help after headgasket replacement
bunnythunderchickn
04-10-2007, 10:26 PM
Well let me start from the very begining so all the bases are covered. It is a 95 3.8 n/a thunderbird. Back in the begining of the year the motor decieded to throw a rod. So i replaced it with a 93 3.8 n/a. Well about a month ago that motor decieded to blow what I thought was a headgasket. I finally got the money to replace the gaskets and when I pulled the heads I saw on the drivers side the little piece of the "wall" that seperates the coolant from the from the cylinder was missing. So I stripped the heads, intake and everything else to go with them, off the 95 motor and put them on there and got the motor put back together. Then I went to try and start it to find out my radiator was leaking too :banghead: . Replaced that today, now my questions are:
1. When i try to start the tach starts jumping and I dont remember it doing that before when trying to start. What could cause that?
2. Does anyone have a correct firing order diagram? All the ones I find online dont work. I know I should have labeled the wires before i pulled them but hindsite is 20/20.
3. Where does the vacuum line coming off the EGR hook to?
4. Is it normal to have a little slack in the throttle cable?
Sorry this is so long, just really fustrated with all the problems and in desire need of help. Mainly on numbers 1 and 2.
1. When i try to start the tach starts jumping and I dont remember it doing that before when trying to start. What could cause that?
2. Does anyone have a correct firing order diagram? All the ones I find online dont work. I know I should have labeled the wires before i pulled them but hindsite is 20/20.
3. Where does the vacuum line coming off the EGR hook to?
4. Is it normal to have a little slack in the throttle cable?
Sorry this is so long, just really fustrated with all the problems and in desire need of help. Mainly on numbers 1 and 2.
bunnythunderchickn
04-11-2007, 11:00 AM
well i got numbers 1 and 2 solved after messing with it agian this morning. Now i have another question, it appears coolant is coming out thru where the plugs go in. Could it be left over coolant from the earlier problem is something bigger?
97Bird
04-11-2007, 06:13 PM
Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are saying a piece of the block was missing when you said "the little piece of the "wall" that seperates the coolant from the from the cylinder was missing." Is this true? No coolant should ever be coming out of the spark plug holes.
bunnythunderchickn
04-11-2007, 08:56 PM
not the block but on the head. the section of the head between the coolant passage and the cylinder was missing.
97Bird
04-12-2007, 04:33 PM
Did you torque the head bolts down in the proper sequence? Take all the of the spark plugs out and spin over the engine and see if water is coming out. Do a compression test, tighten the head bolts again (using a torque wrench) and do another compression test. Ford recommends using new head bolts. FYI- Antifreeze is very bad for bearings so if you have it coming out of the spark plug holes you are going to have to change the oil again after you fix the problem and before you drive the car.
Automotive Network, Inc., Copyright ©2025