Unique Head Gasket Question

[K_Vaughan]

I have an awesome 2000 Epxy with 128,000 miles on it. It's got a 6" lift kit, and it goes anywhere I need it to go.

Sadly, it appears I've blown the head gasket (or worse - warped heads, cracked engine block?). I have oil in the antifreeze, antifreeze in the oil, and when the engine warms up I get a misfire in one of the cylinders due to antifreeze getting into the piston chamber.

Just to fix the head gasket is several thousand dollars as I've been told by multiple mechanics that the engine has to be pulled in order to get access to work on it. Even at that, all the mechanics are recommending a new engine as it's most likely that I have more damage beyond the blown head gasket, and a new engine isn't that much more expensive given that the old one has to be pulled either way. The problem is that I'm not wanting to put that kind of money into a vehicle this old. I do however want to try to get this vehicle to last as long as possible before I have to replace it.

When the engine would warm up I get the misfire and the engine would start to overheat from combustion gases getting into the cooling system. I've removed the thermostat and now the engine hardly ever even gets up to normal operating temperature.

I've tried several "mechanic in a bottle products" in an attempt to at least slow the damage. They work a little, but the leaks are still there, just not as bad.

From what I understand, my car will die because of the coolant in the oil causing engine damage. Overheating is no longer an issue since pulling the thermo as I mentioned above. To help with this I'll be changing the oil more frequently and will be intentionally using non-synthetic oil in an attempt to actually have the oil help gum up the leak, at least to a minimal degree.

I'll also be intentionally using a lower quality of gasoline (I was using Shell V-Power Nitro+) in an attempt to help gum up the leak in the cylinder with the misfire as well.

My question: is there anything else I can do to help make the car last longer? Am I off with my thinking on anything I'm doing? I realize most of this stuff you shouldn't ever do to a car that you want to last a long time, but I'm just hoping to get it to last maybe another year. The longer it lasts, the more money I'll have saved up to buy a better replacement vehicle with.

Also, please don't get into "you should just put a new engine it". If I'm getting a new engine there will be a whole new car attached to it. Thanks in advance for your help with this somewhat backwards question.



Ken V.

 

[stamp11127]

Once you have coolant in the oil your are done. The oil looses its ability to lubricate an the internal wear drastically increases. Doubt you would get any reasonable length of time out of it.
But you want to see how long you could get then frequent oil changes would help. I would use old oil since the engine is being trashed anyway.
You may also check into a head gasket sealer used on diesels.

 

[onlyexilove]

I had a head gasket leak on a rebuilt motor on my 2002 4.6L Explorer and figured I would give a try to a "mechanic in a bottle" and had great results. I figured I had nothing to lose since it was either that or another rebuild. The price is $189 but they do have a money back guarantee on it. Here is the link for it. I figure it worth a shot since you already have bad issues and dont want to rebuild right now. Head Gasket Repair is Fast and Easy with the Help of PermaTech

 

[docraymund]

You can replace the head gasket yourself if you are handy with tools. Purchàse a decent repair manual buy a torque wrench head gaskets and new cylinder head bolts. Watch videos on you tube on head gasket replacement. You can do it just take pictures at every angle of the engine and list every part that you disconnect in order so that you wont get lost during reassembly.

 

[Declansdaddy]

I just had success with Bars Leak fix with my leaking head gasket however I was simply getting a little bit of coolant in my combustion chamber as well as air pockets in my coolant leading to my temp gauge doing crazy things. Put the Bars Leak in it a couple of weeks ago and it has never ran better.

However your problem seems more extreme. The Bars Leak may help with your miss but this, as well as most of the Mechanic in a Can products, relies on the extreme heat from the combustion gases to activate and harden. This will not help with your oil/antifreeze mixes. I believe a head gasket is in order.

If you can turn wrenches and read a FSM I believe it's a doable job without pulling the motor. I recently replaced both my valve cover gaskets and at that point a head job seemed possible. I believe I've read where a couple guys unbolted the body and raised it a few inches to help. If you have a body lift then this would ultimately be done already.

She's definitely not going to last long driving it as is and even with changing oil frequently your slowly but surely damaging the motor worse and eventually a head job won't do anything. The tolerances in these motor are tight and not having a good oil to lubricate it just going to wear everything slam out.

Good luck with her and if she does blow I'm sure you could part it out and get a decent chunk back.

 

[K_Vaughan]

Thank you all for your posts. A quick update: everything actually seems to be working OK, as far as I can tell. No way to know how long it will last of course. I'm not currently getting any more reported misfires (3 doses of k-seal and cheap gas appear to have limited this). A little bit of coolant is still getting into the oil, but this has slowed significantly (non-synth oil & Bar's Leak at every oil change {every 2K miles} appear to be helping to limit this well). The biggest issue I'm facing now that winter temps are here is that the defrost never warms up due to the thermostat having been pulled. I ripped out the guts of the thermostat and just put the remaining outer ring back in and that is helping to slow the coolant enough that the vehicle warms up a little bit now. I think I'll find and put in a more restrictive washer to help with this. I guess this is what they use in race cars. Anyone know where I can find these, or will any stainless steel washer from Home Depot do the trick? Originally the thermostat wasn't able to open fast enough when the engine would over heat due to exhaust gasses getting into the cooling system. I was going to just get a defroster that plugs into the cig lighter, but from all the reviews I was reading it sounds like they either don't put out enough heat, or will blow the fuse. My goal is still to get this car to last as long as possible. We'll see.

 

[juan214]

If you decide to do the head gaskets check out my thread 99 expy engine knock. Good luck

stamp11127 knows his stuff

 

[z168]

A couple of people I know just drive their cars to the ground. Im not sure how your commute is but if this was a 3rd car or you relatively have a short commute, that should last you another 6months

 

[stamp11127]

Check this out for what has happened to the bearings and journals with the coolant/oil mix.

http://www.kingbearings.com/wp-cont...e-bearing-failures-and-how-to-avoid-them1.pdf

 

[K_Vaughan]

Another quick update: found a stainless steel fender washer with 2" OD x 1/2" ID that fits. It's a little thicker than the thermostat, but still fits just fine and I'm still using the gasket that came with the thermostat. The engine warms up better, but still not quite there. I just found a 2" OD x 1/4" ID online that I'll try out on Monday. I'm still going through a bottle of 50/50 pre-mix anti-freeze every month, but beyond that everything is going well.

 

[K_Vaughan]

February 2016 update - it's still running!

The 2" washer with a 1/4" hole that replaced the thermostat is working great at keeping the engine from overheating, while still restricting flow enough for the defrost to work.

The sealant I used (Bar's Leaks Engine Repair - 2 Part Formula) for the engine oil (took two doses) has significantly reduced the amount of coolant that is getting into the oil, which is still being changed every 2,000 miles.

The downside is that I'm still using about three bottles a month of coolant in addition to two bottles of K-Seal per month, totaling about $60/month to keep this thing going. That being said, I'm OK with this. Come summer time I'll just run straight water, which will save about $30/month.

It's at the point now where I just need to keep the radiator full (I always keep a full jug of coolant in my car, just in case), and I'm always a bottle of K-Seal away from getting the engine light (indicating spark plug misfire from the coolant getting into the piston chamber) to turn off.

I'm very glad for this to still be running, this is such a fun vehicle. The head gasket issue started back in July, so I'm at about 6 months with a blown head gasket, not too shabby.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

I stopped my engine before the coolant mix happened. External leak on right rear block coolant and oil coming out. Half the engine is apart till spring since it got cold and my hours at work are in the lower 60s per week. Your engine is going to look interesting when it goes boom from the coolant in the oil breaking it down. Good luck op

 

[Red92lx]

Is you truck still running???

 

[K_Vaughan]

Update

The Expedition started misfiring so badly that the whole car was shaking when I drove it. I ended up selling it about a month ago to a guy that's going to put a new engine in it. I was sad to see it go, but I'm glad that someone will still be able to have fun with it.