3.0 with oil in coolant.

[Geeshik]

I have a 93 3.0 ranger with oil in the coolant. It also comes out of the exhaust when cranking. What does this mean? Is it a head gasket, or is it the head that is bad? The truck won't run.

I know i need to pull the heads at least to find out what's going on. What is the history on the 3.0 as far as head gaskets go? What are the best head gaskets for these, and if i need new/rebuilt heads, where should i get them?

 

[MrE_Powers]

either or, one can lead to the other you can. do a compression test and find which head is bad but you might as well do both heads. also i forget the cylinder number but the one on the driver side and in the rear has a tendency to go bad. pull head check head and replace gasket.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

3.0's will occasionally crack a head due to poor cooling system maintainence combined with fords poor block cleaning procedures prior to shipping them....this causes the cooling system to sludge up, creating hot spots in the heads.

 

[Geeshik]

Top dead center?!

Okay. I got a book for this thing and it says that on a '93 you have to rotate the engine until the "0" on the vibration damper is aligned with the pointer on the timing cover. I did that.

Then it says the rotor on the distributor should be pointing directly at the mark on the distributor housing (cylinder 1 pos on distributor). I rotated it 180 twice and it doesn't line up with that mark on the distributor at all. Would i be better off pulling spark plug 1 and putting a screwdriver in while rotating the crank? If i find the engine's TDC, then how do i know what position i need to put the distributor back in, if it isn't the same as when it came out?

Another thing too, if i am trying to locate TDC, then wouldn't i use the TDC mark on the damper? What is that there for if it is not TDC? Second, is there a chance that the timing is way off? This truck hasn't run since before i got it and i am wondering if maybe it jumped time in addition to the head/headgasket failure. The truck probably has 170,000+ miles on it. i would guess so far by looking at it that it wasn't maintained properly (if at all). Let me know what you think. i have time because i've only been working on it in spare time between work and school.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the TDC mark is to inform you what the numerical marks represent (20 degrees before top dead center, 10 degrees before top dead center, ect)...its not an actual mark. thus the 0 mark is "0 degrees before top dead center".

if you have the 0 mark aligned to the proper pointer on the front cover, then you have the #1 piston at top dead center. you do need to make sure its on the compression stroke, and not the exhaust stroke...you can do this by covering the #1 spark plug hole with your thumb while turning the engine over by hand until it "farts".

after the crank is in position, the distributor rotor should be pointed at the #1 spark plug wire on the cap. if it isnt, you have to pull the distributor out and turn it until its facing the right way.

this process will get the engine close enough to start, but you will still need to time the engine with a light (dont forget to pull the SPOUT connector).

chances are slim that the engine "jumped" time. however, you have to remove the distributor to remove the lower intake, so if someone had the intake off, its possible they didnt put the distributor back in in the right position.

 

[Geeshik]

Thanks again for the info, W.S.

Now the TDC mark makes sense. It's been a while since i've worked on a distributor engine. (Strange, huh?) The last cars i had with them were my 84 Lincoln and my 87 Bronco II.

Anyway, who knows, maybe the guy did have the intake off. Although, judging by the amount of black crap on top of the intake bolts, it hasn't ever been removed. But maybe the guy was messing with the distributor. It looks like he also messed with the water pump and one of the exhaust manifolds already, so i guess i wouldn't be surprised. I'll rotate it to get it where it should be so i can pull the heads. Then i just have to find a good machine shop to check them out for me.

 

[Geeshik]

Heads off...

...Here's what i found. There is corrosion inside all of cylinders. There was definitely a head gasket failure. It would have been on the #2 cylinder on the right side of the engine. The gasket blew out completely between the coolant passage and the cylinder.

So... From looking at the gaskets, i would also say that they are not stock. That means that they've been replaced once. Should i get OEM head gasket kit or Felpro? Felpro kit runs about $100 at Autozone without head bolts. I'm not sure how much the Motorcraft set costs.

Another question i have is how disassembled to the heads need to be to have them pressure checked and milled true? Do i have to pull all the valves and springs, or can i just bring them in as is? And finally, what's the best way to clean the corrosion out of the cylinders?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

an aftermarket gasket set is fine. make sure you buy new head bolts, the old ones CANNOT be reused reliably.

as for the heads, i would just inspect them for cracks and plop them back on. if you really want to have work done to them, have a machine shop grind the valves and seats, mill the head and ask them nicely when you drop the heads off and they'll inspect the heads for cracks for free (most shops do this anyway before they start machineing, but you never know...).

the cylinders shouldnt have a lot of corrosion unless the engine has been sitting a while. minor surface corrosion will get "run off" when you start the engine. if its major pitting then you have a problem and the bottom end will have to come apart for honing or boring of the block.

 

[Geeshik]

So far, I've had a pretty good experience with Fel Pro. (They are what i used in my escort when the valve seats took out the engine.) I just noticed alot of people seem to think Motorcraft is the stuff... I will definitely use new headbolts. I learned that a long time ago. I appreciate the info though.

The corrosion appears to be surface only; no major pitting. Could i maybe scrape it off with a gasket scraper and soak it in brake clean and put a light coat of oil on it in the meantime, or is that not a good idea?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i would not use anything metal to clean the cylinders, your likely to gouge the cylinder wall and cause yourself more porblems than a little corrosion.

if your really worried about it you could hose it down with wd-40 and let its soak for a while, then take a scotch-brite pad to it. make sure you smear a little engine oil on the walls before you start it to help lube the rings until the wear away the rough surface.

 

[Geeshik]

Are scotch brite pads really safe for engines?

I began to get concerned when i noticed all the grit that was being produced when i was scrubbing. i have since cleaned alot of it out, but i was wondering if the grit that i saw can mess up rings and bearings. i looked up their composition and aside from the polymer fiber, there is aluminum, and silicon carbide grit listed as ingredients. Does this stuff burn off or filter out?

Coupled with the WD-40, the scotch brite pads did wonders cleaning up the carbon and surface rust. i can still see some traces of rust (maybe stains) here and there, but it looks alot cleaner.

My brother-in-law once used some abrasive discs to clean his intake manifold surface on a 350 chev 4bolt main and it ended up destroying his crankshaft bearings. After the fact, he received a TSB about their use and he put two and two together.

i plan on running the engine a 15 to 25 minutes with cheap engine oil and a fram toughgard oil filter and then draining it and replacing the filter before putting some good oil in it, just to be safe, but should i be worried?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

dont sweat the small stuff

use a paper towel with some engine oil on it to wipe the cylinders out as best you can. repeat until with new towels until the paper towel comes out clean. when your done, wipe the cylinder down with a dry towel to take most of the excess oil off (the cylinders should still be "slimy" when you get done, this protects the enging during initial start up until any traces of junk in the cylinders get burned off).

 

[Geeshik]

Okay.

Everybody tells me i worry too much. i am a perfectionist by nature, so it's hard for me not to be concerned about the little stuff. Thanks for the nudge though. i'll keep moving forward.