Okay so I know little to **** about cars first off, don't hassle. Yes Imma woman so what. I learned a little bit from the men in my life and one I dated a while back. Okay on the real fun.
My husband and I have a Ford Ranger 1983 I believe, its run ragged as is...We've been haven trouble keeping oil in it, so we're not sure what the problem is. Yes, we're gonna go take it to the mechanic I jsut wondered myself if anyone knew the issues.

See he put in a gallon of oil I believe last week, after he ran it dry on the highway and it started knocking. It got a little better at first, but now it is knocking like real bad again. I don't think its the oil and he says he believes it is the heads.
Are heads different than the head gaskets or the same, is another question. I just wondered if anyone might have an idea what the trouble may be with the truck to give me an idea before we send it to the mechanic. I'd appreciate it. Thanks

 

Izzy,

The truck is using quite a bit of oil. The possibilities for why can run a longer list. Are you seeing oil spots in the driveway? Does it seem to be leaking from a particular spot (e.g. oilpan vs rear mains vs valve cover gasket)? Is the engine burning the oil?

The head gasket is the interface between the head and the engine block. It might be at the root of your issue, but to go through that much oil, it sounds like the rear main oil seal went. Was there a lot of smoke when your husband had trouble on the highway?

Running the engine bone dry can cause significant damage in a short amount of time. A rebuild by a pro will cost a bunch, so a junkyard replacement is probably a cheaper route to go. More risk than a rebuild, but let's see what the issue is first before jumping to any conclusions.

Kevin

 

...and Welcome to FTE!

 

Thanks Rack, no there was no smoke at that time. We have no sign of an oil leak so we're not sure.
Thing is today, he said the engine made a loud thud then oil began to pour from it! So...the engine blew or something. We gotta have it towed and fixed now ><; Who knows the damage but yeah i know it'll be a pretty penny. The engine is already replaced bad thing. The engine is now a '93 Bronco in it, that was put in before he bought it. Apparently he has had alot of issues with it before I even met him. Had to have the corroborator rebuilt twice ya know. Thanks for the help though.

 

Hi Izzy,

Sounds like the engine stuck a push rod through the block. I had a friend who had a '67 Chrysler Newport (with actual barn hinges for the hood). He bought the car because it had a 383 cid engine and wanted to build it up. However, the car lasted only a couple of weeks. On a ride, the car overheated, so we popped the hood and found a hole the size of a softball in the radiator (discovered it when we started to pour water into the radiator and it proceeded to pour right back out the hole). We were about 20 miles from home, so he decided to drive it anyways. Almost made it home before the engine quit. We laughed a bit in his driveway, sure we killed the engine. Amazingly, he started it back up, but it made a terrible rattling sound and it ran rough. He revv'ed the engine a few times and we laughed at the indestructable 383!! Suddenly a boom and I felt a thud next to my foot. Stuck in the ground was a push rod and oil dumped out the hole it made as it shot through the block. The 383 was dead...this time!!

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. If you indeed killed the engine, then you are probably better off getting a used engine where you can strip off any newer/newly purchased items off your old engine. Not cheap either way you look at it unless you know someone who can help guide you through a rebuild/replacement project. I had such luck on a Nissan Stanza I owned. Not a task I would have done on my own, but with an experienced mechanic friend, I replaced the timing chain, tensioner, several misc. smaller component (crank sprocket, woodruff key, etc), replaced the bent valves and guides, and resurfaced the head for under $400. In comparison, I paid the pro $2500 for a similar rebuild, so you can see, most of the cost was in paying the pro (who missed the cracked crank sprocket that caused the engine to crash the second time).

If you have an experienced mechanic friend and the time to jump in and help with the rebuild (hopefully you have a second car to get you by), you may want to give that route a shot. Given you are in the South (as I recall), you should have a better selection of older vehicles to find the parts you need.

Good luck!

Kevin