G
Guest
·This is to be informative, and is not to create a panic in anybody at all. I just want to pass on some information that I've discovered about my Vulcan, and it's willingness to do the 3.8 act and blow the rear head gasket.
First off, the car never had the recall done for the bypass hose. I had always thought it did, since no recalls ever showed up as needing to be done. I don't think that just the bypass kit will solve the brown coolant issue, but it does help with balancing the coolant flow between the front and rear banks of the engine. The chemical flush and coolant additive that Ford used when doing the recall supposedly takes care of the brown coolant. We'll find out, as I plan to do this to the replacement engine.
I've removed the rear head, which is the gasket that keeps blowing. The gasket was leaking again, only this time at the #1 and #2 cylinders. Previously, it only blew at the #1 cylinder. What I found was corrosion on the gasket surfaces, in the area of the water jackets and the combustion chamber. It was hardly noticable the first time, this time it is very pronounced, and it can be seen where the gasket could not seal the imperfections in the head. The block deck is also corroded slightly, enough so that it needs to be milled. The head could also be milled and reused. I have chosen not to go this route, since I have another engine available that is know to run well, and have good compression, etc.
I don't want to start a "sky is falling" way of thinking, but I would urge anyone that has not had the bypass/chemical flush recall done to have it done, or purchase the parts and do it yourself. Rockledge was kind enough to provide us with the information needed for this, which is available here: Brown Coolant PDF . In the long run, you may save yourselves the trouble I'm going through right now.
I would also advise to check the voltage in your cooling system, and correct if necessary. Any type of voltage will result in dissimilar metal corrosion.
I'll have images of everything that I'm disassembling, and also of the bypass kit, so you all can see if your vehicle has had it done. I always assumed mine was done, but had no idea what the kit looked like.
~Bob
First off, the car never had the recall done for the bypass hose. I had always thought it did, since no recalls ever showed up as needing to be done. I don't think that just the bypass kit will solve the brown coolant issue, but it does help with balancing the coolant flow between the front and rear banks of the engine. The chemical flush and coolant additive that Ford used when doing the recall supposedly takes care of the brown coolant. We'll find out, as I plan to do this to the replacement engine.
I've removed the rear head, which is the gasket that keeps blowing. The gasket was leaking again, only this time at the #1 and #2 cylinders. Previously, it only blew at the #1 cylinder. What I found was corrosion on the gasket surfaces, in the area of the water jackets and the combustion chamber. It was hardly noticable the first time, this time it is very pronounced, and it can be seen where the gasket could not seal the imperfections in the head. The block deck is also corroded slightly, enough so that it needs to be milled. The head could also be milled and reused. I have chosen not to go this route, since I have another engine available that is know to run well, and have good compression, etc.
I don't want to start a "sky is falling" way of thinking, but I would urge anyone that has not had the bypass/chemical flush recall done to have it done, or purchase the parts and do it yourself. Rockledge was kind enough to provide us with the information needed for this, which is available here: Brown Coolant PDF . In the long run, you may save yourselves the trouble I'm going through right now.
I would also advise to check the voltage in your cooling system, and correct if necessary. Any type of voltage will result in dissimilar metal corrosion.
I'll have images of everything that I'm disassembling, and also of the bypass kit, so you all can see if your vehicle has had it done. I always assumed mine was done, but had no idea what the kit looked like.
~Bob