The dye will show that too, and it is another possible problem. I just have had hose leaks more often. One (on one of the little hoses on my sho) only leaked under RPM and blew into the electric fan blades. I would have had a lot of trouble finding it without a pressure test.Have you checked the freeze plugs ?...they may be causing the coolant loss.
Huh, both of those seem like a pretty reasonable idea too, I'll have to pay special attention to that when I test it! And freeze plugs?The dye will show that too, and it is another possible problem. I just have had hose leaks more often. One (on one of the little hoses on my sho) only leaked under RPM and blew into the electric fan blades. I would have had a lot of trouble finding it without a pressure test.
I'd stop running the engine, if the coolant is going through the engine and mixing with the oil you'll destroy the rings and the bearings (if you haven't already) and there is no easy fix for that.
A block crack is unlikely, when it happens to one of these 302's it's usually catastrophic and the car won't run. With that said, ruining the bearings is as bad as a block crack.
Id rebuild the entire engine personally. Have the block inspected/magnafluxed,probably bored and most definetly reringed/bearings/gaskets etc. after you drove it there is a very good chance you might have did more damage than just a head gasket. You also stated above that there was "some" milky aspect to the oil. Which means more than likely you had some antifreeze mixed in. Up to you. You can just fix the gasket and you might be fine but I doubt it. I suspect there are other issues also.
What happened to you is exactly why I made this post 2 days ago. Sorry but you can't just drive a car with a coolant issue of any sort. My guess is that you may have ruined the engine long ago. If you were leaking a lot of oil your driveway would have been a mess (not just a puddle), even a bad leak doesn't really lose much oil.
Buy an explorer engine.
If I replace the gasket, afterwards, what would be a sign that the Rings and bearings are bad? Like I said at first, I've only had it a couple months, so I dont know how long it's been driven like this, but honestly it seems to perform just fine, pulls hard, idles fine,etc.
I think it's a little bit of a gray area. I think you have to be educated for opening it up to make a difference. Of course anything from the junkyard is a risk, but I've been part of the explorer community almost as long as the mustang community (online) and have almost never seen an explorer engine fail. They just weren't beat to death like 5.0 mustang engines were. Explorers shift by 5000rpm (and that's if you are running wot, most times far sooner) and hypereutectic pistons are pretty good at not burning oil and the engines last a really long time. I personally just wouldn't be too worried about the inside, but I can see how some people would be.See... I couldn't do that without tearing the Explorer motor apart for a look-see either.
There's a local shop in Atlanta that scoops up 97-200(0(1) motors. They take of the oil pan off and plasti gauge the bearings to check tolerance. Through the inspection if a motor has a bad sludge build up or bad bearings they donate it to a local tech school. It's $400 for the short block, $600 for the short block with gt40p heads, and a little more depending if you want an intake or headers etc.
Not sure on the warranty, I'll check on that. I'm going to get one here soon. The price includes a run down of the motor, painting the block, etc.
I'll definitely post pictures when I get it and keep an update on it. I would be swapping the cam out of it and changing the springs as well.That's not a bad deal at all for a motor that's been looked over.
Is this for a different build? I thought you were doing a DIY block from Woody?I'll definitely post pictures when I get it and keep an update on it. I would be swapping the cam out of it and changing the springs as well.
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