coolant fouled plugs

[bronco351]

Earlier this week I was going a short trip just over 100 miles away. I was towing a trailer with two quads on it with the 93 sport. On the interstate about halfway into the drive, the X started to lose a lot of power, and I couldn't rev faster than 3K rpms or go much more than 55 mph. So I turned around and took back roads all the way home.

My first thought was that the tranny was acting up, but at home I noticed even at idle speed the engine sounded really bad. The next day I pulled the plugs and discovered two of them were fouled with coolant. Now I am worried the head gaskets may need to be replaced. The truck has 144,000 on it, isn't this a bit early for a faulty head gasket? Or could it be something else?

 

[JDraper]

That could be your head gasket. Mileage doesn't have a lot to do when a head gasket goes. It could also be a loose lower intake manifold. Do a search for lower intake manifold. It's been a common problem. Apparently the bolts loosen up, and it starts leaking. Many times torquing the bolts back down fixes the problem. Much cheaper and easier to fix than a head gasket.