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So my 92 explorer just filled the crankcase with coolant. The oil was clean at the last gasoline fill up. I was looking under the hood today (thinking about installing a dual battery set up) and noticed some frothy white stuff at the oil fill cap. Upon further inspection, the oil looks like cappucino 
Anyways, it's gone a maximum of 300 miles with this stuff in the crankcase. The engine still runs great with no bearing noise and normal, good, oil pressure, so I think the rotating assembly is perfectly fine. It has 163,000 miles on it.
1st off, this should be a problem limited to the upper end of the engine, right? The blocks don't usually crack on these things, do they? I know the heads and head gaskets have issues.
The explorer is my daily driver since the ranger is in storage for winter (plus it has it's own drivability issues right now, as all projects do). So I need a daily driver. Luckily my parents have an extra F-150 I can drive while I figure something out. I've got a very secure, good job as an engineer and have plenty of cash on hand, but the part that sucks was that I'm trying to save up a down payment for house, not pour money into old Fords!.
Here's my dilemma: Should I fix the explorer or get something else (most likely a 93-97 2.3 ranger)?
The Explorer: I've done much work recently including ball joints, u-joints (all positions), new clutch set and slave cylinder, new radiator, water pump, and hoses, new power steering pump, new fluid in the tranny and t-case, new brake lines and front calipers. It has custom dual-out exhaust that's really in great shape too. The vehicle really runs and drives great. The interior is still pretty nice for it's age. The only thing wrong with the truck is that it has rust holes around the fuel hatch, and I've cut the rocker panels off due to rust. The dog legs are still pretty rusty. It would cost me about $700 to put brand new heavy duty (thicker in weak area) fully assembled heads, pushrods, head bolts, head gaskets, and upper end gaskets on along with cleaning the fuel injectors. If I cant get the exhaust manifolds off the heads (due to rust) add another $150 for new manifolds. This is all assuming the bottom end is in good enough shape to reuse.
The alternative: Get a 93-97, maybe 98-01 ranger with a 4-banger (I love the lima engines!) with a 5-speed. I could spend maybe $2000. 2wd and a supercab would be nice. I'd settle for a V6 (3.0 or 4.0) if I could see the cooling system had been maintained, unlike my explorer when I got it, which I'm sure is what caused by current problem. Going this route I'd be getting something newer without rust, but loosing 4WD, a back seat, and starting over with maintenance (clutch, suspension, etc).
What do you guys think I should do? I probably start tearing into the explorer today either way.
Anyways, it's gone a maximum of 300 miles with this stuff in the crankcase. The engine still runs great with no bearing noise and normal, good, oil pressure, so I think the rotating assembly is perfectly fine. It has 163,000 miles on it.1st off, this should be a problem limited to the upper end of the engine, right? The blocks don't usually crack on these things, do they? I know the heads and head gaskets have issues.
The explorer is my daily driver since the ranger is in storage for winter (plus it has it's own drivability issues right now, as all projects do). So I need a daily driver. Luckily my parents have an extra F-150 I can drive while I figure something out. I've got a very secure, good job as an engineer and have plenty of cash on hand, but the part that sucks was that I'm trying to save up a down payment for house, not pour money into old Fords!.
Here's my dilemma: Should I fix the explorer or get something else (most likely a 93-97 2.3 ranger)?
The Explorer: I've done much work recently including ball joints, u-joints (all positions), new clutch set and slave cylinder, new radiator, water pump, and hoses, new power steering pump, new fluid in the tranny and t-case, new brake lines and front calipers. It has custom dual-out exhaust that's really in great shape too. The vehicle really runs and drives great. The interior is still pretty nice for it's age. The only thing wrong with the truck is that it has rust holes around the fuel hatch, and I've cut the rocker panels off due to rust. The dog legs are still pretty rusty. It would cost me about $700 to put brand new heavy duty (thicker in weak area) fully assembled heads, pushrods, head bolts, head gaskets, and upper end gaskets on along with cleaning the fuel injectors. If I cant get the exhaust manifolds off the heads (due to rust) add another $150 for new manifolds. This is all assuming the bottom end is in good enough shape to reuse.
The alternative: Get a 93-97, maybe 98-01 ranger with a 4-banger (I love the lima engines!) with a 5-speed. I could spend maybe $2000. 2wd and a supercab would be nice. I'd settle for a V6 (3.0 or 4.0) if I could see the cooling system had been maintained, unlike my explorer when I got it, which I'm sure is what caused by current problem. Going this route I'd be getting something newer without rust, but loosing 4WD, a back seat, and starting over with maintenance (clutch, suspension, etc).
What do you guys think I should do? I probably start tearing into the explorer today either way.
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