1972 Torino Blown Head Gasket?

Hello. I have a 1972 Ford Gran Torino 351c. The guy I bought the car from had blown a freeze plug and the engine overheated. They replaced the plugs but the car ran rough and they were told a head gasket had blown out due to it overheating. Thats where I got the car. There seems to be no water in the oil, it does not blow white smoke but does loose water. There is a small hole in the radiator where it looses some water. The car will start and idle but its very rough and has no power. It will move on its own but just way under powered. Is the lack of power and rough running a sign of a blown head gasket? I am going to take off the heads and replace both gaskets but what else should I look for while inside for clues to other problems? Greg

Reply to
GGHS 1981
Loading thread data ...

do a compression test , this will answer your questions and may indicate replacing only one head gasket.

Reply to
atec77

Yes do a compression check, and do some other diagnosis before pulling the heads. Is the car still overheating? Maybe you have a bad plug wire, or dist cap or points. How many miles are on it? White smoke (or lack of) indicates water getting into a cylinder. Look at all the plugs when you do the compression check. low compression in 2 cylinders next to each other indicates a head gasket blown between 2 cylinders. Also combustion gas can get into the cooling system and cause overheating, with possibly no coolant loss. This is checked with a block tester. or with an emission testing machine with the exhaust probe held over the radiator(engine running of course) I would not take the garage's word with out further tests. They may be guessing. If you do pull the heads, send them to a machine shop to be pressure checked, and shaved if needed. May want to perform a valve job at that time too. Tony D.

Reply to
Anthony Diodati

Depends on just how severe that overheat was. You could have anything from just a blown headgasket (the cheapest option) to valves seized in their guides or piston rings that are completely shot, or even melted right out of their grooves.

Start with a compression test before you pull it apart. If its just 2 dead cylinders adjacent to each other on one or both banks, then its probably blown gaskets and warped heads. If ALL the cylinders are down, then its probably time for a complete overhaul.

Reply to
Steve

As others have mentioned, I'd do some diagiognostics before tearing into it. Would be disappointing to put all of the effort into changing head gaskets to find the problem is still there. Could be as simple as a clogged air cleaner or fuel filter. Maybe a carb overhaul is in order. Also, crushed exhaust pipe or plugged muffler will cause low power. Knowing the history of the car maybe points towards a blown head gasket, but not sure the symptoms you describe (or lack of symptoms) do.

Reply to
bobby

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.