Cracked head[gasket]

[djsk8r33]

i am somewhat positive that all the coolant leakage and the coolant in the oil is due to either cracked heads or the gasket.

if its the gasket how much longer do i have untill something goes terribly wrong, that the X is undrivable and needin retiring.

if the head is already cracked a bit, it will just get worse? do i have a time limit, or will it just incur other problems EVENTUALLY leading to death of the X.

can i drive like this forever? my X runs great except for this problem

 

[wood1]

Ticking time bomb... did it ever have a hot supper? If so, could be a cracked head. If you are careful with and never run it dry of coolant it may keep going for a long time. It may crap out tomorrow and leave you 3 hours from home too.

Why not do exploratory surgery. A gasket set for the top end won't cost you that much...

 

[djsk8r33]

Ticking time bomb... did it ever have a hot supper? If so, could be a cracked head. If you are careful with and never run it dry of coolant it may keep going for a long time. It may crap out tomorrow and leave you 3 hours from home too.

Why not do exploratory surgery. A gasket set for the top end won't cost you that much...

i always have it topped off. sometimes it goes a week+ without losing anything. other times it will ALL be gone after a short drive around town.

replacing gaskets dont worry me, but i dont have the time or the know-how to tear all the way into the engine. even if i did i need to be 110% this is the exact problem AND solution. something thats not always 100%

 

[JPR600]

if

If you decide to continue driving as is, it will get worse. At the very least mAKE Sure and drain the antifreeze and use straight water. Antifreeze likes to eat bearings. Oh yeah, when it fails it will be at the worst possible time.:thumbdwn:

 

[JPR600]

oh yeah

Have you done a compression test? that could help narrow where the bad cylinder is.

 

[fordnut71]

the engine will get hot an over heat even if its just the head gasket. so now would be a good time to take the heads off an have them magufluxed to check for cracks.
like woods1 said its a time bomb an can go at any time. gasket aint much to do the job.

 

[wood1]

At the risk of being bashed, I have used Barrs Stop Leak several times in different engine with excellent results. My Ex is one of those times. I could always smell antifreeze after driving, and would have to top up every 3 weeks. I haven't had to touch it since I added the Stop Leak and that was 6 months ago. I was going to replace the top end gaskets but now am waiting. Probably will do it in the summer.

Get the large container with the pellets in it. It has water pump lubricant as well as anti-rust additives. It's good. (IMO) And no I don't sell it.

 

[djsk8r33]

wood1 i will look into that.



is it rreally a good idea to use water? winter is over so now it wont freeze at least.

edit: im still trying to figure out why this problem wasnt fixed when the jasper engine was put in only 50k miles ago

 

[boggs1227]

hey if ya got to get new heads then this place i found online is about the cheapest place around.price includes shipping.

http://www.idealcylinderhead.com/ford-cylinder-heads/idl205-ford-cylinder-head.html

...new castings not remanufactured

 

[DryDog]

I had temp spikes and coolant overflowing the resevoir for at least 15K miles, until finally at 169K it started flowing out the tail pipe. I was only 10 miles from home.
I had cracks in 1 head over 2 cyls. I got my new casting heads from Clearwater Cyl Head. Now 30K miles later I have the same early symptoms.

 

[Masterd]

Did you get the castings that match the factory castings....because I heard there were beefier castings than those offered from the factory.

 

[boggs1227]

so clear water brand heads no good? $190 compared to ideal's @ $217 ...looks like clearwater gives a year's more worth of warranty to them ...hmmm interresting

 

[wood1]

wood1 i will look into that.



is it rreally a good idea to use water? winter is over so now it wont freeze at least.

edit: im still trying to figure out why this problem wasnt fixed when the jasper engine was put in only 50k miles ago

The warranty is 100,000 and 3 years for Jasper isn't it? How long ago did you have the engine installed? Over 3 obviously...

I'd use straight water with an anti-rust additive.

 

[djsk8r33]

i have no proof of jasper purchase/installation and cannot find any jasper markings on the engine.

so i think i am stuck there. i will search the interwebsss about how i can find my jasper

 

[fordnut71]

I have used Barrs Stop Leak in a rad that had a pin hole leak, you could see it pour out of. used the stop leak an you could see it slow down an stop. tell ya it made me a beleaver in it.

 

[MDewell]

If your really in a pickle and just need to get home..here's a handy piece of info that I'm sure you guys saw on mythbusters....

If you break down near a gas station or in town..let the radiator cool down, open her up...and dump a couple of raw eggs down the pipe.

Mythbusters tried this on a leak on a radiator and suprisingly, it sealed right up. Of course, it's just a temporary fix until you get home...but hey, still pretty interesting to know.

 

[fordnut71]

yes that works just less the yokes. so you only use the egg whites. also like using the wifes panty hose as a fan belt.

 

[djsk8r33]

yeah ya know i always got a carton of eggs in all mah trucks! LOL

 

[reserved50]

mine was so bad I had to top the coolant up about a gallon after about 10 miles. When I took it apart almost every cylinder head had a crack between the valves and every cylinder was blowing into the next across the head gasket. I replaced the heads with factory used heads for 60$ each from the last year of production and have never had a problem. That stop leak ends up somewhere, and that somewhere is at the bottom of the engine block and the heater core. I used the Fel-Pro head gasket kit.