idea here is to create an additional reservoir of coolant inside the funnel above the radiator so that once the air gets to your radiator, it flows up and into the funnel, and there is already coolant in the funnel which will flow down to replace the air. It'll look like your radiator is blowing bubbles like a kid with a glass of milk. As you run the engine, the coolant level in the funnel will rise. This is normal, and it's why you need to start with the funnel only about 1/3 full. Once you've run your engine for about 20 minutes like this (on a slight incline, engine-up helps it go faster), shut it off and wait a few minutes. Keep a sharp eye on the level of coolant inside the funnel and keep topping it up as it cools. You can't ever let it all run back out into the radiator, because then you've just re-introduced air into the system and undone everything you just did. Now you have to pull the funnel. It will come with a plug. Plug the bottom of the funnel (to stop everything in the funnel from draining out when you pull it), and pull the funnel. There may be some small amount of spillage. I wrap a towel around the neck of the funnel when I pull it to keep the mess to a minimum. Your coolant level should be right there at the fill plug. Just screw your plug in and you're done. Note: Make absolutely sure your expansion tank cap is on and tightened when you do this.

 

Thank you, van! I will do this!

As to the Ultragauge, I have a '95. Will it work with OBD1?

 

Hmm good question. Check their website, I can't say for sure. They may have a different version for OBD1.