I purchased an 88 Ford F150 V8 302 5.0 with 80,000 miles on it. I was driving it and it overheated, so I pulled over and filled the radiator, drove another 20 miles died, let it cooled down, filled the radiator again, got to where I was going. I did what I had to, and then in the parking lot I called my dad, he said it was the thermostat. I pulled the thermostat out, put a new gasket on, and put it back together, put some oil in it, since I had burned some, and then made way for home. I overheated at the same point and pulled over again. I got about two miles from my house and steam started rolling from my truck, then smoke, and the hood was bubbling, I pulled over, and popped the hood and had a fire on the left side of the block. I was told to replace my "Head Cover Gaskets", so now I've opened it up and strung out the motor everywhere and I have char and rust all over the parts, I know the obvious answer is to buy a new engine, but is there anyway a guy down on his luck and pocketbook can recover all this?

-playing with emery cloth until I get some sound advice

 

Welcome to the forums.

Um, wow, don't know where to begin here.

It overheated and you filled it with water? Where did the water go? Have you checked the radiator for leaks? Hoses?

Yes, could have been thermostat sticking. Since you just removed it, that would eliminate that as the root cause since it still overheated.

Failed waterpump?? I guess you needed to see if there was water circulating after putting water in, but too late to do that now.

Sounds like you got it so hot, the oil leaks musta caught on fire? Thus the reason someone told you to replace the valve cover gaskets.

Since you have it all torn down, I'm not sure what to tell you to do. Likely did some damage with the multiple overheatings, not sure about the wiring that could be damaged from the fire? My best guess so far is the motor needs replaced, or at least the heads need looked at(possibly surfaced due to heat and warpage), the start putting it back together and determine why it overheated to begin with.

 

The water, what didn't end up in the oil pan, evaporated and blowed out what I'm presuming (I'm not positive where it was blowing out of for sure) was around the head covers, the cork gaskets where only partially there when I removed the covers. Oil pan contents when pulled the plug to drain it were: crystal clear water, oil, and then coagulated goop.

I had a parts dealer tell me to take it to this local machinist for a acid bath or hot bath(I'm not sure what he called it... ) but he made it sound like it was going to cost me more than I can afford as nice and easy as this sounds. He told me that it would remove the rust and restore the metal and that he could check for warping and smooth the surfaces back out. This guy also told me that prior to draining the oil pan, I should have put an oil treatment in the engine and let it run, to break it all up and get it out; couldn't I still do this with fresh oil later and then change the oil again?

I spoke with a small engine's mechanic yesterday and he told me about this Rust Inhibitor gel "Naval Jelly" (paint on, let set and sand off type stuff) that he swore by to help me out in my situation.

I'm not too worried about the wiring harness, I'm good with electrical, but I'm timid about what to do about getting all this rust out, because I don't want to dump a whole ton of money into it and it not work out for me... and then I'm S.O.L. for the holidays and walking to work in the freezing cold (which is due-able, but unpleasant).