I'm driving my 250 and the temp eventually reaches 230..HOLY SHIT!! it dies on me in my friends driveway and its steaming. they let me leave it there and i go back to check it out and put water in it and its leaking under the exhaust port at the front of the engine, i thought that it was a freeze plug but after pulling the manifold notice there's no plug there and its still leaking. i started it up and it still runs but pisses out the front.
Where exactly... Where exactly was it leaking? My first impression is a split block or head, but if it is leaking out between the head and the block, you might be lucky. A new head gasket would probably solve that problem, but if it is not leaking between the head and block, it is most likely a split block or head. Check this out and let us know. Wishing for the best... -Corbin P.S. My brother's 250 Mav did the same thing, but we were lucky and it didn't crack the block or head. After a new freeze plug and a new thermostat (the old one failed, causing it to overheat) I had it running. Because he (my oldest brother) is not very mechanical, I did all the work for him. If it was something other than a Mav, I might have to think twice (JK!). Anyway, a few months after all that, it slowly started to ooze oil out at the head gasket, and this next weekend I will attack it and get it running again. I need his car to drive while mine is getting finished! Anyway, if you are lucky and the head gasket is shot, you should have the head checked and milled if it needs to be. (A plus would be more compression!) Let us know.
isn't it funny how we can call "just a head gasket job" lucky? On these older cars, a head gasket job is a breeze!! Let me tell you though, my head gasket blew on my 3.8L t bird back in feb, and I have not been able to drive the car since!! I still owe 6 g on the car. It took 3 weeks to get the heads off. The newer engines are so complicated, that you need a million different tools and lots of patience. I am now just beginning to put the heads back on. Before you rip your heads off, make sure that a hose in front did not blow, and it is just not running down the side of your block, making it appear to come from that location. A bad head gasket will typically cause mountains of white smoke to come out from the tailpipe, as it did on my bird, along with a strong coolent smell in the exhaust. The oil might look like a milk shake, and it might be difficult to start due to water in the piston. Compression check it!!
when i put more water in it i checked the hoses and no leaks. but just under the front exhaust port. started it up and it just started but water was coming out in constant spurts, while she ran the same. how hard is it to change the head gasket on this? is the head real heavy? a one man job?
Well... You could dissasemble everything yourself, but lifting the head on and off would require a couple people to get it. It weighs a lot! So, is it leaking out of the head gasket? I didn't quite catch if you said it did or not. If it is leaking right under the exhaust port, you might have a hairline split. Check it out and let us know. -Corbin
well, its coming from the where the gasket is so I'm pointing at a blown gasket, i'll be able to get to it tomorrow...with some help that is. also, after i turned the car off when i was checking if it would still start the coolant was running out then it was almost milky white....any ideas? if i checked the oil would that tell me anything?
check the oil, might be milky white(water in it) most importantly, check the compression, you can get the compression checker cheap at any parts store!
you can get a compression checker at the local parts store for 20 $ or so, cheap. All it is is a gauge with a hose, the hose screws into the spark plug hole on the head, then you crank the engine over with the key just like normal, but pull the coil wire off so it won't start. The pressure from the cylinder will read on the gauge. Others on this site will tell you exactly what it needs to be, but on a 302 it is 120-150 pounds or so. Check all cylinders, as you will probably see a huge difference on the bad one. This will absolutely tell you if you have a bad head gasket. This whole process is EXTREMELY easy, and takes minutes.
