blown head gasket, I think.

projectPONY · 08-09-2010, 11:09 AM

my wife's '02 Explorer took yet another crap on me again. this time I think it blew a head gasket. truck overheated on her way home from a shopping excursion. she was driving home when she noticed the temp. needle getting pretty high, luckily she needed to stop for gas and get something to drink. she said she was at the service station for about 10min. and then drove off after starting the truck and temp. was back down. 2 or 3 miles down the highway temp. climbs again. this time there is steam coming from under the hood and she states it starts sputtering. pulls over under a bridge and the truck dies. steam blowing everywhere.

I got to her location about 30min. later. popped the hood and really didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I expected to see coolant all over the place but not even that. I figured I would check the coolant anyway and I opened the pet cock on the radiator. low and behold, the coolant was brown and oily. right away I suspected a head gasket.

truck is now here at house and after closer inspection there is some coolant collection on the intake where it meets the right side head. I started the truck and temp. climbs quickly and after shutting it off I can hear a hissing coming from that general location. I'm assuming that is where the head gasket let go.

my questions are these:

how prone to breakage are the plastic intakes on these things? does coolant run into them? the reason I ask is because the coolant puddle seems to be on the lower intake where it meets the head. I know that the head gasket is located between the head and block and I would assume that the coolant would have collected a little lower on the engine.

if it were a head gasket, how involved would this job be? I consider myself pretty mechanically inclined and have done lots of engine work but mainly on pushrod FORD motors. I've done work from basic trouble shooting to engine rebuilding but to me this OVC stuff is a little intimidating. what can possible go wrong?

also, do these trucks have an aluminum block? I know the head is but unsure about the block. what it the worst thing that could have happened to the head and the block? is cracking something I should be worried about?

look forward to your suggestions and responses.

TIA

'02 Explorer XLT 4.0L

projectPONY · 08-10-2010, 07:58 PM

anyone?

08-18-2010, 01:35 PM

isn t the water pump right there too?

metallica1283 · 08-18-2010, 02:18 PM

what size motor? 4.0 or v8?

08-09-2010, 11:09 AM	#1
projectPONY Wannabe Elite Explorer Dallas, Texas '02 Ford Explorer XLT Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 51 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	blown head gasket, I think. my wife's '02 Explorer took yet another crap on me again. this time I think it blew a head gasket. truck overheated on her way home from a shopping excursion. she was driving home when she noticed the temp. needle getting pretty high, luckily she needed to stop for gas and get something to drink. she said she was at the service station for about 10min. and then drove off after starting the truck and temp. was back down. 2 or 3 miles down the highway temp. climbs again. this time there is steam coming from under the hood and she states it starts sputtering. pulls over under a bridge and the truck dies. steam blowing everywhere. I got to her location about 30min. later. popped the hood and really didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I expected to see coolant all over the place but not even that. I figured I would check the coolant anyway and I opened the pet cock on the radiator. low and behold, the coolant was brown and oily. right away I suspected a head gasket. truck is now here at house and after closer inspection there is some coolant collection on the intake where it meets the right side head. I started the truck and temp. climbs quickly and after shutting it off I can hear a hissing coming from that general location. I'm assuming that is where the head gasket let go. my questions are these: how prone to breakage are the plastic intakes on these things? does coolant run into them? the reason I ask is because the coolant puddle seems to be on the lower intake where it meets the head. I know that the head gasket is located between the head and block and I would assume that the coolant would have collected a little lower on the engine. if it were a head gasket, how involved would this job be? I consider myself pretty mechanically inclined and have done lots of engine work but mainly on pushrod FORD motors. I've done work from basic trouble shooting to engine rebuilding but to me this OVC stuff is a little intimidating. what can possible go wrong? also, do these trucks have an aluminum block? I know the head is but unsure about the block. what it the worst thing that could have happened to the head and the block? is cracking something I should be worried about? look forward to your suggestions and responses. TIA '02 Explorer XLT 4.0L __________________ -carlos

08-10-2010, 07:58 PM	#2
projectPONY Wannabe Elite Explorer Dallas, Texas '02 Ford Explorer XLT Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 51 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	anyone? __________________ -carlos

08-18-2010, 01:35 PM	#3
ThePhoenix Unregistered Posts: n/a Vehicle Specs	isn t the water pump right there too?

08-18-2010, 02:18 PM	#4
metallica1283 Wannabe Elite Explorer North Reading Mass 1994 limited RIP, 93 XLT Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 71 Vehicle Specs	what size motor? 4.0 or v8?