Blown Head Gasket???

[Punk_187]

Hey guys! I started my '86 thunderbird up today, and it was smoking like crazy. Its been sitting for a while cuz it was overheating, and I wanted to see if it would start. It had been overheating, and we thought it was a head gasket. Anyways, It ran fine for a few minutes then started pouring out white smoke from the exhaust. I think the left cylinder head has a blown gasket, would this cause the white smoke? Checked the oil, its fine. We also thought it might be the radiator, but I checked the radiator and it was full, along with the coolant overflow. If it had a blown head gasket, wouldn't it burn off the water/coolant mixture? On a side note, there were little black pieces of rust that came from the muffler also. Could this be from the moisture from burning the coolant? Should I replace it also? Thanks for any help you guys can give me, I'm relatively new to this site as a poster, but I have learned alot here at AF.com

BTW, its an '86 Thunderbird, 3.6L V-6, EFI. Not the strongest of engines, wanting to put in a 5.0L V-8. Does anyone know if there would be excessive fabrication needed to swap in a manual tranny? Got a friend that will help me, if it wouldn't be an incredibly long process.

[healy]

Definately sounds like a blown head gasket to me.has there been any decrease in water level in the header tank?Also check the oil and see if there is any "gooey" stuff in it-it would look kind of milky .This would be a good indication to whether the head gasket was blown.

[Joe Wilson]

Originally Posted by healy

Definately sounds like a blown head gasket to me.has there been any decrease in water level in the header tank?Also check the oil and see if there is any "gooey" stuff in it-it would look kind of milky .This would be a good indication to whether the head gasket was blown.

A friend of mine that works in a garage tells me that the Ford 3.6
engine is notorious for blowing head gaskets. Joe

[Punk_187]

Hmmm, figured it was most likely the head gasket. The oil shows no sign of being discolored or milky at all tho. Thanks for the help guys, I should be able to replace it within a couple of weeks. Anyone have any suggestions on the rusty exhaust pipe? Will it be ok or should I replace it too? My parents are trying to decide if they'll give me their '96 thunderbird with a 4.6 V-8. The 3.6L is just too weak, and not much aftermarket available.

[1979C10]

Are the heads aluminum on the three six?

[Punk_187]

not sure, cant check til tomorrow, my dad has the keys right now : \