It looks like I've blown the head gasket and cracked the head in the '86. Awesome.
There's an '88 Merkur XR4Ti in my local boneyard. Can I c00ch the loaded head from that engine and drop it onto mine? Will I have to change anything else?
Is there a chance I damaged the block?
I'm considering a total rebuild with a fresh turbo at this point. Any ideas?
Thanks.
Same head....no changes needed.
Little chance of a damaged block. Just clean it all up good, and use the FelPro 8993(?) gasket. If your head bolts are the 12-pointers you can reuse them. If they are 6-point they are TTY and can't be reused. Some folks would say use the FelPro 1035, but unless you are doing a rebuild and plan on having the head/block decks "cleaned" up, there is a chamce that one will leak too. It is stronger than the 8993, but not as forgiving to mating surfaces that aren't perfect.
I can't add anything to what Chuck said but just to help you out when you head to the parts store.
The full part number for that Fel-Pro head gasket is 8993PT-1, it's about $15.
Awesome. Thanks for the replies.
Here's another question:
If I install a clean head with fresh valve seals, will that have an adverse effect on the rings? My Dad mentioned something about how engines can age and tolerances decline over time. I'm wondering if a fresh head will begin to pull oil past the rings and cause the engine to smoke.
I'll be pulling the head off the car on Thursday to see if I cracked/warped it. I suppose I will then send it to a machine shop to have it cleaned and magnafluxed, then new valve stem seals will be installed. They are worn out anyway.
Shouldn't have any effect on the rings. Freshen up the head, and install it.
I'd be more worried about killing your trans with that new found power:cool:
Well, there's good news and bad news.
Good News
I got the head off without any serious problems. No broken bolts, no stripped threads, etc. It actually wasn't too bad of a job!
It also appears that the head may not be cracked. I'll take it to a machine shop tomorrow and have it cleaned up.
Bad News
I feel like finding the previous owner of this car and kicking the out of him/her (not Karl, but whoever owned it before him).
Somebody must have had absolutely NO knowledge or mechanical inclination when working on this car. I've found missing bolts on the lower manifold (!), broken wire plugs everywhere, and the worst part: the entire cooling system is TOAST in this car. I thought it was bad that the radiator and heater core had multiple leaks, but I had no idea it was so bad.
For example, the freaking thermostat was lodged sideways in the head, and all of the hard lines are far beyond repair. There is so much rust and corrosion in this system that the coolant passages in the block and head were clogged. Absolutely amazing.
Some of the hard lines are so corroded that the metal is dangerously thin. You can see that it has been eaten away to the point that the metal has jagged edges after the flared ends.
I'm convinced that somebody filled up the cooling system with a garden hose and drove it like that. I'm pretty pissed off about it.
Oh yeah, something was dropped into the #1 cylinder at one point in time and the engine was started. There are lots of gouges and dings in the top of the piston. I'll attach a picture.
I'm amazed at what I uncover with this car. It's almost like somebody was intentionally trying to destroy it.
Here are some more pictures.
You can see the clogged coolant passages in one shot, and the piston abuse in the other.
I'm seriously considering a brand-new engine for this car.
Holy hell!
I have a spare turbo piston or two if you need one.
You might just bet better off to source another longblock though.
What the hell could do that to a piston?
What would you do in my position? I'm still new to the turbo world, so I would like to get some other ideas.
It's all original with 140k miles.
If it gets to the point where I have to pull a piston, I'll just start fresh with a whole new engine. At least the frame and body are in good shape.
IMO just go for a new engine.
Well what did the rest of that XR engine look like? ;)
Really 140K isn't bad for a 2.3, but with the apparent maintenance issues this one has had, at the very least a jy longblock regasketed might be in order. I hate breaking them apart if you don't have to.
The bottom ends are really durable, and barring any damage like you have, or really horrendous maintenace, you could get years out of a used motor. At the bare minimum witha used longblock, replace the oil pump and install new gaskets. The engine I used for my Ranger swap was a 150K motor. I did the above and ran it. Never smoked or used a drop of oil.
get a new longblock man, save yourself some time further down the road
thats a hellacious job that the past owner did man...
*cringes*
NEW, new engine? or new USED engine? If you're thinking of pulling the engine from that XR4ti you may wind up in the same boat a year from now. Especially if you live in the north and it's been there for a while. My recomendation, if the wallet can handle it, have the block and heads rebuilt. They can clean the water jacket out good as new and it would give you the option of going to a slightly higher compression piston.
The engine in the XR4 looked great, actually. The entire car was untouched, which made me wonder why it was in a junkyard.
I checked the T3 for shaft play, which it had plenty of. I assumed this was why it was in the junkyard... unless the transmission was shot.
I can't recall the mileage of that car, but I will know tomorrow. After all, I need some coolant lines and a thermostat housing. ;)
Let's say I did buy the engine from that XR4 and dropped it into the '86. I would have to use its computer and repin my harness, right? Does it not have the larger VAM and ACT sensor?
No, the XR4's used a P-series ECU and will not require any repinning and will drop in. XR's all used the small VAM and brown-top injectors, like your 86. Only the 87-88TC's had the ACT.
Really the ECU doesn't matter. If you are using the 86 XR7 ECU with a boost controller, you are fine. The manual XR4's were rated at 175hp, but they were running 15 psi boost vs the 11 psi your car ran stock. Turn the boost up, problem solved.
Actually the long block is identical to what was in your car originally. Additionaly, the ECU is independent of the core engine. Ancilliaries like injectors, VAMs, etc determine what ECU is required.
Pull your engine out, bolt all of your to the new one and drop it in. Don't worry about the extra from the XR.
I say do as chuck says and pull the XR's motor. IF anything it could be spare parts. But pull the head on the XR's motor and see how things look in it. I've pulled apart many 2.3t's with over 100,000 on them and 99% where still nice on the bottom end. Many of them you could still se the hone marks. My curent engine is a yard motor I paid $200 for complete with harness and everything except the turbo. It had 120,000 on it and when I pulled it apart still had faint hone marks and very little ridge. I replaced all the gasket and seals. I put all my newer intake and E6 with my t3-4 hybrid on there. Ran great just some start up smoke form the valve seals I didn't change. So I swaped on a fresh ranger head I got and it has been wonderful ever since. SO you can get a yard motor to run dependable. I didn't need to swap the heads but this way I can rebuild that turbo head now and reuild the 84 bottom end. Also I ran it with the yard head for about 1yr before I swaped on the ranger head. The turbo head that came off there is a good head just gonna reuild it with new parts. As for the ECU Check and see what one the XR has, Might want it for a spare. You aren't gonna need to swap anything with the ECU for the motor swap. As long as you just the right injectors for the ECU you'll be fine. Listen to chuck on this also. I did a ECU swap from my old 84 TF ECU to a PC1 ECU so I could run the brown top injectors. No repining at all just hook it up and go. Also you might just want to stick with the injectors you have seeing how you know they work. the one in the yard motor might be clogged.
Here's the deal.
The engine in the XR4Ti looks to be in about the same shape as mine. The odometer is missing the extra digit, so it only reads 76,XXX. I see that as 176,XXX judging by its overall condition.
The oil in the engine looked clean, but the hard coolant lines were in the same rusty shape as mine.
I've decided to take the head to a machine shop and have it cleaned up, valve job, new valve stem seals, etc.
Then I'll drop it back onto the engine and drive the car until I get enough money for a fresh engine.
Thanks for all the help, fellas. I really appreciate it!
Be sure you flush out the cooling system as well (in the block). Maybe while the head is out getting serviced drain all the water out and block off the lower hose, etc and fill it up with some vinegar and let it sit. IIRC that should help clean a bunch of that out.
An excellent idea.
I will also install a new radiator and thermostat.
Have the head checked for cracks before they do any other work on it.
It's possible that what marked up the piston was a spark plug electrode broken off (only guessing) Whatever ir was, wasn't in the combustion chamber too long or the piston would look even worse than it does. Which means it might have exited past the exhaust vqlve and passed through the turbo. It would be good to look at the compressor blades for damage such as bent or broken off blades. If the engine has been running OK for you and if you have had it awhile, consider just doing some R&R to the head and slapping it back on. If you aren't going for big HP increasesw, it could be fine for a long time. As others have said these ebginesw have tough bottom ends.
Something id do, I would turn the crank over by hand, and see how that cylinder wall looks. If its gouged up, you may have problems, but if its not, youre in luck.
I was gona ask Zach, have you checked that cylinder wall? Seems like now would be a good time to do a computer repin for the newer ecu and big vam.
No, I haven't checked the cylinder wall. That's a good idea, so I'll check it tomorrow or Monday.
The head is at the machine shop getting magnafluxed. After that, they're going to do a valve job, new valve stem seals (finally), and new cam tower bearings.
I'm actually kind of excited.
Claude,
I don't have an ACT sensor for the lower intake, so I can't yet do that swap. Besides, I'd like to do this job first and make sure it runs well and nothing leaks. Then I can focus on the other stuff. I'm a little worried about getting the timing right.
While waiting for the head to be finished, I've had time to take care of the neglected cooling system. I cleaned up both intake manifolds today, and I plan on replacing all of the lines, thermostat and radiator this coming week.
I've also had time for some fun stuff. :)
I spent about three hours on this:
Looks Awsome:tg:
I did the same thing with my valve cover. Shame its a PITA to keep polished.
To keep it all polished you just need to get some clear coat and spray it while it is all shined up. That is what the factory does to wheels. I know eastwood sell the Crystal Clear or something like that for metal that has been polished.
Here's a quick update:
I checked the cylinder wall of the #1 piston and it looks great. No scratches or gouges of any kind, and it still retains some of its crosshatching just as the other cylinders do.
One thing is certain: that head has been removed before. It had a Fel-Pro gasket on it.
Further, I cleaned up the tops of the pistons and found numbers stamped into them. I found a #1, a #3 and a #5. What in the world does that mean? The first cylinder has a number as well, but it cannot be read due to the surface damage on it.
I'm going to get some new head bolts, a radiator, soft lines, and some more gaskets today.
Holy bacon!
The Ford dealer wanted $38 EACH for the head bolts. That's $400 for head bolts. Yeah, uh... nope!
I've tried the other parts stores but they have to order them. I suppose I'll just use the original 12-points.
How can I custom-make some guides to get the head back on? I was planning on modifying the old head bolts to do this, but I guess I'm using them now.
Any ideas?
There should be locating dowels. I've not had any problems reinstalling heads w/out guide studs.
You can get TTY 6-point bolts at AZ and the like if you want to get new ones, but the originals should be fine.
Oops. In that case, the dowels must have gone off with the head to the machine shop.
I hope I can get the head back onto the block without damaging anything. It's much heavier than I thought it was.
The good news is that I'll have my Dad to help me, and I've pulled the radiator and fan. I can actually stand inside the engine bay and do this thing.
:)
Thanks for the replies, folks. Especially Chuck... you clearly know what you're talking about, and I really appreciate the help. I've been driving Fox Cougars for almost eight years, but I'm truly hooked on the turbo 2.3.
:D
There should be a dowel on the front and back. YOu can tell by looking at the bolt holes which ones they are. You will need them to locate the gasket as well.
You can get new dowels form fel-pro. The box I have says they are for Ford 4, V6 122,140,230 engine 1974-1986 It also says replaces no D4FZ-6A008-A O.D. .683 length .755 Oh yeah and the part number is ES74011 hope that helps you find the dowels.