water in oil 98 2wd 4.0 ohv

[blus]

Hello everyone.
I recently aquired this expl after the third engine started losing water into the crankcase. After checking the compression showed 180 avg., I'm wondering if the intake man may be responsible. Looking at the plugs showed no water in cyls. I have posted on a previous engine for this truck which I pulled the heads and ran out of time and resources. So far, this engine runs good , with only miss from a broken sprk plug. After I pulled the upper intake, I noticed some evidence of water in the plenum. This was only at the rear of the intake. It (the water) seemed to be in the intake port of #3 cyl. I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice.

 

[blus]

After removing the plenum and checking the lower intake bolt torque, I found the two rear bolts low, so I retorqued and ran the engine a few mins. There was still water getting in the oil. This time I was able to run it to engine operating temp. I checked compression again with readings avg. 170 pounds. This result makes me think that the problem may br the lower intake man. gasket. I plan to pull it and have what seems to be an improved one piece gasket. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[jd4242]

cracked head,you keep running it you will ruin you bearings

 

[yavapaires]

cracked head,you keep running it you will ruin you bearings

Why do you say it is a cracked head? There is a very good chance it is the manifold gasket. Not saying the head is NOT cracked.And, yes, he should change the oil immediately, before the bearings are ruined.

 

[jd4242]

Why do you say it is a cracked head? There is a very good chance it is the manifold gasket. Not saying the head is NOT cracked.And, yes, he should change the oil immediately, before the bearings are ruined.

because he has all ready tried tightening the bolts,didnt work then replaced the gasket and it didnt work..also when its the LIM you get vac leaks as well and he said the motor runs fine.the only time that you dont get any side effects and still get water in the oil is a cracked head.run the motor up to temp and install a pressure tester for the water system and see if it hold pressure or leaks fast than normal cool down.

 

[racer_x_one]

cracked head,you keep running it you will ruin you bearings

What he said^^^^. I just went through this and had I not taken jd's advice I'd probably be a lot worse off.

 

[jd4242]

Sorry just reread it and he hasnt replaced the LIM just has one.yes first try that and see what happens.im betting on a cracked head though

 

[blus]

I dumped the muddy oil and refilled with new oil before the warmed up compression check. I ran it long enough to get to op temp. Then checked compression. All cyls were around 170 psi.
Today I removed the LIM and noticed the gasket looked bad in a couple of places. I'll go ahead and replace the gasket tomorrow. I realize that it could be a cracked head. At this point I'll just use up a couple of hours. If this fix holds, I'm going to flush and refill the engine with new oil again. I've never had one with a cracked head that ran this good. Thanks for the responses.

 

[blus]

Thanks jd I'll probably try the pressure test also, just to be sure, because you may be right. Thanks again.

 

[jd4242]

I dumped the muddy oil and refilled with new oil before the warmed up compression check. I ran it long enough to get to op temp. Then checked compression. All cyls were around 170 psi.
Today I removed the LIM and noticed the gasket looked bad in a couple of places. I'll go ahead and replace the gasket tomorrow. I realize that it could be a cracked head. At this point I'll just use up a couple of hours. If this fix holds, I'm going to flush and refill the engine with new oil again. I've never had one with a cracked head that ran this good. Thanks for the responses.

they normally run just fine with a cracked head,when the LIM is bad they run like crap.good luck

 

[blus]

Hi, this is just a follow up. I've been driving the explorer for two weeks with no signs of water in the oil. I replaced the intake man. gskt, flushed the engine, and refilled with good oil. So far after 200 miles she runs fine. The only problem I noticed is the overflow hose was loose on the radiator neck. I put a clamp on it to make sure the radiator would recover coolant pushed into the overflow tank. ...........also, before, there was steam from the tail pipe. now there is no more. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll do ok until I can afford to replace the heads.

 

[blus]

thanks JD . I finally noticed a place on th right exhaust manifold that looked like coolant has been steaming out onto it from the front above the #1 plug. The only reason I found that was when I changed the plugs and noticed # 1 was rusty onthe outside of the plug. It's been losing coolant from this point and not into the crankcase. I've been watching for signs of water in the oil or oil in the water. I've changed the oil just to be sure. Now I'm ready to pull the head. I've checked prices and wonder if I should just deal with the affected head. The left bank has great compression. Still I hate to replace only one head. Thanks for your advice.

 

[Dono]

I'd do both heads.
I ran mine with one cracked head for a while. The only symptom was slow coolant loss, and the plug where the crack was kept cracking its insulator, and would need replacing.

Then. I found I started having the plug on the opposite head cracking insulators....2 cracked heads.

Do them both. Probably enough miles on them anyway. The new aftermarket castings will not crack.

 

[blus]

thanks Dono that's what I've decided to do. I'm checking prices from several sources. odessa's are $430.00 per pair with free shipping. That's the best price so far. They're supposed to be new heads.

 

[Dono]

How far do you want to go with the rebuild? New castings, SI swirl polished valves, springs? This would serve you best.

Both ways, you need rocker arms, and push rods. Want to do a cam while you have it apart? Not much more to pull the rad, and get the cam out the front of the motor.

JD has all the part numbers listed in a few threads for putting the best parts in your new heads if your building yourself. If your interested, I'll find his latest thread posting the part numbers and post the link here. It will answer a ton of questions for you.

 

[jd4242]

How far do you want to go with the rebuild? New castings, SI swirl polished valves, springs? This would serve you best.

Both ways, you need rocker arms, and push rods. Want to do a cam while you have it apart? Not much more to pull the rad, and get the cam out the front of the motor.

JD has all the part numbers listed in a few threads for putting the best parts in your new heads if your building yourself. If your interested, I'll find his latest thread posting the part numbers and post the link here. It will answer a ton of questions for you.

He has the 98 heads,he can use the 95tm i listed but the cats on his truck work the most efficient with the fast burn rate of the 98tm.power wise he would make more power with the 95tm and never notice a difference pollution wise.i think this was a ford way to try and make the explorer "cleaner" or sound more environmental friendly.

 

[blus]

I would like to do a remove and replace for now, but the prospect of more power is interesting as long as I don't mess with my fuel milage. If anything, that needs some improvement. With the current heads I could live with the power she has. Whichever I choose, I'm going to need new rocker arm assemblies at least. Unfortunately I have to go the least expensive route for now. There are many other things to take care of such as brakes and suspension. I did some work on the front stabilizer and fixed the leaky cargo windows so far.

 

[Dono]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=339811&page=2


JD's post with current part numbers.
HEAD
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-EXPLORE...item27aca4d2da
gaskets,head bolts,valve springs,pushrods and rockers
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php
gaskets-#HIS9724PT1
head bolts-HIS9724PT1
valve springs-HIS9724PT1
pushrods-HIS9724PT1
rockers-HIS9724PT1
SI valves part number,you have to call them
sev2027 and sev2028 $138 http://www.sivalves.com/onlinecatalog.html

You can re-use the valve spring keepers from your old heads.

Id go this route and dun the heads in to a machine shop to be put together and vacuum tested to make sure the valves are sealing.

I went the pre built head route and ended up doing the job again. One cylinder had a valve seal leaking enough that I had a severe engine shake and misfire codes out of one cylinder. The above route JD posted is the only reliable way to go, with added performance.

While I had my heads in being put together and tested, I had them shave them .020 for a bit higher compression. Did I notice a difference? A bit. Tough to know for sure. I think my push rods were a bit too short before, as I had a engine tick. Now, there's no tick, and the motor sounds fine(Might have been the delta cam/push rod combo making my push rods a bit too short).

 

[jd4242]

this is a list of all parts needed for a top end rebuild using 95tm heads(will increase compression to 10;1 when used with stock first gen pistons)the guides come installed.you can reuse your retainers and keepers.SI is the company that makes the valve.i suggest you break your lifters down and soak in carb cleaner and clean them real good instead of buying new ones.they run $47 a piece and you would need 12,but rock auto part #HT2244 if you decide you want new ones
HEAD
$209
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-EXPLOR...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item27aca4d2da
gaskets,head bolts,valve springs,pushrods and rockers
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php
gaskets-#HIS9724PT1 $89.79
head bolts-# 2602509 $57.79
valve springs-# VS1630 $37.08
pushrods-# RP3332 $56.64
rockers-# R1092 $157.56
SI valves part number,you have to call them
sev2027 and sev2028 $138 http://www.sivalves.com/onlinecatalog.html
grand total of $745.86 before any discounts or shipping

ps read this and use the code at rockauto
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=350140

updated with the right part numbers and pricing