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cracked head?

cawkazn

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July 30, 2009
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City, State
socal
Year, Model & Trim Level
91 explorer 2wd manual
so i have a 91 explorer, truck over heated. I could start it and it had lots of very thick white smoke coming out the exhaust. took it to the mechanic, he said its a blown head gasket, and that the heads could possibly be cracked. So he says hes going to take the heads to the machine shop to be tested and of course they are cracked, now he is recommending i buy a used engine rather than new heads etc to have the car repaired and of course he knows where i can buy a new engine. I dont trust anyone.

How can I tell if the head is cracked or not?

Im thinking of taking it to a machine shop myself to have it tested, but is there another way to do it other then that? I looked at the head and did not see any cracks. are the cracks so small they are invisible to the naked eye? where would i take the heads to be tested?
 



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It's very possible the heads are cracked, the early 4.0's had a tendency to crack heads with overheating.

Some cracks you can see, some you won't be able to.

The common areas on these heads are between the valves on the combustion chamber side of things, as well as between water jackets. I personally was able to see cracks in both of these areas on a 4.0

You can take the heads to a machine shop to have them (re)tested if you want..

Benjam :D
 












thanks for the info guys, he brought them back and showed them to me, they are cracked!
 






Just replace them especially if they are off al ready.the bottom ends run forever,no need for a motor swap,that will put you right back in the same boat with crap first gen heads
 






so you think i would be better off just replacing the head gasket and heads? where can i find the heads for cheap? my mechanic is saying for just a little more i might as well do a motor swap
 












ill need to order 2 of them right?
 






what about the head gasket should i just get a whole set from autozone or what?
 






ill need to order 2 of them right?

Yep.you would be crazy to do a motor swap and end up with another motor that has the same crappy designof heads.im sure you have paid him to take the heads off so all you should have to do is pay him to put new ones one.if he don't know you have to get new head bolts too,old ones can't not be reused.they are TTY
 






You could also put the 95tm head on the but it would raise your compression to 10:1 and you have to run 90+ octane gas.
 






Also ask for a discount on shipping when you buy two;)
 






what about the head gasket should i just get a whole set from autozone or what?

Yep i would say get a whole kit,it will be cheaper.you need head gaskets, exhaust gaskets ,lower intake gasket, upper intake gasket,injector orings , thermostat and new head bolts
 






whats tty? where do i get new head bolts?
 






whats tty? where do i get new head bolts?

Torq to yield.the stretch ,can't reuse them.i would say order all of it from rock auto.there is a discount thread on here.search
 






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