how hard is it to rebuild?

[mornin151]

how hard is it to do a head gasket on a 2.8 ford motor? its a 85. I'm sure the head gasket is leaking cause theres a huge amount of fluid in the oil and theres not coolant in the raidator.

when i do it i was going to get the heads surfaces and then do valve seals also.

its a 70 dollar kit at Advance auto ...

where could i get head studs though? they are not listed.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

You can reuse the head bolts and get the heads magnafluxed before you do anything to them to look for cracks. If they are not cracked check them for warp first you will see where the head gaskets were leaking if you look close. With the heads off you may as well get the valves ground or you can lap them yourself at the same time depending on the kit if the guide seals seals are in it. also check the valve guides and valves for wear. I have always had good luck just inspecting the heads for cracks lapping the valves put new seals in and slap it together. Check the cylinders for ridges clean them good and oil them when it is apart to protect from rust. Remember to add sealant to the valleys between the heads and block when you install the intake. I always use permatex #2 for oil and water gaskets and dont forget a new o-ring for the dizzy when you put it together.

 

[Big Jim M]

First things first!

how hard is it to do a head gasket on a 2.8 ford motor? its a 85. I'm sure the head gasket is leaking cause theres a huge amount of fluid in the oil and theres not coolant in the raidator.

when i do it i was going to get the heads surfaces and then do valve seals also.

its a 70 dollar kit at Advance auto ...

where could i get head studs though? they are not listed.

"Huge amount of of fluid"? A grain of sand in one's EYE feels HUGE! So when we hear "huge" we have nothing to compare it too..
So give us a clue. On the dipstick... how much over FULL is the oil? Was it mine I'd think a QUART or more would be huge.. Which would make the oil a good chocklet brown and yuckkkky looking..
What does yours really look like?

If there is coolant in the oil it usually means the BLOCK is busted.. So lets start out like we wanted to KNOW what is going on with the coolant and the engine itself...

Have you pulled the sparks to see what the tips look like? By now the offending cylinder should have indications on them.

Big JIm

 

[mornin151]

ok its about a inch above the full part

plugs were light brown to white. all of them where that color.

 

[Big Jim M]

Ok

ok its about a inch above the full part

plugs were light brown to white. all of them where that color.

Only an inch? Ok then what does the oil look like? Is it like chocklet milk? Or does it look like oil?
Big JIm

 

[mornin151]

itlooks like oil. but doesnt smell sweet but coolant doest stay in the rad some times when i first noticed it i would check it after i would drivre and it would be foamy bubbly

 

[Big Jim M]

Ah-haaa

itlooks like oil. but doesnt smell sweet but coolant doest stay in the rad some times when i first noticed it i would check it after i would drivre and it would be foamy bubbly

You do NOT describe coolant in the oil!
So let's find the coolant leak and be about our business.
First thing to do is to turn the heater to hot and start the engine. Then while the engine is running fill the radiator to the top and wait while the engine warms up and opens the thermostat. when it opens you should be able to add more coolant..
Then when completely full and warm put the cap on it and drive it five miles or so.
Then upon returning shut it off and crawl around under the hood and even underneath and find that leak.
About 90% of coolant loss comes from an outside leak. You will be looking for ONE DROP of coolant to find the place it is coming from.
Big JIm

 

[kimcrwbr1]

The 2.8 can be a biotch to bleed the air out of the engine coolant the easiest way is to put a flush kit in the heater hose coming from the upper hose housing on the intake manifold. top it off from there first until coolant comes out the fill cap on the radiator. put both caps on and start it when the heater gets warm remove the radiator cap and let it warm up all the way and top it off when the level drops. Put the cap back on and let it run until the hoses get hard be sure and keep the reservor full for when it cools down it pulls liquid into the engine not air. If the engine has got hot with mine the water pump seal on the shaft is usually the culprit. When the hoses are good and hard stop the engine and break out the flashlight. take your hand and feel around all the gaskets and hoses if you look on the under side of the water pump behind the pully. Keep your hands clean and dry if it is a external leak you will get some on your hand or feel the spray if theres a pinhole. If there is a spot on the engine cleaner than the rest will somtimes also tell you where it`s leaking. Your plugs sound normal run it for a while with the radiator cap off if it keeps bubbling it`s likely a head gasket or cracked head. A good oil change and motorcraft filter to establish a level you can watch, check it regularly and put a new PCV and breather filter and watch the oil level. any rise in the level is not good normally the 2.8 will leak oil unless it has had a complete gasket set put in. You can do valve guide seals without pulling the heads in the tech library under 2.8 V-6 explains how. I put a new intake manifold gasket in when I did the valve seals and no longer leave any spots when I park it. They always leak the worst out the valleys between the heads and block and the dizzy o-ring. I hope it`s something easy let us know what you find either way.

 

[mornin151]

Its not a driver for me i have another ranger i just want to get this one going, I replaced the carb on it this spring and then i stripped a starter bolt when i was rebuilding it so i have to fix that also, its sitting out side right now and its middle of winter im gonna try getting it in the shop so i could work on it...

why would the oil leve rise? I filled it full of coolant and then drove it then checked it and there was still coolant, it was down a little bit but not much.
and now theres none in tghere

 

[Eric Kropp]

Can the coolant get in the oil between the intake manifold and the valley?

Eric

 

[mornin151]

well i think i know where a coolant leak would be from but i dont understand why the oil level would rise up like it did.

 

[Psychopete]

Eric - Yes.

mornin - could be fuel. needs changed if it's elevating, something is getting in there that isn't supposed to be. Should be fairly strait forward what it is once the oil is drained.

 

[Big Jim M]

Pete
I'm bett'n on the oil level being high as a result of too much oil.. I'm also bett'n on the guy NOT knowing how to fill his coolant and that is the reason it is low..
The only thing that might raise the oil level and continue to only show OIL on the dipstick is gasoline.. a quart is a bit much for no hydolock..
DUDE! Just turn the heater on when filling and wait till the engine is up to temp and keep filling as it gets up there. If you don't fill it correctly it WILL be too low when rechecked..
Big JIm

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

For a tricky to find coolant leak, check the water neck on the backside of the timing cover/water pump. As you will find it is nearly impossible to really see what is going on there, and yes removing the power steering pump does make it much easier to clean the gasket surface as you stand on your head. You don't really have to fully remove it, just unbolt the brackets and shift to the side.

Dunno what to say about the oil, mine runs pretty rich but has never been that high on its own.

 

[schmoo]

fuel can get into the oil if the power valve is bad.