Thread: not Land rover, Ford engine overheated need advise

Could it not be the exhaust to head gasket sucking in some air & that cylinder getting to much air.not sure if it would be just a lot of people sujested that to me when we where having overheating problems & the engine was running fast then slow like you say..

Originally Posted by It'sNotWorthComplaining!

We have a 4.0 litre falcon which the car overheated badly, enough for it to not crank when it was hot, lots of burning oil smell came out of the oil filer.It turned out to be VERY low on oil.
After it cooled down it cranked and started., I found out that the radiator tank had split and it also contributed to the overheat.
The oil was flushed and new oil and filter installed
The engine is running but at idle every 30 seconds or so there is a miss or hiccup. Like it got starved of fuel then gets a good belly full for that second.
The new bottom radiator hose blew off from the new water pump. There is pressure in the coolant tank when the engine is only warm. So head gasket is gone and the exhaust is pressurising the coolant.

I took a compression test today with a slightly warm engine and the readings were from NO. 1-6 as follows
165,165,170,155,160,160 and when cranking with the throttle wide open I got around 180 on each cylinder.
So the question is should I strip down just the head and get it faced and install a new HG and new head bolts? be better off just installing a used motor, A fully rebuilt long motor is around $2200 not fitted.
The car is an EF 1995, it's been very reliable, and straight., but at the end of the day it's only worth what some one will pay for it, and the going rate for used Efs is not very high. I'm worried about the overheating with thoughts of stuck rings etc, so with those compression figures what do you guys reckon?

Regardless of the oil level the question is did it run without oil pressure for any time.

The burnt smell would be consistent with hot cylinder bores.

The compression test indicates the rings are likely OK.

The hose falling off is unlikely to be due to overpressure if the radiator cap was present and correctly working. If someone stuck on the wrong cap then its possible. I would suspect getting the clamp on wrong. They aren't that easy to get on right.
I would replace the cap with another, some pressure build up when warm is OK.

If it runs for long enough to visit a rad shop test for CO2 in the coolant.

The misfire might be just a cooked plug or lead. The coil pack on EF's is a known problem.

If the bores are marked you will get oil smoke, lots of it.

If the head gasket is really gone, a look down the bores with the head off will tell you if the engine is worth saving.

Most EF's are now very old, a motor from a late AU will be the go if you can find one.

Originally Posted by banjo

Could it not be the exhaust to head gasket sucking in some air & that cylinder getting to much air.not sure if it would be just a lot of people sujested that to me when we where having overheating problems & the engine was running fast then slow like you say..

The engine is not running fast, and as long as the coolant is in, it doesn't overheat now.( I did fit a replacement radiator when the other blew.
I had it at an exhaust shop recently and they told me the head gasket had been leaking at some stage as there was seepage signs, but it wasn't leaking when it was on the hoist. The leak was in the area of cyl 3 and 4 ( note that is where the compression is at 155psi)
Not having the finances at present, Which way to go???. A head gasket replacement with head work, or a second hand donk for $550 at wreckers, no history of motor. All wreckers say they have motors around the 150K mark, but most Efs have now done around the 300K mark so I'm a bit sceptic. $2200 on a reco still only gives me a car that's worth that. Update car, finaces not sufficient.

Find a wrecked one with a good motor.Should cost you between $500/$1000 MAX then swap mojos.
Parting the wreck will return some coin and provide spares for yours.EASY diy swap if you have a knowledgeable mate to help out.
The waterjacket is very close to the cylinder in places in the head in those motors,common failure.
There are cheap chinese heads available,but the rest of the mojo has been HOT.Search tradingpost/ebay etc.They give the old Falcoons and dunnydoores for nothing
GOODLUCK
Andrew

Originally Posted by bee utey

Regardless of the oil level the question is did it run without oil pressure for any time.

The burnt smell would be consistent with hot cylinder bores.

The compression test indicates the rings are likely OK.

The hose falling off is unlikely to be due to overpressure if the radiator cap was present and correctly working. If someone stuck on the wrong cap then its possible. I would suspect getting the clamp on wrong. They aren't that easy to get on right.
I would replace the cap with another, some pressure build up when warm is OK.

If it runs for long enough to visit a rad shop test for CO2 in the coolant.

The misfire might be just a cooked plug or lead. The coil pack on EF's is a known problem.

If the bores are marked you will get oil smoke, lots of it.

If the head gasket is really gone, a look down the bores with the head off will tell you if the engine is worth saving.

Most EF's are now very old, a motor from a late AU will be the go if you can find one.

Thanks for your reply.
No it did not run without oil pressure. my wife drives it every day still, but we have to check the coolaant as it is slowly disappearing not external leaks

There is a bit of water coming out the exhaust pipe, a bit more that what I would consider condensation.

There is no oil smoke coming out the exhaust, it also seems to have good acceloration and power, but runs rough when cold started in morning, ok when warmed up.

A couple of plugs did look a little rusty, so I suspected water ingress. ( but they are not steam cleaned)
No water in oil.
Temp gauge with in normal limits.
There was very small pin dot sized bubbles in coolant tank when the thermostat opened and the coolant was circulating.

I am leaning more and more to taking the head off to have a proper look.

Weeping head gaskets are a sign of age but its not necessarily so that the compression is leaking too. That's 1/2 inch or more further inside. A can of stop leak might keep the coolant in for a while (SSSH, the purists might be listening) and if you finally lift the head you might find a big crack. Personally I'd drive it and see, if it doesn't keep water in pull off the head and look. A secind hand motor out of a crashed wreck is most likely to be your friend. I have seen EF/EL motors passed in on ebay at $200. That is what I finally got for one I dragged out of a $500 wreck I bought for parts.

One of the things I was told is good for those OHC motors is to drill and tap a 3/8 inch hose fitting into the head adjacent to no. 6 plug, tee a hose from here to the header tank 3/8 inch top hose. This lets extra water circulate and bubbles leave that area of the head without blowing out coolant.

Sorry, quicker to add another post. Leaking water into the cylinder usually shows up as rusty plugs as you have guessed, and causes those plugs to misfire until they dry out after the morning start. I have a car that has a similar problem, what I do is release the cap pressure at the end of the day so no water is forced into the cylinder. And stop leak might just work, I have used it without major problems in many engines.