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02-05-2011, 01:00 PM
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Ford Pickup
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 102
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Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
Just bought a 1995 Ranger 3.0 that I thought was a good deal. Anyways, I was giving it a quick tune up before putting it on the road and noticed the coolant was filled with oil, and the oil was about 3 quarts overfilled. Also smelled a hit of coolant in the exhaust - but it wasn't flowing out real bad. Motor still ran fine.
So, I guess it needs new head gaskets. (could it be anything else - asides maybe intake gaskets?) I ordered reman heads off eBay for $200 to save me from having to go through a machine shop (would have costs that much anyways probably).
I ordered the Fel-pro gasket kit from Advance auto, as well as all the other tune up part (plugs, wires, rad. cap, t-stat, etc..)
I got the heads off yesterday. Fairly simple. Had to cut off some of the rounded exh manifold bolts.. But since I have new heads to use, no big deal.
I also bought a new water pump to change - but I'm kinda chickening out of doing it.. I'm afraid those water pump bolts will break, and I don't want to disturb the timing cover because coolant can leak into the oil that way as well.
Are water pump failures common on these 3.0 years? What are the odds of me breaking a bolt in the process? One thing I never liked about this style of Ford motor (same as the 5.0), the water pump/timing cover setup. Too many bolts involved, and too many chances for water leaks.
Heres some pictures of the truck, and with a valve cover off. You can see the coolant. I'll get more pictures as I proceed. Heads are off now, but no pic at the moment.
Fairly clean and minimal rust for this part of the country. The $1500 I paid would have been a good/fair price had it not needed head gaskets. Frustrated because I checked the oil before buying it, and it wasn't milk-shakey or green at all on the dipstick.
Any advice on the project is greatly appreciated. I look forward to getting it back on the road.
Last edited by Tommy2; 02-05-2011 at 01:05 PM.
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02-05-2011, 01:42 PM
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Tank Diver
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,129
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
Hopefully it's just a gasket but give the heads a good look over to make sure there isn't a crack causing the problem.
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2011 Ranger XLT, 4X4, 4 door Super Cab. 4.0L, 5 Speed M50D-R1HD, 3.73:1, 8.8" open differential, Jason Pace cap
2019 Ford Ranger STX FX4, Super Crew, 2.3L Ecoboost, 10 speed automatic, 3.73:1 with rear locker, Leer 100XR cap
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02-05-2011, 01:49 PM
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Just zip-tie it
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,004
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtsandman
Hopefully it's just a gasket but give the heads a good look over to make sure there isn't a crack causing the problem.
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x2
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MODS-Alpine head unit, throttle cable mod, Black Rock wheels, FX4 lvl II axle swap, pooleo's camo painted bezel and mustang dome, painted/aftermarket headlights/tails fold-a-cover and over 100 hp in stickers
'86 AMC Eagle and '01 Grand Prix GTP
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02-05-2011, 02:50 PM
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Ford Pickup
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 102
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
I ordered reman'd heads from eBay for only $200 shipped. To have these checked out by the machine shop would have cost the same, at least I imagine. That's the only way to really know for sure if you have cracks (magnaflux)
I looked the heads over a little after removing them. No cracks..Didnt check for warpage. I'll use them for junkyard cores in the future or put them on Craigslist if they look good enough.
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02-06-2011, 10:23 AM
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Ford Pickup
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 102
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
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02-07-2011, 09:36 PM
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Ford Ranger 1997 3.0 V6
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 239
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
i broke one small bolt on the water pump, i just put a lot of sealant on it and let it cure and it never leak, its been 5 mos now i dont know about breaking a big bolt,hehe,i dont think the sealant can hold it
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02-07-2011, 09:48 PM
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Needs moar chrome....
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,318
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
i got the 3.0 also. i ended up breaking a small bolt by over tightening, i put a bit more sealant on thats all. I reccomend doing the waterpump while the engine is apart, i remember on mine, i had to undo the fan radiator, the piece that holds the power steering pump and ac compressor. Its not to hard to do once everything is out of the way, just dont over torque the small bolts.
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Quote:
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I like little girls...........
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RIP Jason
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02-08-2011, 07:42 AM
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Ford Pickup
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 102
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
I ended up replacing the water pump. Also the fan clutch. Got the heads back on too. Should have it up and running in the next day or 2.
Luckily no broken water pump bolts.
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02-09-2011, 04:27 PM
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Ford Pickup
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 102
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
Well, everything should be done. Drove it for about 25 miles today. Runs perfect, sounds great.
Just gonna keep a close monitor on the fluid levels - that everything stays the same for a week or 2. Then I'll change the oil again and flush the coolant.
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02-09-2011, 04:34 PM
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www.shanewootenband.com
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,896
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
awesome, congrats
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02-21-2011, 10:01 PM
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Learning to use the forums
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 3
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
Pics of oil in coolant? You sure its not just rusty water? Even with a head gasket blown you shouldn't get oil in the coolant, that can indicate a cracked block.
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02-21-2011, 10:20 PM
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On my 3rd Ranger
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,398
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
Did they blow due to a clogged heater core?
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1987 2.3/TK5, 125K.
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02-22-2011, 06:00 AM
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Ford Tough
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 244
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
clean everything good enough to eat off of, residue will kill all your good intentions. Lube everything well upon re-assembly.
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02-22-2011, 06:22 AM
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Tank Diver
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,129
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
Quote:
Originally Posted by the1nicko
Pics of oil in coolant? You sure its not just rusty water? Even with a head gasket blown you shouldn't get oil in the coolant, that can indicate a cracked block.
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Not true, you can get oil in the coolant from a failed head gasket and coolant in the oil from the same thing.
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Sgtsandman's Work in Progress
2011 Ranger XLT, 4X4, 4 door Super Cab. 4.0L, 5 Speed M50D-R1HD, 3.73:1, 8.8" open differential, Jason Pace cap
2019 Ford Ranger STX FX4, Super Crew, 2.3L Ecoboost, 10 speed automatic, 3.73:1 with rear locker, Leer 100XR cap
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02-24-2011, 10:38 AM
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Ford Pickup
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 102
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Re: Oil in coolant, coolant in oil. Doing head gasket job on 1995 3.0
It wasn't rusty water. The water pump actually looked fine when I replaced it. I cleaned all gasket surfaces SUPER clean before installation.
I drove the car for about a week and ran a full tank of gas through it. The oil level stayed the same.
However, checking it today I'm a little nervous.. The oil level appears to have suddenly dropped slightly and appears a little slushy.
I'm hoping it's just because I ran the truck for about 3 minutes to pull in the garage, and when you don't get a motor up to temp, you can get a little water seperation like that.
I'm going to change the oil again and keep driving putting miles on it and see what happens..
The heat worked fine in the truck.. So I hope there wasn't a clog anywhere in the system that could have caused another blow out. I released the cap vent and heard a "gush" sound inside the system. Checked the oil right after and it looked even more slushy. Definitely scaring me a bit. It's a new radiator cap.
Unfortunately I just put a ton more work into the truck because after driving it for a week with no problems I assumed it was fixed. I put new shocks in, tie rods, ball joints, tires, trac-lok rear end, brake lines, etc.. I've got a small fortune into the truck - So I pray the motor is ok.
I just took it in yesterday to have the front end aligned, but they noticed one of my coil springs just snapped. So now I gotta do those before I can drive it anymore.
Definitely wish I had put more miles on it before I did all this work. Would really break my heart this motor to be bad after all this work. Whether it's a cracked block, or recurring gasket blowing.
Had I just swapped the heads and the problem recurred, I could probably still make out ok $$ wise with the truck if I traded it in, or swapped motors..but I'm so deep into this thing now, there could be a big money loss on the way..
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