This might be a long one, but hang in there, I need your help. My Y-block was running just fine. when I bought it. I promptly tore into the truck for a restoration. The oil drained was black and the antifreeze looked like it should. After opening up the engine for a timing chain and intake replacement, I ****oned it up and got it running. Pulled the dipstick and noticed the oil was white-ish. Figuring that I made an ***embly error, I took it back apart and made sure all the seals were sealed correctly (a litte extra silicone in all of the suspect areas) and I again used thread sealant on all the appropriate threads. Once ***embled, I again have water in the oil. It runs great, idles just fine, but the oil still has a little white tint to it. Keep in mind I just put it back together so tomorrow, it might be worse. When it was idling, I looked in the radiator for bubbles, thinking it could be a head gasket. No bubbles. I'm fearing a cracked block but I don't know how this could happen between the time I bought it, tore it down and re***embled it. Remember, the oil originally drained was black - no hint of water. The bolts used on the timing cover weren't too long, I didn't notice any resistence and they were torqued to the appropriate ft/lbs. There are no external leaks. Is there anything obvious I am overlooking before I tear it down again to replace the head gaskets? Is there a bolt that plugs the coolant p***age that intersects the oil p***age that I could've missed (the two in the back on each side of the head?) Is there any test I can do to narrow it down? Should I just say screw it and run it and see what happens? I'm getting frustrated. It was fine before tear down - now it's not. I just can't see blowing a head gasket (though I did have a wicked backfire when starting it up) or a cracked block. Any help would be appreciated.
I'm not a Y-block expert by any means... Sounds like water p***ages through intake for crossover may not lline up or intake has been milled and is'nt sealing.
There are chemical tests that can detect glycol in oil. We use them at work (city bus industry). Are you sure that it's white from water or is it just aeration of the new oil. Can you take a sample in a clear container and set it somewhere to see if it separates? Flatman
check the gasket on the front cover i think you may have it backwards or it came out of place.a big mistake people make when installing gaskets is they put a bunch of silicon on ,and what happens is it slides around and wont hold the gasket in place.take weather strip adhesive and secure the gasket in place and put a little bit of silicon in the corners where the cover meets the pan.Dan
You might be experiencing what I went through a while back. I had a '78 Ford truck, with a 300 I-6. I had the same white foam on the dippy, when I checked the oil. I talked to a buddy of mine and he asked me how much I drive the truck. Not much, I told him back n forth to work(5 minute drive), and short trips. He advised me that I had a condensation issue, as this was during colder months, I wouldnt run my engine long enought to come up to a good full operating temperature. Once shut down, cold outside and warm inside would produce condensation like that on the outside of a cold drink during summer. I took a few longer trips, this seemed to help, but as soon as the cold weather broke is when it fully disappeared. Just my 2 cents
you didn't mention changing the filter . also,what i do is 1/ check the oil level accurately 2/ run the engine for a 1/2 hour,(water wont' hurt anything at idle ) .Stop the engine check the oil level again.if it's a 'water into oil' thing ,the oil level will have gone up . in any case,pour 250 mls of ATF into the oil and run it again then drain it and leave it to drain overnight. replace the oil and filter and start it and run for a few minutes. if it's OK now all will be fine, but if do a have a water leak the new oil will disperse the water and prevent bearing damage. On a Y block there is a oil filter baffle plate which should be removed and cleaned and the sump has a baffle arrangement which can trap water ,so unless you drop the sump you may not get all the water out ( hence the ATF in the oil ).
Could you have added too much oil? If so there's a chance the crank is beating it to a froth...looks whitish from the bazillion air bubbles in it.
The aeration idea might hold some water (thank you folks, I'll be here all night). It doesn't necessarily look green so I'll check tomorrow. The glycol check is something I might do to. Would a well-equipped parts store have this or is this a specialty deal? I'm certain the front cover is on correctly. Also, there are no external leaks. The Coolant p***ages on the block are cast with a valley between them and the oil carrying p***ages so any leak there should theoretically go to daylight. I might have exaggerated about the silcone - I didn't smear the hell out of it but rather put a thin bead on. I felt like emptying the whole damn tube on it, though.
These are all great ideas. Maybe I've got my briefs in a bunch over nothing. I didn't change the filter the second time (doh!) so that could be it. I'm certain I didn't add too much oil (just five quarts but of course I didn't change the filter so maybe there's like six quarts? It is cold and I haven't run it for long so condensation is also possible. Maybe I'll run it tomorrow for 1/2 hour or so and see what happens.
Don't overuse silicone. The "squishout" inside the block comes loose over time and will plug your oil pickup. Not might...WILL. Had a car at work the other day with the Turbo/engine gone. A local shop replaced the basepan...overdid the silicone. A month later the Turbo seized...the resulting teardown showed bearing material in the filter...pan removal revealed a form fitting silicone plug INSIDE the pickup screen! THAT part blew me away! Silicone is great stuff,,,but it WILL bite you if you don't use it carefully. Your giving that engine a good, long run to burn off internal condensation right? Running a thermostat so it gets to a proper operating temp?
I'll find out who supplies us with the test kits at work and PM you the company name/details tomorrow. Flatman
Not an expert by any means. Just an old fart been fooling with this great **** a long time. I think the above is probably your answer. Just my$0.02 Run the engine at idle and let it warm up good to dissapate the condisation. Should clear up your problem but get the extra oil out! THANKS, BOBBY FORD
In your post you mentioned an intake change. I once installed an early three bolt carb flange intake on a later 292 and ended up with leaks around the gaskets. Most Y Block stuff interchanges but this one didn't work for me. Put on a regular four bolt flange intake, everything was fine. Take another close look at those intake gaskets before you tear into it to far. Good luck!
Ok - Here's an update and it doesn't look good. I fired it up today and allowed it to reach operating temperature. Out of the driver's side exhaust (I have open headers on it right now) white-ish smoke was billowing out. Out of the p***enger's side, nothing. Closer inspection revealed oil spatterings on the concrete under the driver's side exhaust. When I finally shut it down after about 20 minutes, a trickle of oil (mixed possibly with water) came out. I looked at the dipstick and it was hard to tell. It didn't settle enough but it didn't look as white as before. Could I be looking at a blown head gasket here? Would the symptoms be the same if my block was cracked? Now that I think about it, it did smoke quite a bit on startup - the previous owner said he replaced the valve seals on one side but not the other. However, when I opened it up, the seals looked new on both sides. Now it makes sense (the ***hole was covering it up). Looks like I have no choice but to open it up again. Any thoughts? (aside from I'm a ****er).
I would pull the plugs.Put a pressure tester on it over night on the radiator.If its blown it will push the coolant out in that area.Then you will know exactly where the leak is coming from.Also if you pull the header from that side that you see the liquid or white smoke.You will see the cylinder that is giving you the problem.It will be wet on the bad one.
I also remember somethng about a intake gasket problem. I think I had it on backwards or somethng really simple. or stupid
I just wanted to bump this up to the top - you guys that weighed in last night were very helpful. I got a head gasket coming in the morning. I guess I'll start here. If that doesn't work, it might be lights out for my Y-block. What's it run to sleeve a cylinder?
i bet when you took the front cover off some of the antifreeze that was left in the motor poured into the oil pan. drain the oil out put fresh in there with a new filter and i bet your problem is fixed. fords are notorious for doing this when you pull the front cover off!!!!
Did you pressure test it to find the leak?I would at least know where it is before just taking it apart. Then just start throwing parts at it.
Due to the oil spraying out of the driver's side header, I did kinda narrow it down a bit. Check out what I wrote earlier today when I fired it up. It's not smoking out of the p***enger's bank so I have to believe that it's a head gasket or something worse.
hey 35mastr had the only good point.from two pages of bygosh and bygolly . presure test it get a loner at autozone ,it wont hold presure for more than 15 mins .and dont over think this deal ,oh and pull the plugs so you can listen you might just here it .good luck
I'm not following the "chunk of cast iron" comment. Also, it's a 292 Y-block, not a flatty. I guess at this point, I'm just looking for someone to tell me that it's most likely a head gasket and not a cracked block. I understand that pressure testing it will tell me if I have a leak. I know I do. Tell me where? It's on the driver's side bank of cylinders. Now do I need to know exactly where? If it's a head gasket, it doesn't matter. I'm appreciative of all the suggestions. Just wanted to make sure the facts were clear.
If there is white smoke (white=water, blueish color=oil) coming from one header pipe and oil dripping it sounds like a head gasket leak or a small crack. If you don't have a compression tester handy just pull the plugs and compare, if its running on water and/or oil you will certainly know where the problem is. You still may not have to spend a grip of cash at the machine shop. After head removal inspect the gasket closely and you should be able to determine where the leak is and whether or not there is a crack. If you can rule out a crack try this test: if you have a nice steel straight edge handy after you remove the head lay it diagonal to the corners as well as straight up and down, in every position try to slide the corner of a post it note or any thin paper under the center of the edge if you cannot get the paper through it should be ok to just replace the gasket without machine work (other than you cleaning the surfaces, and they must be immaculate!) Also be sure to re-torque all head bolts (especially if you re-use old bolts) in the same pattern after you run the engine and bring it to normal temperature, do this while its still warm (old bolts like to stretch).
A feeler gauge works well with the straight edge.If there is any rust on the deck or the heads see how many thousanths you have in those areas also.Should not be more than .003.
Before you lay that straight edge across the head, make sure the deck is perfectly clean, s****e it, scrub it, and wipe it with brake spray. Then set the straight edge down, and shine a flashlight at yourself from the other side, if you see light, it's warped. Take the head to the machine shop and have them check it for cracks, its much easier than trying to find a crack yourself.
Sounds like a really bad crack in the combustion chamber into the water jacket. ****ing water into the cylinder and blowing oil and water out the exhaust.
Oh, man. You're supposed to say, "Sounds like a head gasket. So easy, they practically fix themselves."
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