Blown Head Gasket?

[RitzyFestiva]

Still new to this car and this forum, but my son called me to tell me that he thinks he blew the head gasket. Had recently driven the car and it was running just fine. he got home and decided that it was a good idea to check the oil level as his rear main seal is leaking and he didn't want it to runn too low. Car was running fine as I stated, no idication of over temp or engine running hot, no shudder, no sputter no white smoke to speak of. Pulled the dip stick and he had the "vanilla shake latte" on the end.

I checked under the oil fill cap and there was some condensation but said it has always been that way. Checked the radiator but there was still coolant visable in the radiator, but it was low but not down to the cooling fins yet.

Wondering what the next thing I need to do? I have been planning on doing an engine swap with a 94 Aspire engine we picked up that had very low milage. Just need to determine on the best route to go on removal of the engine and what I am going to need to pull from the old engine. His 88' is carburated while the Aspire was FI. There is a port on the aspire for the mechanical fuel pump, just verified that. Just need to know if I can pull the engine out the top of the engine bay without having to pull the tranny with it. I just replaced the left CV shaft and do not wish to go through that with both of the axles.

Can the engine be pulled without the tranny? anything I should be watching for that might make the removal more difficult? I am open to any suggestions that will help me get this car back on the road, its my sons transport to school. Thanks again

[Team Lightning]

I would invest in a repair manual. You can get one from Autozone for about 10-20.00.
You can pull the motor without the trans. Should be relatively easy, depending on your level of mechanical ability. I belive there is a write up on pulling the motor/trans on the site, try the search function. Have you checked the compression? On the Aspire engine, you need to use the Intake and exhaust manifolds, and the distributor from the festiva motor. I believe that the rest of the engine is basically the same.
(Aspire engines do have roller rocker arms).

[eurotiva]

You'll need to take the front pullies off the motor to get enough clearance for the clutch.

[GenevaDirt]

No need to pull the pulleys Greg. I have pulled 2 engines already without removing the trans. Not a big deal at all. Just have to remember to unhook everything....like the exhaust bolts...(trust me....lol).

[RitzyFestiva]

Will do a more indepth search here on the site. As for mechnical ability, I have the level to do the job without too much difficulty. I did purchase a Ford FSM (factory service manual)for his car right after we got it about a year ago and it included the electrical/wiring manual. I recently acquired an engine stand as well as an engine hoist, hand tools in metric and sae, torque wrenches etc. Should not be an issue.

We had picked up a 94 Aspire motor which was running in excellent condition from a young guy who had purchased it for isntallation into a '91 Festiva but it was EFI. Ours is an '88 and it is carburated, so I know I will have to remove the intake manifold at a minimum and swap it. So I will also need the exhaustand distributor as well? I do know that the only reason he sold the motor was 10 days after installing it in his Festiva was that he was in an accident so he parted out the car to try to recover some of his investment.

Removal of the intake does not seem too difficult either. You mentioned the distributor, is there anyway to tell if the Festiva distributor from the '91 is the same as the '88? I know I will also need the mechanical fuel pump too. I did look at the engines last night and noted there is a cover where the mechanical fuel pump is located on the '88. Will I need a compe gasket set for the engine to do the swap or can you get what is needed seperately? I am considering replacing the cllutch while we have the engine out. Anyone know the measurements of the clutch to determine if it really needs replacement? When we got the car, supposedly it had the clutch replaced so it should be near new. My son is a pretty good driver with a clutch so I don't think he has worn it out already.

Removal from the car with the hoist leaving the tranny does not seem to be the way the FSM tells you to remove the engine, so I will be somewhat dependent on advice from the forum as I have never had to do any serious engine work on one of thes little guys. Identifing what needs to be pulled so that it will clear the engine bay is my primary concern. Any help in this area is always appreciated.

I was hoping to postpone this job till it got warmer and better weather but now I guess I'm forced to do it, don't have a garage to do this in. Maybe the ex will let me use the garage! LOL! My son and I were going to tackle this later as he needed a new rear main seal as it had been leaking oil. In fact this is how he discovered the "vanilla shake" as he was driving the car it was driving just fine, no laboring, shuddering coughing, he said it was running quite normally and no really visiable smoke that you would assciate a blown head gasket with. He said he did not notice any increase in operating temp either. Just when he checked the oil level that the dip stick was milky cream colored. Anyway, now we are a bit forced into a minor overhaul on the OEM motor.

If anyone has any tricks, tips or hazards that they encountered on their doing an engine replacement, I am all ears! thanks again for some great help. I will attempt to document this so it will be on the site after I finish so someone else can benefit from this as well. Cheers!

[TominMO]

88 disty is for a carbed car, 91 is for EFI; definitely not the same.

[RitzyFestiva]

Great, thanks will make a note to swap the distributer.

[Festy46]

Before you panic and start changing engines. Change the oil and the oil filter and then take the car for at least a 50 mile road trip all at one time. Check the dipstick and take out the valve cover fill cap and look at that too, when you return. You may be pleasantly surprised. When you don't drive a car far enough to get it really hot, moisture condenses inside the valve cover and moisture drips into the oil. I have indoor forklifts that are not driven long enough to get really warmed up and they get the "white goo" all the time. You just have to change the oil more often.

[RitzyFestiva]

Well it appears that I may not have a blown head gasket after all. Seems for what ever reason and Festy46 may be on to something here, I drained the oil and it was brown/black and no traces of any "vanilla foam". I kept getting some water/oil white residue from the dipstick tube, but after running a bit of cotton cloth through it it now appears that the oil/filter change along with a mini-road trip, not quite 50 miles but close to 30 total has revealed that the car is still running as it should, is not overheating at all. Thanks Festy46!

couple of things that were helpful, I had to drain the oil and noted that my oil drain plug was damaged, the previous own had used some sort of silicone around the head of the drain plug as it was nearly rounded at the crown and had no pressure washer. Quick trip to the local bone yard and for $1 I found a replacement off a 90's Mazda. 19 mm and off it came, installed on my son't car's oil pan, tightened down and added the oil.

So for right now the issue is resolved. This will give me the time I need to prep correctly and prepare the Aspire motor for install into the '88. Whew!

[Zanzer]

^^ Sounds like you and this guy have the same problem

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27683

[batstiva]

Just so you know, if you put that Aspire motor in a carbed stiva, you will have to use a different fuel pump as well. The Aspire cams do not have the lobe that makes the mechanical fuel pump in the carbie work.

Not a huge deal, but didn't want you to do the whole swap, and then wonder why the car is not getting any gas.