Clueless Box Fan Needs Advice

[winstonthorne]

SO I'm really ramping up the usage of my box (which I use as a daily driver), so I took it to a dealer for a checkup. I thought I had a vacuum leak, and maybe an injector o-ring or a fuel line was funky (gas smell). UNFORTUNATELY, they told me that those systems are fine, and I'm leaking a decent amount of oil, both from a head gasket and the intake manifold. The engine only has 107K on it. Fuck. The way I see it, I have three options:

Option 1: Have someone replace the head gasket and intake manifold on the engine I have.

Option 2: Have someone replace the whole engine with a a remanufactured stock 5.0

Option 3: Get a remanufactured Explorer or H.O. motor and have someone put THAT in, to get a little bang for my buck as long as I'm bleeding money.

The problem is, I don't have the skills, time, or space to do any of the work myself, so the labor is going to be insane. I have some really stupid basic questions:

- If I go for the third option, will I also have to replace the tranny (I just had a rebuilt tranny put in 7000 miles ago)? I know this is a stupid question, but I honestly don't know enough about this.

- Does anyone know of a source for cheap GOOD remanufactured engines, and a shop that will put them in for me? (Preferably in the NY area since I don't want to have to travel for it).

[mrltd]

These motors don't ususally leak from the headgaskets...Intake and valve covers leaking are very very common. Might need a second opinion. If it truly is the headgasket, I'd go for a replacement motor..

[FordInPossession]

VERY doubtful that it is a head gasket. Like MrLtd said the Valve covers and intakes do leak on these. Take it to a couple of independant shops and have them show you the leak when it's up in the air. I've owned 6 boxes and have yet to find a head leak on any of them. Replace the leaking gaskets and let er buck!

[p71towny]

If its a head gasket I'd find a low milage explorer engine, it would bolt right up. But as with most of us here, price is the determining factor.

[winstonthorne]

Assuming that it's NOT the head gasket and the dealer's wrong, how serious is the intake leaking / what would it take to fix that?

[p71towny]

A gasket kit thats about $25 and a couple hours.

[gadget73]

and an oil change. If the lower intake gasket is changed, under no circumstances start the motor before changing the oil, or you're gonna need a new one. trust me on this, I have a new motor in my car for a reason. Other than that its not a big deal. More of a time consuming annoyance than anything else.

[Tiggie]

There is no way you are leaking oil from the head gasket. Impossible with an 5.0L that is actually running.

An intake leaking isn't a hazard to your engine's health unless it's really extreme. Most Windsor-Based small blocks with a little age on them do leak from there. Valve covers also leaked, it seems that they leaked more from the later models than early models. Just keep a check on your oil.

Sounds like the dealership is trying to make a dime. You might look into an Independent Mechanic recommended by a friend.

[DuceAnAHalf]

and an oil change. If the lower intake gasket is changed, under no circumstances start the motor before changing the oil, or you're gonna need a new one. trust me on this, I have a new motor in my car for a reason. Other than that its not a big deal. More of a time consuming annoyance than anything else.

When i did my 4 hour head swap i did it without changing the oil (i had nearly 8qts of week old Mobil 1 in it)

I do not recommending that you do that though. take the extra time and change the oil afterwards.

[winstonthorne]

Got a second opinion, independent mechanic confirmed that the head gasket is leaking oil, not a lot, but definitely oozing. He recommended I replace the radiator to buy some more time before it dies; I don't see how that's relevant at all to an oil leak out of the head gasket - he even stated there wasn't a coolant leak anywhere in the system.

[merkman86]

why would u replace the whole engine if a head gasket is leaking? why dont u just replace the gaskets?

[89LincolnTWNcar]

You could have a head gasket leak if the car overheated in the recent past, that may be why he's advising you to get a new radiator? When mine overheated it busted a head bolt off on the passengers side head in the lower row, and with time that would have caused a leak. [luckily I did a mustang head swap soon after and found that little bugger before anything leaked] I had never worked on cars before when I did my cam/head engine rebuild and it took me 6 months to get it running right again lol, at least I'm a pro now

[gadget73]

why would u replace the whole engine if a head gasket is leaking? why dont u just replace the gaskets?

because the stock motor is a gutless pig. Blowing one up is just an excuse to put a real motor in

[88grandmarq]

I also doubt the head gasket is leaking, as it is very uncommon for these engines.

Personally, I would get some engine degreaser and clean the entire thing. then you can see for sure where the oil is coming from. You could also install some dye in the oil to pin point the source of the leak.

on the other hand, an oil leak is not the end of the world. while it is a pain, as long as you keep the oil full it shouldnt be a problem.

On a side note, dealerships are bad place to take these older cars. Most of the techs there are trained to work on the newer stuff and unless you get an old timer that has been there 30 yrs, they have no clue how to properly diagnose things on an older system. Just my opinion based on experience.

[gadget73]

And the cynical part in me wishes to point out the fact that dealerships are in the business of selling cars. If they can tell you your car needs extensive repairs, you might just wander out to the lot and pick a less broken one.