Blown head gasket

Well, it's always something with this car.

Anyone know of any good places for a good, used engine for cheap? I currently have a 3.8L v6 in my 93, but just realised that I have a freakin blown head gasket! I don't really have a lot of money, so I'm looking for a good, low priced engine. I will consider a 5.0 if the price is right. Please post any links if you know of some. Again, thanks in advance.

:(

*bump*

Consider a 5.0.... You mean the engine or the whole car with a 5.0? I ask because if you get the engine you are going to have a lot of headaches putting that thing in because of the wiring harness, computer, etc. Go to www.3.8mustang.com, www.tccoa.com, www.sccoa.com, or any other mustang tbird related site and look through the classifieds. Make sure you do not get a 3.8 that was out of a front wheel drive vehicle, it won't work.

Thanks man. Actually, that's what I meant to ask. So how about the 4.6 engine for my car? I just don't want to worry about another blown head gasket, and from what I've read about in these forums, the 4.6 is the way to go. Maybe I should just buy a new bird - but an SC this time. I'm so broke and so frustrated now. I might be getting $1,500 for a new engine from my dad, but I think I should just use that toward a new car. What do yall think?

Once you replace the 3.8s head gaskets you shouldn't have a problem. Ford motor co. had a major recall on the head gaskets. If you change the motor it would probably be a lot easier and cheaper to go carb.

Thanks. I've always meant to ask - Do you have to be the original owner to get them to make good on a recall?

As for the carb - I live in california, and we have the lamest smog tests in the world, and it's hard as hell to get a carbeurated car to pass. Thanks, tho.

As for replacing the head gaskets - how much should I expect to pay? I've heard that it's expensive as all hell, but I don't know.

Thanks for everything.

I have a friend with a good running 3.8L out of an 89 Cougar. Already had head gaskets replaced. It has about 87,000 miles on it. Was taken out when car got hit in passenger side.
He only wants $400 for it but it is in Michigan. Shipping to CA would be possible, but you would have to pay for shipping.

Email me at [email protected] if you are interested.

Dan


Well, it's always something with this car.

Anyone know of any good places for a good, used engine for cheap? I currently have a 3.8L v6 in my 93, but just realised that I have a freakin blown head gasket! I don't really have a lot of money, so I'm looking for a good, low priced engine. I will consider a 5.0 if the price is right. Please post any links if you know of some. Again, thanks in advance.

:(

Thanks. I've always meant to ask - Do you have to be the original owner to get them to make good on a recall?




The "recall" was actually a program. Recalls never end because they are safety related. Programs end after a specified time and/or mileage. Unfortunately, this one ended quite awhile ago. The current owner is always eligible for recalls and for programs that haven't expired.

Getting them replaced will probably run you in the neighborhood of $1200-$1500 but will last for the life of the car.

Check out those sited I mentioned earlier. There are engines to be had. Heck, even check a junk yard.

Damnit! Hehe, oh well - I had to ask. Thanks!

As for replacing the head gaskets - how much should I expect to pay? I've heard that it's expensive as all hell, but I don't know.

Thanks for everything.



If you take it to a shop I hear that its at least $1000. I changed mine myself, it cost me a little over $200 for all the hardware and tools that I needed. I had never done it before so it also took me about 2 1/2 days.

Thanks, er, Soupnutz!

Actually, I just wanted to tell you all about what I'm doing right now. I'm pretty cool with a bunch of the guys over at the local Pep Boys, and when I told them about my blown head gasket, they pointed my to the K&N Block Seal. I looked at the $8 can, and when I saw "Guaranteed to stop head gasket leaks, I figured it was worth a shot. So I bought it, followed the lengthy instructions, and used it. The result - so far, so good! I had to completely flush out the old coolant first by draining what was left of the current antifreeze, then fill it up with water, start the car and let it run for 5 minutes, drain the water, fill it back up, run it for 5 minutes, over and over again until the drained water became perfectly clear. Then I mixed the Stop Seal with 3 Quarts of hot water, added it to the radiator, and topped it off with water - just as the directions said. I then had to start the car IMMEDIATELY, and let it run for 20-30 minutes. After about 5 minutes, the exhaust stopped dripping and blowing out white smoke, but I waited for 20 more minutes, just in case. I was then to drain that mixture out of the cooling system, and let it dry for 24 hours before doing anything else with the car.

The next day (today), I went back to finish up the job. I had to flush out the system one more time with water before adding new coolant. So I did this, and so far the car seems to be running great! The thermostat is still reading normal after driving if for an hour, so I'm going to change my oil again tomorrow.

Now, I'm a real skeptic when it comes to these "quick fixes", but I had to try it out since I'm pretty much broke as shit (sorry). I did, however, go online during those 24 "drying" hours, to help lift my spirits. What I found was great. If you go on Google and type in "K&W" and "Block Seal", you can read the testimonies of many people who have used this stuff. Out of all of the reviews and remarks on many different forums, I only found one person that it didn't work for. And my guess for this is that the person didnt follow the directions to a "T". They're pretty damn meticulous, and I'm sure that at least one person is gonna try shortcuts. Either that or he had been driving on the blown head gasket for quite some time and made the hole too big, or warped the head too much.

Anyhow, my complete review of this stuff is yet to be made. But like I said, so far, so good! If this stuff does turn out to be permanent like the can says, then I will personally go to both Mr. K's and Mr. W's houses and kiss their greasy asses. Or I can at least write them some thank you notes and enclose some cash for a few beers!

*Crossing my fingers*

Sweet, never heard of some stuff like that. Hope it works for you. Let us know down the road how it works out.

Okay, so far so good with the Block Seal!



It's been 2 months exactly since I did this, by the way - with LOTS of heavy driving. So if there is a blown head gasket, I would have definitely lost a visible amount of coolant, right?

Thanks!