Bob Rochlin wrote:
> List,
> I wanted to the collective wisdom of the list to answer a question about
> my friends 1997 Ford Windstar. He has apparently blown the head gasket and was
> told by the dealer that since water has gotten into the engine the engine
> needs to be replaced. The car ran when it went in and, while it was
> overheating, it was running with no blue smoke. My experience has been that
> repairing the head gasket and flushing the engine oil a few times would get
> him back on the road, but the dealer says no, he needs a new engine. Does this
> sound right?
Not exactly. It depends upon the amount of coolant entering the engine and for
how long. If it was for a brief period,
then there is a prescription for that. Find a compound called butyl cellusolve,
and mix that with a fresh charge of oil
and a fresh filter, run for fifteen minutes or so at high idle, then drain,
refill with fresh oil and filter, run for a
while on that and then drain and refill and install yet another new filter.
If the leaking did go on for a while, then there's a possibility of bearing
damage. That can be determined, in part, by
checking the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge after fixing the cause of the
leaking head gasket. If the oil pressure
is within spec with the engine fully hot, then the bearings are probably okay
for now, but may still fail prematurely.
A brand new engine shouldn't be necessary, under normal circumstances. Fixing
the head and rolling in a new set of crank
and rod bearings ought to be about a third to half the cost of a new engine.
Unless the engine is still under warranty,
repair sounds more reasonable than replacement.
Cheers.
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM
Never let anyone drive you crazy when you know it's within walking distance.
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