Technical Urgent... Need help...water in oil pan....

Really need help on this...

Just cranked my overhauled ford 239 today for first time... Put in antifreeze, then a little water, started her up and started to add water to radiator as she purred like a kitten... looked good, sounded good, then I felt like it was taking to much water to fill it up... Looked down and the engine was puking oil and water out of the breather tube.

What kind of problem do I have here? Bad intake manifold gasket ? Bad or wrong head gaskets ? or something worse ?

I was told that head gaskets should have a tab sticking out between head and block... Is this advice correct? I can't find a tab on either head gasket.

Any advice (hopefully good) as to my problem would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
******* 54,
Houston, Texas

 

Sounds like head gasket problem !

 

Be helpful to know if this is a Y-block or a flathead.

 

Could be intake manifold gasket.

 

that is a sick feeling.
did you get it all drained out? carefully pull the top end apart so you can see if the gaskets and holes line up properly and possibly where it was leaking from

good luck

 

Which flathead do you have? Also, which heads are you running on it?
Butch

 

Sounds like head gasket... Where did you get them from?

My exp with some head gaskets are that they leak/ overheat... I dont want to mention the company since I love everything else they make...

 

Its a y-block, the head gasket remark is the obvious cue to that.

You could pressure test the radiator and see if it builds pressure or anything. You could also just yank a head off (pain in the ****, but you gotta do what you gotta do) to see whats going on. Probably nothing more serious than a head gasket, but you don't know without taking a look.

Have you checked the oil for milkshake? Did the water coming out of the breather tube smell like coolant? Any chance it could be spill-over and a leaky gasket?

 

A '54 Ford would have a 6 cylinder or a Y block V8 if it was manufactured in the States.

If it was built in Canada it would have a Flathead V8. HRP

 

When you put it together did you make sure all the p***ages in the head gaskets lined up properly or just bolt it together ? If thats the case pull it apart and do it right either by the book or ask for help,only way to learn is ask instead of messing stuff up. Good luck.

 

Guys,
Thanks for all of the responses... engine is Y-Block... I didn't put the engine together, so don't know what I may find....going to try everything you people mentioned,,, easiest first, don't know why !! with my luck. should start with hardest first...

Thanks again, will post what I find to maybe help someone else in the future...

 

Don't panic. If it was flowing through that fast, it is probably a gasket issue.

http://ford-y-block.com/***emblyerrors.htm

 

wow, I know every engine has it's ***embly quirks, but a lot of these could be easy to screw up