Overheated Ford

[mikie2084]

My mom not only managed to overheat her car once but 5 times yesterday, maybe 45 min inbetween each time but only long enough till the temp needle went down. Not only that but each time she never put coolant back in the car, so finally the motor said enough and shut down. I go down and take a look and the head got so hot it melted one of the plug wires. So I burn my hands taking the plugs out, open the radiator cap and oil cap and let it sit. I'm thinking junkyard but mom says no, so I go get plugs, wires, and coolant and put it all back together. Starts up fine,after maybe 10 sec I hear a loud clunking pop, I thought rod or freeze plugs so I look nder the car and fluid is leaking. This is where I am lost, the coolant is leaking out the collector and tail pipe?? I guessed cracked head or head gasket, any clues?? I told her to call the junkyard and tell them to come and get it, she didn't like that and storms off up the road like rojo the rooster fawker, and my old man said "I" could tear up a brass ball with a q-tip. Any input or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

 

[Sarge]

Time for compression and leak-down tests. Also pull the dipstick and see if water/antifreeze is showing up in the oil. Check in rad for the opposite. Sometimes a cracked head will show up as bubbles in the rad as well.

sarge

 

[mikie2084]

I checked the oil for any sign of gas or coolant and its clean, I will check the radiator today. I have never done a compression test what do I need to go buy to check it?

thanks

mikie

 

[RichP]

Either warped heads or blown head gasket. Had that happen on our 96 oldsmobile last summer. Shot engine so we put in a Jasper rebuilt. As for a compression test there are two kinds of testing gauges, push in and hold it with all your arm power or a screw in, both types go in the plug holes, screw in is more accurate. You need to find the spec for that motor to see what the accepted PSI is supposed to be for the cylinders. Transverse motors are a royal PIA to test on that back bank if it's a V6 like ours is. Either way it's not going to be a quick fix and the only way to see if the bottom end is shot is to look at it or replace the gaskets and fire it up n see what happens [not recommended].
I just *love* Iron blocks and aluminum heads NOT..

 

[mikie2084]

Rich thanks for the info on compression checking. Well my mom drove it home really late last night and she said it ran better than it had before?!?! The only problem was that the temp peaked not a mile down the road and she had to keep putting water in it. It needed plugs and wires since she bought the car like a year ago so it doesn't surprise me that did run better despite the overheating. The motor is transverse so 3 cylinders are going to be a hassle unless I take the hood off.

Thanks

mikie