Have run into an issue with the cooling system that has me somewhat perplexed...
94 Mighty Max 4x4 with 3.8L V-6
My son came to me saying the truck was running a little hot. Temp not in the red zone but higher than normal. I added antifreeze and life went on. A few days later he comes to me again saying the truck over-heated and actually go into the red zone. I check the truck and no water in the reservoir bottle. I added close to 2 gallons of water to the radiator and then started the truck and let it come up to temp. I let it run a while and the temp gauge came up to the normal range and stayed there. After shutting the engine off and squeezing hoses I noticed there was no water in the upper radiator hose. My conclusion was a bad thermostat. I picked up a thermostat and went to swap it out today and ran into issues. I opened the radiator and there was no water. I opened the thermostat housing and no water in there either. Everything is covered in residue that is sort of copper colored and smells like old motor oil (has a gasoline smell). I added some water to see if I could see it coming out of the bottom but couldn't find anything (altho I didn't get underneath the truck). I added enough water for it come up to the thermostat and it was weird colored (same copper color). After sitting for 30 minutes or so, I noticed the water had dropped a half inch or so but still no sign of water dripping.
Any ideas or suggestions? Blown head gasket? I hope not... I don't want to rebuild an engine right now.
Thanks - Jamey
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