Guys, I have replaced the water pump, and the heater core and I am still losing water. Today I went to McDonalds and while waiting in the line the Ranger overheated and the check engine light came on. Now I have a slight knock/ or valve rattle when the engine gets at or above 3000 RPMS. I am worried I have a blown head gasket. I have noticed some steam coming up from the drivers side of the engine, but can not determine where its from. Its in the middle of the exhaust manifold, (At least thats the general area the smoke/steam is rising through). Its not oil, as the truck doesn't burn a drop of oil, and as far as I can tell the oil is not contaminated by anti-freeze, and doesn't mysteriously go above the fill line. SO I guess I need some advice from the gurus...
First a little history on the truck. Its an 89 Ranger XLT Super Cab. It has 94,000 miles on it. Runs really good, doesn't burn oil.

How can I tell if its the head gasket leaking?

What should I be looking for as far as tell tale signs of a blown head gasket or cracked head?

I have a Haynes Manual and want to do this work myself (Replacing the head gasket). How hard is this going to be for the shade tree mechanic to replace head gaskets on the Ford 2.9L?

What new gaskets will I need, other than the head gasket and valve cover gaskets?


Anything I missed? Pointers? Words of encouragement?

Mayeb the extreme side but it *MAY* be possible that you cracked a head which 2.9's are known to do. As far as the valve cover gaskets, looks to me like it would be a pain cause I don't think you can do itwith the upper intake on.

You gotta pull the distributor, the intakes, the valve covers, and an exhuast manifold. I found it easier to leave the manifold on the head, and just unbolt it from the pipe. my whole point for doing it was to change the lifters, so you should spend the 60bucks and swap them, cuz if you're spending the 100 bucks for gaskets..And get the head set, so it comes with all the needed gaskets, and has valve seal. Start on a friday night, you'll be out crusing saturday. get new head bolts. That's all I can think of for now.

paul

I would bet the reason you overheated in line is a bad fan clutch, the fan should not spin free. The coolant leak is most likely a cracked head, this is very common with 2.9s when they overheat, head gaskets are very uncommon problems. Valve noise is a common problem due to the upper oiling design, a lower engine knock is an indication of bearing damage which normally occurs when a head cracks and coolant gets in the oil. If you are leaking coolant, which will cause white sweet smelling smoke, into the combustion chamber this will kill the O2 sensor and might give you a check engine light, it's very easy to pull the codes. You may see air bubbles in the cooling system if the leak is into the combustion chamber. I can't remember the location were the heads crack right now but once you get it out you might be able to see it on the top of the head. You should have the heads tested by a professional, if they are bad World Products make the best replacement heads, they are much better than Fords. Be prepaired to have problems with the exhaust manifold bolts, if you get more than half of them out without breaking them you did good. You will need new head bolts, they are torqued to yeild. It will take some time to do this job but if you take your time and do the job right you'll have her back on the road running good. There are a few other mods that can be done while you have it apart. If you have any other questions feel free to email me since I don't check the board every day.

Ken, whats your email address? The email function has been disabled by the admin. You seem to have really good answers for the questions I have asked. Thanks!!!

Didn't know that. RACSAN99X@aol.com