coolsvt Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Well...I changed the plug wires and the car runs like new. It does not miss at all and accellerates great. It also starts great. The temp stays at 205-210(stints at 216) and the cap keeps pressure(not leaking). I still smell coolant smell inside the car through the vents on occassion(which may be a leak in the heater core..which explains where the coolant is going)...or is is sucking it through the fresh air vent. Otherwise I will keep an eye on it as I think it is just a phase my car is going through. I hope that the problem does not come back. As far asw the sweet smell in the exaust(I reazlly do not know what sweet smell like as swee is a taste reference) so if there is another smell that is associated with a bad head gasket then I would like to hear it- Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fornetti14 Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Sounds like your car eats plug wires like mine. Dump the Alumaseal in to fix the small heater core leak and call it good. That may just be a weak connection at a hose somewhere too. Not worth worrying about if you just keep an eye on the coolant level between gas fill ups. Mine loses a bit from time to time but nothing big. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 Put the alumiseal in and it has done pretty good. I also think it is a bad hose but I get no water under the car at all. So..I will keep an eye on it- Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 Well- The cel and miss are back and I am leaking water somewhere and I smell coolant in the interior. I am going to pull the head and replace the gasket. I do not care how long it takes...I will find the problem. I am also going to take pictures and post a "play by play" for those of you who have had a problem like mine and need closure. Anyway-thanks to all of you who helped in the diagnosis.Terry, any advise on changing the gasket?(besides not to change it).- Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spridget Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I'm glad to see you have not given up. With so much invested already it would be hard for me to give up, if I were in your position. Coolant burning in the exhaust gives off the sweet smell like coolant coming out of your vents... pretty similar. If it's only a small leak into the cylinder, you may not notice any steam. Make sure you completely diagnose you have a bad headgasket before you try and change it. That's a lot of work, and I'd hate to see you have later problems if something were done incorrectly when you didn't need to mess with it in the first place. I'd start by taking care of the heater core first. You know that's a problem, and fixing it, or bypassing it, won't have the car down for an extended period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 I'm glad to see you have not given up. With so much invested already it would be hard for me to give up, if I were in your position.Coolant burning in the exhaust gives off the sweet smell like coolant coming out of your vents... pretty similar. If it's only a small leak into the cylinder, you may not notice any steam. Make sure you completely diagnose you have a bad headgasket before you try and change it. That's a lot of work, and I'd hate to see you have later problems if something were done incorrectly when you didn't need to mess with it in the first place. I'd start by taking care of the heater core first. You know that's a problem, and fixing it, or bypassing it, won't have the car down for an extended period. Yea- I will look into the heater core as well but it still does not diagnose the wierd miss/cylinder #5 misfire cel/and the multiple issues otherwise. I have thought of it long and hard-I have eplaced so much I just can't let the car go for nothing. The only other thing I can try is a block sealer(something I really do not want to do)and yes I have changes head gaskets on other cars. I have my SHO that I can drive so I might just strip the car down and make it a race car. I will pull the intake off soon and see if I have a water leak there(maybe going down the intake runner and into the cylinder). One step at a time- Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spridget Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 If you've done any serious work on the SHO, you'll find the Duratec is fairly similar. Not terribly difficult, but there are alot of steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Haines Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 heads off with engine in situ is an SOB of a job!..Even I hate doing them and I've done many!.All the timing cover etc has to come off...crank damper off,alternator off,PAS system off...Get the CD and follow it..to the letter.Allow a lot of time..In a dealer this is a $600+ job for labor alone!..You have been warned! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 Terry- Thanks for the warning. I do not know what else to do as the car just will not run right and it is giving the symptoms of a bad gasket/cracked head.If I had another option that would not cost me an arm and a leg then I would take it. Another motor> Go with a 3liter? I am going to find the issue. Advise? Give me an alternative and I will take it- I just can't drive the car like it is and expect it to be reliable. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 Just as a note of final observation-I am getting some water leakage out of the front header flange(after the converter where it curves) at the front of the motor. Seems it leaks in the cylinder and down the pipe and then out of the flange(I noticed it today) so when it is hot it just burns it up. So head gasket it is.- Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 (edited) I read the description of the head gasket and priced the gasket itself(looks very hard and expensive). I also understand that I need to change the head bolts as well. Is it going to be better to plop in a 3 liter(justa a drop in-plug and go) or am I looking at more trouble? From what I read putting in a 3 liter is a little more involved than just a 1..2..3. Advise? Mike Edited March 15, 2007 by coolsvt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spridget Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 If you are gonna pull the engine and plan to keep the car, you might wanna consider the 3L. If you think it was a fun car when it drive fine with the 2.5L, you'll be amazed at how it feels with the 3L. Installing the 3L you have a couple options. Install the 2.5L upper end to the 3L short block (typically called "3L hybrid") or install a "straight 3L" using the 3L long block. For simplicity, and lower cost, the hybrid is usually the way to go. You should add the cost of tuning to the total before you decide. Tuning is roughly $250-500 depending on whether you opt for a pre-programmed chip, or spend time on a dyno and really fine tune it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 Well..I am looking for a solution not a money sucking leach. If I am looking at 2-500 just for tuning and at least 500 plus my time for an engine plus all the gaskets and not forseeable's I might just part it out. Have you ever tried block sealer? Ceramic liquid. poured into cooling system and left in(without coolant) and drained. I ask just as an inquiry as I have run out of cheap options. Let me know- Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Haines Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 THEN.....'I cannot see spending anymore money of time to repair this car. I am going to put it up for sale locally with a full explanation of its problems. Thanks for all the laughs- NOW....'Is it going to be better to plop in a 3 liter'.....WTF am I missing here!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fornetti14 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I don't think 3L is the way to go for you. That's just my observation from all the frustrating posts on this thread. I'm still betting there's nothing wrong with your head gasket. Just drive the car with the new plug wires and enjoy. Make sure there's no coolant dripping from the bottom of your water pump too. Maybe spend a few $ and have the system pressure tested? Not sure... I'd just drive it. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 THEN.....'I cannot see spending anymore money of time to repair this car. I am going to put it up for sale locally with a full explanation of its problems. Thanks for all the laughs-NOW....'Is it going to be better to plop in a 3 liter'.....WTF am I missing here!!!! It is called "love/hate" Terry-I am sure that you have experienced this...I was just in the middle of the "Hate". I am trying to get back to the "love" part so I am looking at my options. I would love to move on but alas I cannot because I have too much money in it. I know what I said but it was the emotion of the moment. Terry, justy as a side note I took the plug out of cylinder #5 today to see why I got another cel of misfire and it had oil on the threads. The insulator was a little brown but still looked good. Could I be leaking oil into my cylinder from my valve cover past the threads and it be fouling the plug? Just a thought. - Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1trick98se Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 have you considered the posibility of a bad coil pack and te lim leaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 have you considered the posibility of a bad coil pack and te lim leaking. New "third" coil pack and I have cleaned the lim recently(2 months ago)-but I did not consider the possibility of a bad gasket(lim) I can pull off and check- Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eepals Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 .... I will pull the intake off soon and see if I have a water leak there(maybe going down the intake runner and into the cylinder). One step at a time-Mike There is no coolant in the UIM. Explain again where you are seeing coolant leaking. Do you mean after the pre cat flange? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikk Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 If your plug is white and appears very clean you are leaking coolant/water into the cylinder it will sometimes burn the electrode off, if you are getting oil into the cylinder the plug would black or appear very dirty. If you have a BHG you can lose both oil and coolant into the cylinder or out the heads/block. Either way it sounds like a bad head gasket,if you pressure test the cooling system it may be a huge PITA because our engines are stuffed in so well,but you may find a leak that way.Have you done a compression test?If you know #5 is bad maybe 4 and 6 are getting weaker also(BHG) I would consider pinpointing the problem before you go to the 3L swap(though the difference in power was night and day.lol)Good Luck -Rikk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 http://www.fordcontour.org/style_images/ma_inspir/folder_mime_types/gif.gif There is no coolant in the UIM. Explain again where you are seeing coolant leaking. Do you mean after the pre cat flange? I am getting moisture out of the pre cat flange-It does not smell like coolant though/not green or the consistancy of coolant-and it only really happens a little. I did a compression check and all three 4-5-6 were good. I started the car up today and I had a little oil in the cylinder after I changed the plug again and it smoked a little. If I was loosing as much water in the cylinder as I appear to be then I should get a lot more smoke. As far as the oil on the plugs-is there a plug well seal like on the sho(goes bad which floods the plug well with oil thus causing a miss)?? If so I will change it.Attached is a pict of the plug I pulled this morning. I might get a coolant system checker just to make sure. - Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1trick98se Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 as for the oil arount the outside of tthe plug the valve covers use o rings around the plug opinings the #5 o ring is bad, ive had my uim and lim off several times for various mods and to up grade injectors. i experianced a prob simaler to yours multiple misfie on #3 and #5 hard starts on cold days or no start i thought the same thing head gasket. i kept changing plugs it would run better but prob still there. long and short of it the lim was seeping on the # 3 and #5 causing a lean burn when it would start and loss of power. i also had a similer prob do to bad coil pack. it was cracked olong the #2 and #4 poles that one puzzled me for a bit till i poped the hood on a dark niht and saw the arcing. just food for thought. as for the condensation coming from the flanges are you shure it is coolant and is it the front exm or the rear exm you could have a pinhole in one of the hoses if its the front exm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eepals Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 (edited) http://www.fordcontour.org/style_images/ma_inspir/folder_mime_types/gif.gif I am getting moisture out of the pre cat flange-It does not smell like coolant though/not green or the consistancy of coolant-and it only really happens a little. I did a compression check and all three 4-5-6 were good. ... Mike If you are seeing the consensation at that flange with the engine cold, that is normal engine condensation. I would also say the exhaust flange/Y pipe joint isn't tightened properly. You can probably tighten the two bolts up evenly to stop it, but thats the least of your worries. What were the compression readings? Plug color looks good. Did you try removing the plug from the cylinder. you think is bad and start the engine up with five plugs connected, after the car sat overnight? Loosely stuff a tissue/clean white rag in the plug well (duct tape the opening leave a few small holes in the tape to let compression escape) start the car and see if you get any coolant spit out of the cylinder on to the tissue. Edited March 16, 2007 by eepals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolsvt Posted March 16, 2007 Author Share Posted March 16, 2007 (edited) Will do with the tissue test-I will pull the valve cover and replace the o-ring(is there a part # out there for the plug well orings??) And I have 2 spare coil packs(both good) but i suspect that it is the oil.The oil is the culprit. I hope- Mike Edited March 16, 2007 by coolsvt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eepals Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 (is there a part # out there for the plug well orings??) Mike Fel-Pro Valve cover gaskets, #VS 50462R, is the whole kit. Spark Plug Tube Seals are #95720 (set of six) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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