PI swap...now oil in water!

[UpAllNight]

I did the PI head swap on my 96 GT.

Since then I am getting oil in my water. But thats all... There is no water in my oil and evrything else seems fine.

The amount on oil in the water seems to be around a 1/4 quart every 25 miles, I can tell by how much my oil level goes down.

Other than that it runs fine and never overheats or anything like that.

In another thread I have kinda ruled out a cooler cause I dont have one. So it would have to be the block, heads, or gaskets. The block was fine before the swap so I think I'm ok there.

Are these heads known to crack and send oil into the water? Has anyone ever heard of this? Or maybe the head gasket just didnt seal very well?

I'm stumped.

 

[reivaxtorres]

not really known for cracking, but it certainly wouldnt be the first time ive seen it happen.

are you sure the heads were torqued down the way they were supposed to be, in sequence? there really isnt anyother cause i can think of aside from the head gaskets.

 

[wmburns]

Check the oil filter adapter to block gasket. The oil is under pressure and even though you do not have an oil cooler, that is a point were oil and water could mix.

However, it seams unlikely to have the oil filter adapter gasket fail at the exact same time as a new head gasket was installed. So if it did not leak before, it's a long shot to be the problem in this case.

 

[UpAllNight]

Have you ever seen or heard them crack between the water and oil?

I did torque them correctly, with the whole 28 to 31 foot pounds and doing the 90 degree increasements and all.

After I noticed I had a problem with oil in the water I even tried going them another 45 degrees tighter turn but that didnt help (not that I expected it too)

 

[UpAllNight]

Check the oil filter adapter to block gasket. The oil is under pressure and even though you do not have an oil cooler, that is a point were oil and water could mix.

Huh... is that a common problem? I will check that.

 

[trinity_gt]

Sounds like headgaskets to me too.

Did you use new head bolts? Where'd the gaskets come from? Where'd the heads come from? Were they checked for flatness before installation?

I wouldn't expect the oil cooler when the problem appeared right after a head gasket swap. Seems unlikely to just coincidentally fail...

 

[UpAllNight]

Heads were used... I removed them myself from a motor with a bad bottom end. Bought it on craigslist.

The head gaskets were ford racing, the kit with the head bolts and all.

I didnt have them machined or cleaned, I cleaned them myself by carfully sanding them. I have gotten away with it before but maybe I was lucky.

Im going to remove them heads and take them to my local speed/machine shop to have them resurface them and check for any cracks. Then I will attempt the job again.

BTW, what is the best way to clean the deck before installing the heads?

Also, isnt it kinda off that oil would get in the water but thats all. No water in oil, no external leaks, no obvious smoking...

 

[reivaxtorres]

Also, isnt it kinda off that oil would get in the water but thats all. No water in oil, no external leaks, no obvious smoking...

no, thats not really odd at all, its actually common at the begining of a gasket failure.

 

[UpAllNight]

Ok...

Gotta say thanks for all the help guys. I'm gonna knock this job out by the end of the week.
Hopefully this is it!

 

[UpAllNight]

BTW, what is the best way to clean the deck before installing the fresh heads and gaskets?

Do I just sand them down smoothly or is there anything else?

 

[UpAllNight]

Update.

I pulled the heads off today and found a good size scratch running right across the area it uses to seal the oil passage from the water, can even see the evidence on the gasket. Looks like it happen when I was installing the heads, like the dowel pin did it.

Having them resurfaced right now, this time I will be more careful when dropping the heads in.

 

[trombonedemon]

Did you have to take the engine out to take the heads off?

 

[UpAllNight]

Not at all actually.

I was told by local goons that you needed to at least jack the motor up some but I didnt even have to do that.

Ford gives you some rubber split hoses with thier ford racing head gasket kit and thats all thats needed. It will hold the head bolts out far enough to remove the heads while still in the car.

Its easy and simple, as far as that is.