[BigPip]

I have noticed that these things are prone to blowing the head gasket in the rear (cyl 123)? I just removed the heads on my taurus and it was blown on cyl 1&3. This is the 3rd set of heads I have taken off a vulcan taurus and all were blown on the rear set.

If there is a problem with a design on these things is there anything that can be down to help resolve this?

 

[rudedog]

coolant maintenance????

12 Tauruses and never one blown head gasket.

 

[84FordMan]

Blew the head gasket on the B3000, same side you are talking about, but I know exactly where mine came from, a leaking water pump that went unnoticed until it severely overheated and warped the head.

 

[BigPip]

I bought the car with a blown head gasket back in Dec or '09. Not sure what caused it to blow but I figured that as long as I could keep it cool I would keep driving it. It stays cool with the A/C on and the fans on and never came over 190 unless I was pulling my trailer, thats a different story. Don't know why it didn't over heat but it did put alot of extra pressure in the cooling system, I replaced the resivor tank 3 times because it would expand so much that it would crack. Nonetheless, I finally took it down to fix 'er up.

 

[KhanTyranitar]

The way to prevent this is to make sure the engine never overheats. Make sure the coolant is replaced regularly with the correct coolant. Never use tap water to mix your own, use RO water or distilled water instead, or buy the premixed antifreeze. Make sure the radiator and fans are working properly. If the radiator is starting to plug internally, replace it with one that has more cooling capacity. I like the Performance Radiator brand. Make sure the hoses are in good condition, a blown hose can cause problems very quickly. Use the Motorcraft brand thermostats as replacements, they last the longest, open at the correct temperature more reliably. Check the fluid level routinely to make sure your not loosing any coolant, as that typically means you have a leak.

 

[darkemp]

Also my third set, and yes always from the rear head. pretty interesting, maybe the temp is higher in the back head, and that must just be the weakest point in the gasket. but they usually dont blow gaskets unless you mess with the coolant system. these engines run HOTT so any disturbance to the super valuable coolant system could blow those poor head gaskets. i still have not yet blown a pair of the felpro replacements tho. only came across one cracked head tho.

 

[BigPip]

Also my third set, and yes always from the rear head. pretty interesting, maybe the temp is higher in the back head, and that must just be the weakest point in the gasket. but they usually dont blow gaskets unless you mess with the coolant system. these engines run HOTT so any disturbance to the super valuable coolant system could blow those poor head gaskets. i still have not yet blown a pair of the felpro replacements tho. only came across one cracked head tho.

That is what I was looking for, consistancy-
Of the 3 sets of heads, 2 sets of rear heads were cracked. I don't feel like paying to have the set I taken off my car checked since I already have a set of heads completely machined ready to go on the car. My recent experience made me question why every set of heads I pulled off were all blown in the rear/firewall side.

I understand completely that a proper cooling system is crucial to these cars, I am not an idiot but I can't ignore not that there is a common factor with the same head blowing each time. oddly enough, they all had cyl3 in common as well .

 

[KhanTyranitar]

That side of the motor does not get that much in the way or air cooling, so if the cooling system becomes compromised,t he rear head will overheat first, one of the downsides of having a transverse engine. You will find a similar trend on almost all FWD models with V6 or V8 engines. Some engines do tolerate overheating better, and some are less likely to overheat.

On RWD vehicles using the same engine, namely the Aerostar and the Ranger, both heads have about the same chances of suffering a blown gasket. So its not really a design problem with the engine so much as it is an airflow problem with engine compartment design. The only good way to compensate is to try to stay on top of the cooling system.

 

[cdnlouie]

I have a cylinder misfire on 1 & 3 that I believe may be related to head gasket leakage. Still checking it out but interesting that you would mention 1 & 3 as prime suspects. I have a 2000 Vulcan 3.0. Runs great hot, but after sitting overnight it misfires and clears up after a few minutes running.

Mine blew out the timing cover gasket as well recently, possibly due to system pressure or the usual deterioration that takes place here, stopped the care quickly but it may have at least crep up to near the redline. Will no doubt tear the heads off soon to confirm.