Are head problems common in X's?

[Smokey93]

My 93 XLT is very unhappy. It has been burning oil for months, yet oddly enough, starts and runs well at 196,000 miles. OK, it is a little sluggish, but not a lot. The #2 plug is soaked with oil, all others are clean. The #2 wire has spark, but if I pull the wire from the plug, which sparks as well, there is no difference in engine idle. Oh, by the way, it all started a few days after the engine overheated its first and only time. (bad thermostat)

A mechanic said it is most likely the head and that the head is a common problem in early Explorers. Is this true? I haven't seen any mention of it on this forum. Also, if it is the head, how much should I expect to pay for this part? I'll be replacing it myself. Hopefully.

Thanks in advance.

 

[yob_yeknom]

Actually, head/head gasket problems aren't uncommon on the '91 and '92 models, '93 and '94 it got better, then by '95 the heads were changed and the problems solved.

 

[Smokey93]

Could this be something else? If so what are the possibilities? May it be just the head gasket and not the head itself?

Is there is any good test I could perform that might tell me conclusively either way?

 

[TDG]

It also depends if yours was built before or after 93.5, they were still using a lot of the older parts they had left over from the 92 runs on the early 93's. For example, my 93 was sold in november of 92, it still has the 91TM heads and the older A4LD. The 91TM casting heads are known to crack more frequenly than the 93TM and later castings due to a thinner cross section in the head. If you overheated it then they are probably shot. Look at it on the good side, 196k isnt' bad at all.