Is my engine going to blow up?

Okay, that's a bit of an overreaction, but there are some concerns with my engine and I would love to hear your guy's opinions on it.

My truck, after driving for a bit, makes a weird almost gurgling/rattling noise that comes from under the hood. It's not every time I drive, but it does happen more often than not. And I’m not sure what is going on.

The coolant is definitely still leaking some (wonder if that leak is from the steering rack that needs to be replaced?) and I can’t tell for sure but I sense a weird burning coming from the engine.

Any ideas?

 

I'm not seeing how a bad steering rack would cause you to lose coolant. Seems like 2 different issues. Or a 3rd issue with the smell. Is oil from your valve covers dropping on your exhaust manifolds by chance?

 

Really? I was told that a faulty steering rack could be the reason for losing coolant. My auto knowledge extends only as far as the next problem on my truck

I just had the valve gasket replaced, so those should be good, no?

 

Maybe they meant that's why you're losing power steering fluid. I don't see any connection as to why that would cause you to lose coolant.

If you look at the valve covers, you should be able to tell if they are still leaking. Do you know where to look?

 

Hmm, yes, this could simply be me having misheard.

Yes, just inspect the actual valve cover, correct?

 

Yes, along the bottom of it. That's right above your exhaust manifolds so you can also see if there are signs of it dripping on them.

 

I took a video of the sound it makes but unfortunately, I cannot attach home videos here. The sound is almost like it's coming from the dash and sounds like a coffee machine brewing hot coffee (lol). Maybe that helps?

When I open the hood, there is no sign of the noise - of course, there are all sorts of noise that are potentially drowning it out.

 

That could be a low coolant condition gurgling through your heater core.

 

That noise description sounds like air in your cooling system passing through the heater core. It's not in the engine compartment, but just on the inside of the firewall from being in it.

You say you have a coolant leak? Better have the leak repaired and the cooling system serviced pronto.

Edit: @hagrid beat me to it by a few words.

 

I agree.

One thing to consider doing is to get your truck parked and orientated such that the side of the radiator with the fill cap is high. So park on a bit of side slope. Or you can also jack up the side of the truck. But get the radiator well past "level." Then after the truck cools off a bit, or you can start it up and let it warm up (to get the Tstat open) you can make sure that any and all air in the cooling system gets out. Have the inside climate control set on full heat with the fan on. Be prepared to top off the coolant if necessary.