Figuring Out What Parked The Ex...

[mohavewolfpup]

Bear with me on this, it's very long....

In 2000, after many years of issues with my mom's new 1993 explorer (she purchased it new) it got parked at the side of the house for good at 64,000 miles.

Almost 10 years later (august 2010) it's been sitting there, and I find myself gainfully unemployed on the obama bin laden stimulus plan, and having nothing but time on my paws I want a challenge.

Mainly I want to figure out if it my dad's reason for it being parked was accurate, or has this poor ford been rotting there for years when it could have been driven..

Here's how it currently sits:

No Transmission Fluid was drained
Gas tank was drained as much as it could be
Radiator wasn't drained (as far as I know, will look next when it stops raining)
Oil wasn't drained

When it was worked on by my dad then later parked, The upper intake manifold (forgive me if I got it wrong) has 1/4 inch or less gaps in it, that looks like sucks in air. I know enough about engines that it seems suspicious to me that it has it in that... I remember it being torn down to the block (but the heads remained on as far as I know) so gaskets could be replaced in it.

Anyway, i'll go back to the beginning with it....

All it's life, when new it had heating/cooling issues. issues with the A/C, heater, etc. When driving to arizona in 1996, it was bogging down in boulder city alot. rough idle, all sorts of stuff (I know the MAF issues, not sure if that was ever replaced/cleaned). that was during the summer also

Dealerships (tom coward lincoln mercury, and possibly gaudin ford) never found anything wrong with it.

off and on this pretty much went, until the big blow up in 2000. It was always taken care of, got a new thermostat, the fan clutch was replaced with a unit that was driven by the battery, etc. I even replaced the spark plugs on it when I was younger (12 years old was the first time I worked on something, and it was this vehicle)

When it blew up, I was in the vehicle the day it got it's last drive. It was fine for all of about 2 seconds, then it started overheating like crazy. (rusty on this, so forgive me if it's not actually true) I believe the radiator cap when pulled off had fluid bubbling in it like crazy, but I do very clearly remember the high pitched whining and the fluid forced into the overflow tank under extreme pressure. It was emitting a piercing whining and spraying out the overflow tank cap like crazy.

Now obviously conventional wisdom says that this means a cracked block, but what if it isn't? I've always had a deep feeling that this isn't the case, and I can't honestly tell you if the gut feeling is wishful thinking (that it actually is a cracked block and I'm just day dreaming) or I might be actually right.

What does anyone recommend I do?

I can remember my father supposedly taking it apart to check the bolts (somewhere he read that they weren't tightened down properly or became loose after a while) and replacing gaskets on it. There is also that odd 1/4 inch or less gap (can get photos if needed) with the upper intake mainfold that frankly has me concerned. It's been sitting for 10 years and it's very dusty, i'm worried what's gotten down into the block. It was started and driven in that condition to the backyard where it rots now.

My dad claimed something about running "better on 4 cylinders or 5?" (forgot, will have to see what spark plugs are disconnected) When it ran, it would blow off vaccum plugs underneath the hood with extreme air pressure (that was to the backyard from the garage. it had absolutely no power either, hence his infamous "4 or 5 cylinder" saying.

Anyone have any tips? I'm sorry if this jumps too much, or is missing alot of information to make a accurate diagnosis. Feel free to ask questions and i'll try to fill it in with what I can remember, or maybe my memory gets jogged.

my list of questions:

what should I take apart/look at if this is actually a common symptom that can be easily repaired?

if not a common symptom, how deep should I go to take apart the engine?

If it's the cracked block (I seem to remember the theory being the #4 cylinder is cracked in the bank, how that theory was reached I have no idea) how do I take it apart fully (it still has a pressurized A/C system to the best of my knowledge unless the seals failed and it leaked) with my safety in mind?

EDIT: (I do remember steam coming out the tailpipe, was white iirc, and when it ran to the backyard it ran like total hell. the engine seemed like it wanted to rip out of it's mounts and it was emitting very odd mechanical sounds (my brain pictured it as all the cylinders and valves clattering in the engine). maybe it seemed that way to me since I was younger? not fully sure)

I want to basically know once and for all what "killed" it, or if it can still run.

if it's maybe better to make a video of it running and post it in youtube for you guys, is that safe to do in it's current state? It would be started in park (not shifted out of it obviously) and I don't want to damage and destroy anything in the engine.

do you think it sitting for 10 years is okay? I don't know if the transmission fluid would have turned and died a thousand deaths from sitting, plus heaven knows what the motor oil is like (I would check that at least before starting it) or even the fluid in the rear end.

it's a 1993 Ford Explorer with a automatic (A4LD I assume) transmission, and a 4.0 V6

basically, right now I am assuming that the engine just has a issue that needs to be fixed, and don't want it destroyed. lets assume it isn't a cracked block issue, but just needs gasket replacements/whatever might be plaguing it rather then a whole new engine being needed.

My family has thought for years now basically that the 4.0 V6 is a total piece of garbage and that there are many gracing junkyards with the same overheating issue. Exhaustive ebay searches, and combing the internet for months at a time has shown overheating issues with it, but not at the 64,000 or less mark. I've seen explorers with the same drivetrain having the issues that hit this one at 64k cropping up at 124k,150k,180k, etc

I'm open to all thoughts and suggestions on this, and what course of action I should take

Thanks for your time!

 

[Tony H]

It could be Wiped OR.

The pressure in the cooling system can be as simple as a Intake manifold gasket or Head Gasket problem. As the Piston comes up in the compression stroke, with a bad Head gasket, the pressure pushes into the Coolant passages.
The whining.. hard to say without hearing it. could be as scary as bad Lower bearings or as simple a bad waterpump.

64 K is not a lot of miles. I put 164K of the 330K miles that is on my '91. I just worry that with all your reported overheating issues that your engine had manufacturing issues from the factory and should have been Lemon Lawed back around '95.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

It could be Wiped OR.

The pressure in the cooling system can be as simple as a Intake manifold gasket or Head Gasket problem. As the Piston comes up in the compression stroke, with a bad Head gasket, the pressure pushes into the Coolant passages.
The whining.. hard to say without hearing it. could be as scary as bad Lower bearings or as simple a bad waterpump.

64 K is not a lot of miles. I put 164K of the 330K miles that is on my '91. I just worry that with all your reported overheating issues that your engine had manufacturing issues from the factory and should have been Lemon Lawed back around '95.

The whining wasn't mechanical, it was from the high pressure fluid shooting out of the overflow tank cap.

I've always thought maybe it needed a lemon law complaint also, but my mom never fully pushed for it. still don't know why to this day, so hence my interest in seeing what possibly bricked it

I'll try and found out if the head gaskets got replaced in it's lifetime. is that a issue with these engines?

 

[arco777]

I'll try and found out if the head gaskets got replaced in it's lifetime. is that a issue with these engines?

The stock cylinder heads themselves develop small cracks. It is inevitable, usually within the first 100K miles. Gasket replacement won't fix anything. At 64K miles and original ownership, safe bet yours hasn't had the heads replaced. The only true fix for the heads (only weak spot on this motor IMO) is replacement with aftermarket units. Brand new ones from NAPA (avoid remanufactured ones!) will be aftermarket and fix the issue of head cracks permanently. Of course you'll need new gaskets and head bolts for the install. You should be able to re-use your original valvetrain.

I bought my 94 for the grand total of $1. It would start and run but piddled coolant all over the ground; after a minute it would simply be jetting steamed coolant against the firewall on the passenger side. Exhaust was all steamy and wet too. Technically the leak stopped with a $5 bottle of BARS stop leak, but I then spent the money to have aftermarket heads from NAPA installed. Three years and MANY miles of hard driving later it still runs great and has required only the replacement of two dead sensors to keep it that way.

Good luck!

 

[mohavewolfpup]

The stock cylinder heads themselves develop small cracks. It is inevitable, usually within the first 100K miles. Gasket replacement won't fix anything. At 64K miles and original ownership, safe bet yours hasn't had the heads replaced. The only true fix for the heads (only weak spot on this motor IMO) is replacement with aftermarket units. Brand new ones from NAPA (avoid remanufactured ones!) will be aftermarket and fix the issue of head cracks permanently. Of course you'll need new gaskets and head bolts for the install. You should be able to re-use your original valvetrain.

I bought my 94 for the grand total of $1. It would start and run but piddled coolant all over the ground; after a minute it would simply be jetting steamed coolant against the firewall on the passenger side. Exhaust was all steamy and wet too. Technically the leak stopped with a $5 bottle of BARS stop leak, but I then spent the money to have aftermarket heads from NAPA installed. Three years and MANY miles of hard driving later it still runs great and has required only the replacement of two dead sensors to keep it that way.

Good luck!

if this is the issue, how can i tell? or I need to take them in for testing?

 

[lifted93xplorer]

You have a ton of work to accomplish before you can ever turn the key and see if all your work paid off. Let me just say that I understand your desire to get it going, but why haven't you looked into a scrapyard engine? If you're mind is set on reparing the original engine than you need to first find out if it's possible. The overheating issue most likley is the cause of the runnability issue. I would start by pulling all the plugs and pouring just a little diesel into each cylinder since it hasen't had any lubricant in the cylinders for 10 years and the piston rings may be rusted to the cylinders. Then after the diesel has had some time to do it's job put a socket and breaker bar on the front crank bolt to see if the motor will rotate,leave the plugs out to make it easy on yourself. If it rotates good now you need to attempt to find the source of the overheating. Pull the thermostat out and fill the motor and radiator as much as you can because the more air in the coolant system the harder it is to find a leak. You are going to need a pressure tester so you can pressurize the system, just go to 15 pounds. Look in the cylinders for water leaking and pull the valve covers to look for leaks, also look for cracks in between the rocker arms, as I have replaced three sets of heads for customers, so it happens and like arco777 said, you have to get new castings not reman. Now only you can find the leak and see if the engine will rotate so try to figure that stuff out first and than I guarantee that the people on this forum will point you in the right direction. I will help you anyway I can with advise, The reason that I have not gotten into all the stuff that will need replaced in the engine alone to make it a daily driver is if the motor is not reparible and you go with a junkyard engine the list will be dramatically shorter. I wish you the best of luck with it and just ask if you want me to be more specific on what you will need to make it driveable.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

You have a ton of work to accomplish before you can ever turn the key and see if all your work paid off. Let me just say that I understand your desire to get it going, but why haven't you looked into a scrapyard engine? If you're mind is set on reparing the original engine than you need to first find out if it's possible. The overheating issue most likley is the cause of the runnability issue. I would start by pulling all the plugs and pouring just a little diesel into each cylinder since it hasen't had any lubricant in the cylinders for 10 years and the piston rings may be rusted to the cylinders. Then after the diesel has had some time to do it's job put a socket and breaker bar on the front crank bolt to see if the motor will rotate,leave the plugs out to make it easy on yourself. If it rotates good now you need to attempt to find the source of the overheating. Pull the thermostat out and fill the motor and radiator as much as you can because the more air in the coolant system the harder it is to find a leak. You are going to need a pressure tester so you can pressurize the system, just go to 15 pounds. Look in the cylinders for water leaking and pull the valve covers to look for leaks, also look for cracks in between the rocker arms, as I have replaced three sets of heads for customers, so it happens and like arco777 said, you have to get new castings not reman. Now only you can find the leak and see if the engine will rotate so try to figure that stuff out first and than I guarantee that the people on this forum will point you in the right direction. I will help you anyway I can with advise, The reason that I have not gotten into all the stuff that will need replaced in the engine alone to make it a daily driver is if the motor is not reparible and you go with a junkyard engine the list will be dramatically shorter. I wish you the best of luck with it and just ask if you want me to be more specific on what you will need to make it driveable.

i have no idea what you are saying. It hasn't been started for 10 years, and I don't get 'The overheating issue most likley is the cause of the runnability issue."

clarify?

getting a junkyard engine is pointless, as I am not made of money, and not inheriting a different set of problems off another engine. right now I am running under the assumption that the current engine may just have a weakness in it that isn't a expensive nature like needing a whole new/used engine installed to make it work, but rather the cylinder heads, maybe gasket issues, etc. I'm waiting for people to chime in with their experiences on it

 

[rhauf]

so it does run now, (at least, somewhat).. it sounds to me like it may have a head gasket issue or cracked head.

popular opinion is that these heads just crack for no reason, and/or the the gaskets blow for no reason. I'm not sure i believe this theory, instead, i think they are prone to issue *when overheated*

for instance, i bought my '93 about 4 years ago with two cracked heads. i replaced the heads, and it's been running fine since, however, i found the reason the heads cracked shortly after replacing them, the radiator had a small leak and the coolant would leak out, i suspect what happened is the lady who had it never checked the coolant and just let it run lower and lower until it couldn't cool any more and overheated. it took me a weekend to swap new heads onto it, and it's been running fine since (210k miles on it now, had 155k when i got it)

in any case, what i'm getting at with all my rambling, is that it's likely that it does in fact have cracked heads or blown head gaskets now since it's been overheated, so I'd probably start by pulling the heads, take them to a machine shop and have them magnafluxed (checked for cracks) and milled. then reassemble them and put them back on with new quality gaskets and new head bolts. when you reassemble the rest of the top end it'll give you a chance to look at each part, hose, etc and make sure it's in good working order. be sure to replace the thermostat and all the old hoses etc while you're at it. in my experience, these first gens with 4.0's are easy to work on and quite reliable.

oh, and be sure you've topped the tank up with fresh gas. old gas residue mixed with new gas wont help things any, so dilute it as much as possible.

and yes, a video would be nice, helps us visualize what's going on with it, at least it does for me.

 

[lifted93xplorer]

I was under the assumption that it does not run, and has not ran for 10 years since you said it was parked in 2000 for good. I was just trying to help you by suggesting the cheapest route. The junkyards have engines because the vehicles they were in got totalled or something along those lines not because the engine was junk. Lets say that your heads are cracked, not unlikley, where are you going to get heads? As far as the runnability problem what don't you understand? How many vehicles run good when the motor is boiling over and assuming it has a bad head or head gasket dumping coolant down the cylinders causing the motor to hydraulic? For all you know it could have a whole in a piston. How is a junkyard motor pointless? What is pointless is thinking that you can slap a couple head gaskets on and put some fresh gas in a truck that hasn't ran in 10 years and call it reliable. This truck didn't set for a couple months so every seal in the motor that touches oil will be cracked and pissing. That's right rear main, valve stem seals, oil pan, front crank, intake, plennum, valve cover....... I could go all night. It isn't no different with yours, rubber dries out and without oil getting to them every so often they get brittle and fall apart, especially once it starts running again. It'll develop a new leak every time you drive it. Just a crazy idea but I have the same as yours, a '93, and I know for a fact that I can get a motor tomorrow with a 3 year 36 month warranty for less than $500.00. Do what you will but that would be 10 times more reliable than what your planning for less than 1/2 of what you'll have into that old junk motor with no guarantees and problems every week. I really was trying to save you money and a headache. By the way, those heads crack because of the molds they were made in, they're thin where they crack and that's why new castings are available, about the same price as a low milage engine. Don't forget the seals in the trans and t-case not just the tranny pan. Have a ball, good luck and don't spend more than the is worth, $2,500 in running driving decent condition.

 

[arco777]

Just a crazy idea but I have the same as yours, a '93, and I know for a fact that I can get a motor tomorrow with a 3 year 36 month warranty for less than $500.00. Do what you will but that would be 10 times more reliable than what your planning for less than 1/2 of what you'll have into that old junk motor with no guarantees and problems every week.

I agree with him, at this point a junkyard motor may be a better option. The motor's cheaper than a pair of new heads. I would start by pulling your existing heads off and get replacement gaskets/bolts to start with. Check condition of all the seals and for rust in the cylinders and coolant passages. If you find rust, cut your losses and buy a motor from a recently wrecked Explorer or Ranger (it had enough power to wreck itself, anyways). Or, if everything on your motor looks good and the seals somehow haven't deteriorated, buy some new aftermarket heads. Worst case, if they don't fix your motor you can put the new heads on a junkyard motor. Might even be able to use the hard parts from your old valvetrain with some cleanup so you have lower mileage pieces installed.

I also agree that you should hesitate to spend too much money on parts for this rig; in both Alaska and Arkansas I commonly see running 1st gen Explorers go for about $500, and they'd make good cheap donor cars for your low mileage chassis.

 

[Verno]

Although I fully agree with the thought of just replacing the motor from a donor, here is something for you to ponder...
Since you are currently out of work, you have a lot of time to remove and fully dismantle this motor. You can replace all the gaskets/seals on this motor (way less miles than any donor you'll find for GEN I) and do them a little at a time as you're able to financially. Getting heads magnafluxed and milled is a MUST based upon your story of its history. Along with having all new seals/gaskets when you're finished you'll learn a lot about the 4.0l motor that is reliable but gotten a lot of bad PR over the years. Make sure you do the diesel fuel and hand rotate BEFORE you begin to tear it down though!

 

[Turdle]

First the gaps you see in the injector fuel rail are normal. When I first saw this I thought the same thing, but when you do pull the upper off you will see.

First thing I would do is drain the oil--before cranking the engine. If there was a cracked head or block, you will most likely see some water come out first.

That is when you make the decision to replace heads, or the whole engine.
If you see no water there, fill it back up with cheap oil and filter.

After new cheap oil and filter go in, Pull all of the spark plugs.Keep them in order and take a picture of them for us to gander at.
Disconnect the fuel pump fuse and coil pack. Crank engine over for a while, with spark plugs removed and the oil pressure should come up on the gauge.It should register something within 30 seconds of cranking. If not don't worry yet, but do check compression on all cylinders. This will be the second confirmation for fix or swap.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

I know it's basically a money pit due to it's age and the fact you can get cheaper ones that run. It's nagged at me almost since it's been parked that it may have been parked for the wrong reason, so I want to put it to rest once and for all if it was parked correctly, or maybe for the wrong reason.

I talked to my mom, and she seems to remember that she just gave up and didn't sink any more cash into it, so chances are the head gaskets are original on it.

I've got nothing but time, and probably will start taking the heads off and taking a look at them. are the services expensive to get them magnafluxed?

There is no way I could afford a engine at the junkyard, so I want to probe this as much as I can before this ends up there. If it's a simple fix (like new gaskets or new heads) maybe it will survive and join it's brothers back on the road, otherwise it's slated to head to the junkyard itself in a couple of years when this house gets sold

Basically this is a learning experience for me to roll into other vehicles if it turns out to be toast, then I have a great platform that I can make mistakes on (even though i'm fairly rigid on that and approaching it as a running vehicle rather then a giant tinker toy) but if it isn't, then I gained a running vehicle Ideally I hope it does run due to it's history...

Sorry if I seem head strong on keeping the engine for now, I want to pursue all options with it before making the next move if it turns out to be toast. No use throwing the baby out with the water

Also: I was wondering with this. I've heard the first gens had parasitic issues in them, like fires in mirrors and other stuff. Supposedly some people just came out to their explorer completely reduced to a crispy kritter. I'm first to assume this was just media scare mongering, as I was hearing about this pre and post firestone tire recall (something we had happen to us, luckily the fender just got damaged a bit and the trim piece the tire tread snapped off as we pulled it over near los angeles area, vasquez rocks for those who are amused)

Is this media scare BS? any truth to it? if there is truth to it, how do I work with it? do fuses need to be upgraded to be stronger? any TSB's issued? I'll just back burner this for now, but keep it in mind if it does run properly

 

[Tony H]

You have nothing to lose and a lot of hands on experience to gain by tearing the engine down. Make sure as you do it, you look at the gaskets for burn marks, water marks, tears or anything else that will give you a clue as to it's failure.
Also: If this engine is being used as a schooling tool, don't just throw hardware in a coffee can. Be diligent as if you need to get it back together correctly.
Getting the Heads Milled and Magnafluxed wont be cheap. It's been too many years since I had Heads done to give you a Ballpark $. But if you discover Gasket all humped up, you can feel confident that maybe getting the Heads done and back on will bring the car back to running health.
Label everything so you can reassemble.
FIRST, pull the Plugs, toss a bit of 2 cycle oil, kerosene, diesel fuel or Home heating oil in the cylinders and see if you can 'hand crank' the motor. If it's totally siezed you have a big expense working the Lower end of the motor.

 

[boggs1227]

just my 2 cents here ... with from what i've read from everyone posting replies ....and with what is known to be possible causes and with your money standing i would imho just replace the engine ...reason why ....

the truck had not been run in ten years...sure it could ( could ) be fixed but the transmission has not turned over either meaning that all ( i mean all) the seals ( major seals ) like rear main ,front seal on the transmission,rear seal for the transmission are all most likelly dried out and will need to be replaced .

to replace the rear main seal and the front transmission the engine has to be removed , so considering the time it would take to replace each of those seals and the cost of buying new hoses,head gaskets,misc stuff would be the same if you bought / put money into a used engine from a yard but you'll be spending a lot less effort and maybe even save a little money in the process.

also to to save some money and to cut corners you can get used hoses from the yard as well for next to nothing compared to buying new ...sure new is always better than used but sometimes you got to get creative .

bottom line..... i would not worry about fixing because like mentioned before the cost of new heads / new head bolts ( required anytime the heads are replaced ) and new gaskets will cost right at what you can spend on a used motor .i would just buy new transmission seals and a new rear main seal and get a used motor and install it and be good to go .

my truck ...sat for 3 years in the woods ..so long that roots began to grow into the tread blockss on the tires but anyways ...after i got mine running the transmission seals let go .so i'm very sure that even if you get the truck running your going to have to pull the engine out to replace the seals shortlly very after .


just trying to give you some ideas and maybe save you a little money and time in the process .


goodluck

 

[mohavewolfpup]

just my 2 cents here ... with from what i've read from everyone posting replies ....and with what is known to be possible causes and with your money standing i would imho just replace the engine ...reason why ....

the truck had not been run in ten years...sure it could ( could ) be fixed but the transmission has not turned over either meaning that all ( i mean all) the seals ( major seals ) like rear main ,front seal on the transmission,rear seal for the transmission are all most likelly dried out and will need to be replaced .

to replace the rear main seal and the front transmission the engine has to be removed , so considering the time it would take to replace each of those seals and the cost of buying new hoses,head gaskets,misc stuff would be the same if you bought / put money into a used engine from a yard but you'll be spending a lot less effort and maybe even save a little money in the process.

also to to save some money and to cut corners you can get used hoses from the yard as well for next to nothing compared to buying new ...sure new is always better than used but sometimes you got to get creative .

bottom line..... i would not worry about fixing because like mentioned before the cost of new heads / new head bolts ( required anytime the heads are replaced ) and new gaskets will cost right at what you can spend on a used motor .i would just buy new transmission seals and a new rear main seal and get a used motor and install it and be good to go .

my truck ...sat for 3 years in the woods ..so long that roots began to grow into the tread blockss on the tires but anyways ...after i got mine running the transmission seals let go .so i'm very sure that even if you get the truck running your going to have to pull the engine out to replace the seals shortlly very after .


just trying to give you some ideas and maybe save you a little money and time in the process .


goodluck

I still have that tucked into the back of my head. Poking around on the forum, I found a guy in pennsylvania with a 93 explorer who has the same problem this one had, but at a much later time mileage wise. I'm really wondering now if it's the headgaskets on it, so I can't wait to tear it down as they supposedly never got replaced

I know all about money pits, believe me. Got a 1986 bronco II sitting in the driveway that has money pit written all over it.

Sometimes also though it comes down to what the vehicle is worth to someone. At least with this one I know the problems over the years it had versus getting a brand "new" vehicle from someone used with more problems then is humanely possible to fix it

Here's hoping it's head gaskets!

 

[boggs1227]

hope so to ... you mentioned what the truck is worth to you ,true you know what the problems are and you also know who it came from ( your family ) is a plus .

for me when i got mine i got so frustrated that i was thinking that the $550 i spent to buy it was a bad move and yes i had to put in a LOT more money into it but for me it had been a learning experiance and to be honest with you if i got offered more money than what i have in it currently then i would most likelly pass .sure i could get more money from the sell of my explorer but the time and effort and what ever other emotions you want to through in there out weigh how i feel about it .for me growing up fixing cars was fun then i got out of it to a certain extent and then back into the game when i bought the explorer and found out i missed it lol .

anyways hope it turns out good for you .

 

[Verno]

Just another thought for you to ponder... Especially when you're elbow deep into it and your other half starts nagging about HER list of stuff for you to do... Worst case scenario for you should be that you have to sell it to someone (preferrably EF member) rather than going to junkyard. with its age, most likely you would only get salvage value for it from them, and as long as the body/interior/frame are good you'd do better selling it outright. NOT that I recommend getting rid of it, heck I piddled with an 88 Bronco-II for two years beore sending it to the scrapyard in order to get my 94 Exploder.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

Just another thought for you to ponder... Especially when you're elbow deep into it and your other half starts nagging about HER list of stuff for you to do... Worst case scenario for you should be that you have to sell it to someone (preferrably EF member) rather than going to junkyard. with its age, most likely you would only get salvage value for it from them, and as long as the body/interior/frame are good you'd do better selling it outright. NOT that I recommend getting rid of it, heck I piddled with an 88 Bronco-II for two years beore sending it to the scrapyard in order to get my 94 Exploder.

Lucky for me, I don't have a "other half" and if I did, he wouldn't mind probably

we'll see what goes on with it, I seem to remember the pushrods being taken out of the engine so I wonder if my father did do a gasket replacement on the heads, or if that was the point my mom said "f' it, been having problems since day one... park it!" and she didn't want to blow more cash on it.

Just currently reviewing a hanes manual from the library to see all that is involved in the removal process of the heads. Anything in particular i'm looking at to denote head gasket failure? I checked the oil fill cap on the valve cover, no gunk on it. can't remember if it was cleaned 10 years ago, so any evidence of crud is gone. I know what it looks like, my dad's 3.0 V6 in his ranger is starting to fail due to his inept mechanical skills and lack of coolant replacement...

 

[mohavewolfpup]

I have some photos coming later, but i'll give a update.

I went out and looked at the oil, it just appears to look like regular motor oil. Is it possible the water evaporated over the 10 years it's sat? Or it's a good sign that it just looks like regular oil? I just pulled the dip stick and looked.

Same with the transmission, it just looks like regular fluid, but kinda brown now. Not like Jello (i've seen 4X4 explorers that ingest water through vent tubes and know what water in ATF looks like)

I also checked, and the spark plug on the drivers side near the front of the engine (radiator area) is disconnected. this is the one that my dad yanked to get it back in, "claiming" it ran better that way. not sure if that means anything to you guys. Looking in the haynes manual, it says that's the #4 cylinder, the one he thinks has a crack in the block possibly (his words, not mine)

Any photos you guys need taken of the engine/problem areas?