1999 Windstar SEL with possible head gasket issues???

First time poster. As mentioned in the title it is a 1999 Windstar SEL with 185k and 3.8L. Here is a little background on the situation.....Starting this last fall I noticed a little hesitation (sputtering) (didn't happen all the time either) when accelerating to freeway speeds. Didn't think much of it at the time. A few weeks passed and then one morning I experienced a No Crank No Start issue. Not being very knowledgeable when it comes to working on the car I turned to the internet after trying to jump it.

After seeing a few potential problems that could be the issue I decided to replace the starter. Once that was complete I still had the same No Crank No Start issue. Unable to turn the engine by hand we decided to pull the plugs and see if that would make a difference. Sure enough when we tried to turn the engine again water started coming out of the middle cylinder on the backside of the motor. Engine began to turn over. We put the plugs back in and the car labored but started. The term used when trying to explain what the problem might be was hydro locked. I have not driven it since but it still starts up no problem.

We are trying to figure out our next steps to take with it. Could this hydro locked condition be caused by a head issue? Should we have it tested to make sure? Thanks for any input.

If you meant coolant came out, then yes head gasket. Check your oil for water, coolant reservoir for oil .

Might just be the lower intake gasket. Unless engine overheated, head gasket failure on these is extremely rare (except on some 95s). There are coolant passages in the intake that will leak when the gasket fails. I'm not entirely sure if it would get into the cylinder like that though. I'd start with a pressure test at any rate.

Yes, these are very rugged engines and can take a lot of abuse before blowing a head gasket. BUT....has this engine been rebuilt before ... and maybe not assembled too well? Who knows?
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Yes the front cover and lower intake gaskets are prone to leak ... but will they leak coolant into the cylinders, or just into the crankcase? I'm not sure.
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I'd be inclined just to do a engine overhaul and be sure. You can test and test ... and what do you learn? .... to do an overhaul!

If the heads weren't machined well when it was rebuilt, you could certainly have a head gasket leak. I'd still just do a quick pressure test on the cooling system. You can also do the chemical head gasket leak test (I can't rememeber what it's called) as well before taking everything apart.

I used to work for a guy that always wanted to avoid "analysis-paralysis" ... his point was; it's good to know what exactly what went wrong, but one can over-investigate ....losing time and resources that could be put into a thorough and complete overhaul. It's all about proper use of money.

That is a valid point, although a pressure test involves attaching the pump in place of the radiator cap and squeezing it a few times. That's quite a bit less work than removing the heads... at least for me!

Oh, I agree with proceeding with the radiator test ... the results can sometimes be confusing, though.

Based on the symptoms you posted, I would say scubacat has it nailed. My intake manifold gasket (lower to head) leaked so long it actually bent the connecting rod in that cylinder - what you experienced was called hydrolocking. These engines are known to have the intake gaskets fail and do this.

I picked up a 2003 Windstar engine with 31 K miles on it (the late engines have most of the intake gotchas fixed) and swapped the whole engine (swapped in my 1999 engine harness and coil pack). Because so many Windstars are coming off the road for axle and subframe issues the yard only wanted $400, no core charge (got $40 for the scrap engine). If you go this route be sure to replace the converter to trans seal AND either a rebuilt converter or a repair sleeve for your existing converter otherwise it will leak a bit.