Weird problem, please read/comment!

[firesniper20]

hey guys, I'll try and be as descriptive as possible..

I have a 1996 toyota camry 2.2 liter LE, 5sf3 engine (dual overhead cam). I bought it from my wife's friend a few years ago, the car only had 80k miles on it, and for $600 bucks, I said why not...but now I have a major problem. I have antifreeze/coolant coming into the #2 cylinder, which is causing it to misfire, the other cylinders are all dry, and working perfect.

Now I know what you're thinking, I must have blown my head gasket, and that's what I thought at first.. (i'm an intermediate home mechanic, so I replaced it myself) put everything back, and I still have the same problem. Antifreeze is STILL getting into the #2 cylinder.. so it has to be a faulty head, right? I ordered a rebuilt head, installed it, bought a NEW gasket with it (from toyota), AND new head bolts (also from toyota), torqued every bolt/nut to toyotas specifications, and lo and behold, I still have the problem.

At this point, it could only be one thing right? The engine body ITSELF probably has a small hole or crack in which the coolant is leaking into the cylinder. So I do a compression test, leakdown test and vacuum tests on all the cylinders, and they all look fine. I speak to a few mechanics around my area, and they all tell me it's the engine block...so I take the plunge, and buy a rebuilt engine. I installed it last weekend, the engine runs very smooth, and I thought the problem was solved. I decided to change the spark plugs, so I'm out there changing the second spark plug...and to my surprise, I pull it out and what do I find? ANTIFREEZE!

So, I changed the head, the gasket, the engine BLOCK, and still, I'm getting coolant in the #2 cylinder, and the others are dry. My question is, why is this happening? Has anyone here every seen/ heard of anything like this before?

if you have ANY questions, please ASK AWAY! I'll be here to answer them asap, and I would like to get any kind of comment/opinion. It would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

[fenixus]

so you basically swapped the whole engine (short block, gasket and head)?

have you tried doing a compression test on cooling system and checking for leaks anywhere (with spark plugs out)?
perhaps, coolant is getting into engine with air? IAC below Throttle Body has a coolant bypass ports, if (theoretically) there was a crack the engine vacuum would be sucking droplets of antifreeze together with air... but it doesn't quite explain why only cylinder no.2 has the problem ...

from other options, maybe also check oil cooler hoses and stuff if they were swapped from old engine short block?

[firesniper20]

thats exactly what I was thinking, maybe it is the throttle body. I'm going to be home on wed, and I will do the compression test..

I forgot to add that when I first replaced the head gasket, I noticed that the water outlet (the thermostat housing) was rotten on the inside, and was developing a small hole on the side, so i replaced it. Turns out the same thing was happening on the pipe on the right side of the engine. (where the temp sensor hooks up to). I just replaced that piece last week. SO apparently the lady who had this car before me, NEVER maintained the car (changed the oil/antifreeze).. i know

So the coolant ate away at the water outlet and the pipe, and the throttle body is the next stop the antifreeze travels...so maybe there IS a small hole or something on the throttle body... the only way to find out is to do the test and take it out and visually inspect it. But you're right, if there IS a hole...WHY is the antifreeze only appearing in the #2 cylinder? if the leak is in the throttle body, and leaking into the intake, it SHOULD be getting into every cylinder... this is so weird.. I guess I'll know more when I'm off from work.

besides the compression test on the cooling system, and looking for a hole on the throttle body, is there any other tests I could do?

[Why?]

were all the hoses changed when you changed the block? Could it maybe be leaking back in from the exhaust? I am hoping that something didn't get changed, and it is just leaking back in from some unchecked place.

I'm just taking a crazy shot in the dark, you have one heck of a messed up problem.