Need help/advice.Symptoms were:-loss of compression on pistons 2 and 3-gurgling sound heard inside cabin (sounded like air bubbles in the water running through the heater matrix)-some white smoke exiting the tail pipe. Not a lot of itI've removed the engine head, convinced that the gasket was burnt. It seems fine (see second pic). Now, I have to buy a new gasket (I was counting on this) but, because the old one doesn't seem burnt, I don't know the origin of the problem. So I could end up reassembling the entire thing, just to find out the problem is still there. Help
Gasket in his pic.
The other layer of the gasket (it's a MLS gasket)
Were you actually losing coolant or did you just hear gurgling sounds? You can get kits at parts stores that test for exhaust gasses in the coolant. If there is none then I guess you were hearing something unrelated. Loss of compression and the white smoke does sound like a head gasket problem though. Any chance the head itself is cracked? How do the valves and guides look? Hard to tell from the first pic but the valves in the middle two cylinders do look like they've seen some steam. How do the tops of the pistons look?
>>2969387There may have been some coolant loss.I've heard about those kits, but unfortunately I just bought a gauge to measure the compression and thought that would be enough. Some of the pistons look like they've seen some steam too (see picrel).How do I check the valves guides? I need to remove the valves?
>>2969391valve guides aren't causing a coolant leak. 100 to 1 it was the gasket. if not that, then it's a crack in the head or even the block somewhere.valves in 2 & 3 definitely look steam cleaned, but the pistons don't. i don't see anywhere in the pics that had an obvious leak but pics don't always tell the whole story.but if you're getting coolant in your cylinders, it stands to reason you're also getting exhaust in your coolant. which could explain the gurgling. there could even be some fuel in it from the compression stroke. did your coolant smell like gas at all? because in the #2 cylinder pic, that coolant port at 11 o'clock look like it was seeing some exhaust gas. could just be the lighting/angle.is that one of those gaskets that has like a crushable seal in it around the piston bore? those are good, but they're real touchy when it comes to the torque specs and the tightening order.either way, without any hard evidence, all you can do at this point is put the head back on and check compression.
>>2969400>did your coolant smell like gas at all?Not that I've noticed. But I wasn't aware that was a thing, so I didn't smell the coolant.The gasket is composed of two steel sheets. And I do believe they have a seal around the bore that bites into the block and head.If it probably was the gasket, should it be visible where the water was crossing that seal?
>>2969367Check the head for flatness and if it's not acceptable, then grind it with a big piece of sandpaper and a large flat tile. (there's a bunch of decent videos of how to do this on youtube). Using a leakdown tester might have helped to diagnose the issue before disassembly, but it's a little late for that now.
>>2969402>so I didn't smell the coolantyou would have noticed.>gasket is composed of two steel sheets. And I do believe they have a seal around the borewell it looks like your head has a groove for that seal to sit in, which is what made me ask. all heads/gaskets have something there (to protect the gasket from the combustion process), but some heads (usually racing/performance heads) have are made for gaskets with crushable seals there. so maybe? maybe not. usually only at ≥10:1 compression.i had a SBF once upon a time with trick flow heads made for that style of gasket. like i said, they're real touchy about how you torque them down. if you don't do it right, that seal might not sit in the groove right or crush all the way and you end up without a proper cylinder seal. if this is the first time you had it apart, it's probably a non-issue until you put it back together.>If it probably was the gasket, should it be visible where the water was crossing that seal?you would think, but not 100% always every single time. especially if it was a very small leak over a long period of time. a catastrophic failure is one thing, but in a case where it's leaking just enough for you not to notice or put together that you're losing X amount of coolant over Y period of time, then maybe not.
>>2969367What's the engine? It's not a ford ecoboost, is it?
>>2969456>ford ecoboostNop. But, it's a ford focus. What's wrong with the ecoboost?Anyway, yesterday and today I didn't have time to do anything on this project. My plan now is to remove the valves and inspect the space behind the valves, around the valve stems, to look for cracks or signs of steam cleaning. Maybe today or tomorrow. Thanks to anyone who has posted so far. I'll keep updating
>>2969566Ford 4 bangers of the late 2010 era are known for warping the engine block between cylinders 2 and 3. No fix but to replace the engine.
>>2969571>Ford 4 bangersI don't know this term. I know that at least the focus mk1 (mine) has a severe heating problem. They placed the thermostat on the lower hose (the cold one) instead of the upper hose, like every other engine, and this causes the engine to overheat even if all the parts of the cooling system are working fine
>>2969575The thermostat is heated by the block, anon. There is no "cold" hose.
>>2969391Can we get a single image of the entire deck, Picasso?
id clean it up. scuff it for grip. and glue i the gasket with permatex copper headgasket sealant. then probably sell it prontoand quit running straight water for coolant you cheapnigger. antifeeze ain expensive and rust growth fucks all sorts of shit up
>>2969571ding ding ding we have a winner. either the head or the block will warp, and you get symptoms resembling head gasket failure in cyls 2-3. google it and you'll find tons of people with the same problem. the only fix is either a new engine, or have both the block and head machined, which requires pulling and disassembling the engine anyways.
>>2969659>PicassololYesterday, I checked the head with a straight edge and a 20um feeler blade. Couldn't find any warp
>>2969669>and quit running straight water for coolantFor 20 years I've used 20% antifreeze. Recently, I changed to 50%, as instructed by Haynes. The engine never had straight water
>>2969591Isn't the thermostat heated by the water?Isn't the bottom hose colder than the top hose?Why do most cars have the thermostat on the top hose, where the water leaves the engine?
>>2969790>Why do most cars have the thermostat on the top hose, where the water leaves the engine?So that the heat of the water causes it to open and allows that hot water access to the radiator to be cooled. If the thermostat was located on the return side it would be delayed in opening and would be shut by the inflow of cooled coolant. There's also flow by the thermostat even before it opens because of the bypass for the heater core, which isn't present at the radiator return.
>>2969788>I've used 20% antifreezeHow cold does it get in your cunt?
>>2969790It's heated and actuated by the water already inside the block, anon. When the temp inside the block heats the water there to a certain point 180-195 usually, it opens and lets the water circulate. It's not actuated by the water from the radiator. It's in the top hose because that is typically easier to get to and also because the feed hose (the "cold" one) goes directly to the water pump inlet. The top hose gets hot first because it's the return to the radiator.
>>2969796>If the thermostat was located on the return side it would be delayed in opening and would be shut by the inflow of cooled coolant.Well, in my car, it is located on the return side. And I think this is what caused this entire mess.Anyway, this weekend I'll be resurfacing the head. Will post picture next week
>>2969387>How do the valves and guides look?Disassembled 2 valves yesterday. The seats and the stems look pretty pristine. There is some carbon buildup on the back of the valve
>>2969951The stat is always located on the return side, anon. Don't listen to that idiot.
