coolant leak - white smoke

[SixtyEight-F100]

I have a 1968 Ford F-100 w/ the 360. It has 93,000 miles on orig engine. It was working beautifully until this morning on my way to work. After 10 miles or so I noticed a billow of white smoke and a nice sweet smell. I immediately pulled over and opened the hood to find coolant bubbling out of the passanger side rear-most spark plug area. I checked the radiator and it was empty. I had just topped it off a few days ago so I know it didnt start that way. Obviously coolant is leaking and probably from somewhere it should be. I admittedly do not know much about engine internals. Could this be as simple as a blown head casket or do you think it is something more severe? There were no moans, groans, or grinds and seemed to run fine otherwise. Luckily I was just a block from a shop and was able to get it there. I'm just nervous of what the bill will look like come Monday. Should I start engine shopping? If it was a head gasket, can these be replaced and have any hope of getting further use or does the problem just compound from there?

Thanks guys for any insight !

[fordman]

it coul dbe anything. since you know its in the cylinder i'm unsure how to tell you to test where its coming from. what color is the oil? does it have any water in it? is the oil grey or milky color? do you have oil in the radiator?

[SixtyEight-F100]

I find no oil in the radiator. I also do not see any milkiness to the oil, but since it just happened maybe it hasn't had time to make its reaction. I have it at the shop now, so I will know on Monday when they take a look at it.

[Dragon]

Water in the oil will immediately makes some brown to milky white foam. Oil almost never gets in the coolant. White smoke out the tailpipe is caused by:

Raw gas getting from the intake out the exhaust.
Water that is heat vaporized.
way too much oil leaking.


So from your description get a new head for that side, it is cracked and maybe warped so bad that the gasket lifted and leaked. Water by the spark plug is a crack.

[DuckRyder]

How close to the plug is "spark plug area"?

[SixtyEight-F100]

How close to the plug is "spark plug area"?

On the passenger side rear-most spark plug, there was boling bubbling coolant. There was enough that the spark plug in question had standing coolant around it. I dont know if it was coming from below and just got trapped there because of the indentation of that area or if it was making its way out right there.

The shop called me this morning and said that it was a blown head gasket for sure, but that they wont know about a cracked head until pulling it off. To start they are doing a compression test to see how the rest of the engine is. (93000 orig miles on it so I'm hoping its ok) They are already scarring me with the prices. They say that often times there are problems removing the exhaust manifolds without breaking bolts which could be an additional labor charge. They also say that it doesn't make much sense to do one side and not the other. They suggest at a minimum doing both head gaskets, resurfacing, etc of heads for about $1000. If head(s) are cracked that would be additional on top of that to replace them.

I only put about 1000-2000 miles per year on this truck. The rest of it is in pretty nice shape, but I really can't imagine sinking $2000 into the engine. It is not a daily driver for me but I dont want to get rid of it. I know NOTHING about engine internals. I can change a fuel pump, carb, brakes, alternator, etc with the best of them but engine internals have me beat--otherwise I would try to do this myself. I do not have an engine hoist either.

If you were in my shoes, what route would you take? I really appreciate your insight or thoughts. I miss my big grey lady!!!

[DuckRyder]

It may be more cost effective to replace the engine with a reman if you have to pay for the labor. You can probably still get a 360/390 from motorcraft or fred jones with a warranty.

I personally vote for picking up "how to rebuild your big block ford by steve christ" and giving it a go. You can usualy rent an engine hoist in most good sized towns.

It does sound like a head gasket to me, but if you pull the heads you can have them reworked and checked just as well as the shop can.

I agree with doing both sides.