Hmmm, me got issues. My 1959 Ranchero w/352 FE in it gets hot. AND worse, water gets in the oil. I know it's likely a head gasket, but what is the run down on these negines? Are they prone to crack heads or blocks or pop headgaskets? Anyone know?
Generally they do not crack blocks or heads unless they have been very hot. they will however blow the occasional head gasket especially if the heads have been off and not installed properly. You should torque the bolts down in the correct sequence then run the engine to get it up to temperature then re torque all the boles. They have always been a pretty bullet proof motor for me. Scott...
after 50 years it might need new head gaskets... i know I would! FE's are robust MF'ers and can take some neglect (more than most old V8's anyway) and abuse (Ford figured owners to ignore maintenance after 2-3 years anyway) so i'd do a pressure check on the cylinders, see if you've just got blown gasket. i wouldn't expect a cracked block or heads, but i would expect them to be filled with crud. the first FE i tore down probably had 2 or 3 pounds of casting sand filling the p***ages. all my experience with FE's is that they are tough to kill. the one in my '59 sat in the back yard under a tarp for three years before i put in in the car....
I abused my 390 and it seemed to like it. It was in a '61 truck with a granny low 4 speed and dana 4.10. My dad gave it to me as my first ride, it seemed to run better after I ran the snot out of it a few times. I used to bet other kids that I could smoke the 12.00 16.5's all the way thru second gear (they didn't realize the trans was what it was) I gave it to my younger brother when I could afford to buy my own car. He drove it hard as well, flipped it 3 times while trying to p*** a car. He found another body, then drove it some more. When he finally sold it to some other kid it finally died, probably not enough love. They are tough!!
I'm on my second old Ford with a 390 in it (sold my first with the motor running just fine after some HARSH use). I've never seen or heard of one cracking heads or the block. I'm sure it's happened- I just don't think it's common. If you're getting coolant in the oil something not good is going on... You could always pull sparkplugs and look for the one that looks "steam cleaned" to find evidence of a blown head gasket. Jay
That's kinda what I thought. Those FE's are pretty tough old birds. Mine was rebult several years back and ran great. Then I let it sit for a couple of years. It runs good now, no missing, no sputtering or anything. It is definetly getting coolant into the oil though. How about the intake gasket? Could it have started leaking internal? Hmmmm, guess, I'll have to do all the usual testing, etc, then likley have to pull the heads. SFDH!!!!
+ 1 on intake gaskets. Be sure you get the correct ones as I remember from my parts selling days there are about 3 different sets. Wrong set and they leak around the water p***ages. But I think as this stage I'd yank the heads too.
Not too much experience in the FE engines but after going through the heating problem with my 98 Chevy and the intake gaskets leaking I go along with that to check first. Two other things come to my mind: 1) Does the engine have a hard time cranking when hot? If so then you might have cracks in the heads that lead to hydrostatic lock. Coolant gets into cylinders and have no way of eliminating the coolant buildup, except when the exhaust valve open. 2) You can use a block tester to check for presence of exhaust gases in the cooling system. Radiator shops usually have these.
I pulled the intake and heads today. Can't see any apparent reason for the overheating or the water in the oil. The block looks godd to the naked eye. So do the heads. I will take heads to a machine shop to have them tested. If they are not cracked,,,WTF then?
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