Possible Blown Head Gasket on 03 Ranger 4.0

[JamesO]

Found what appears to be coolant residue on the back side of the engine and bellhousing. The running temp in the truck has not changed though (she still sits at a little after a quarter hot). Also, oil looks ok, no coolant so far. Has someone else experienced this? Is this a coolant hose that went or is this a head gasket failure? Thanks for all that input and help out.

 

[mrboyle]

Without looking at it, I'd be more inclined to believe it was an intake gasket, not a head gasket, that was leaking.

 

[JamesO]

Thanks for the f/u. Is there pressurized coolant running through the lower intake manifold? Could you or anyone else out there get me a schematic? I am very, very, very limited in what I can get my hands on here in Hawaii. Everything is about toyotas and hondas. Thanks.

 

[CmdrPopNFresh]

yes. all coolant is pressurized. and being a master tech at a ford dealer i can tell you that the intake gaskets on the 4.0 leak sometimes and you get coolant ontop of the motor and down the back. if you can get your hands on a pressure tester, pressurize the cooling system and check where its leaking from. if it is the intake gasket its a fairly simple job.

 

[JamesO]

Thanks, what I'll probably do (if it won't ruin the engine) is take it in on Thursday to someone that can a pressure test. I don't have the equipment and right now (pressure tester) don't know how to use it and don't have the time w/ my job. If it is a blown intake gasket, how involved is the work (how long, what tools, what upgrades can I install; improvements can be done (porting the lower plennum))? I've built motors and done tear downs before, just never a SOHC 4.0 L ford motor. And I thought that I wouldn't have to work on this one when I bought it hahahahahaha. If it's a headgasket, what tools am I looking at for the 03 (cam alignment tool is listed for 97-02, I am assuming I will need to pick this up; but what else will I need). Also, will I need to pull the engine to replace the head gaskets on the SOHC motor (I've been told that this is one of the drawbacks to this engine). Again, thanks for all the help.

 

[CmdrPopNFresh]

i sent you a pm...just incase you somehow missed it

 

[JamesO]

update

Pulled the upper intake and I have "baby crap" looking sludge in the valley below the lower runners. Looks like an intake gasket or gaskets. Whewwwww!

 

[JamesO]

problems solved

Well, it wasn't intake gaskets. The lower plenuum is part of the head, therefore there are no lower intake gaskets. What did fail was the thermostat and housing. 150 bucks later, the problem is solved. Still don't understand why they make it out of plastic/fiberglass. The housing should be made out of metal. I also have to question the number of plastic/fiberglass parts on these motors. Sure they run cooler, but when parts, metal parts breakdown, it almost surely results in a number of plastic parts failing along with it. Kinda sounds like the old sham of one part resulting in the failure of 10, which results in a profit for the company.