Did not get much in the 1997-2003 section thought I would post here.

Mainly need a parts list at this time.

Hello all,
Need a little help. Story is A friend of mine has a 1997 4.6 F150. It has ~160k on it. He got it free from a family member. It has been sitting for the last 6 months. I changed all the fluids got a new battery rewired the starter (it was wired incorrectly and would not fire) and got it running. Thought that was it. But no, we have another issue.

He was driving and it overheated. He waited for it to cool and brought it over. (Tools are at my house). Got to looking and found on the passenger side at the rear of the block a steady drip of coolant. Took the inner fender off and found the exhaust manifold c-clamped to the pipe. (LOL) Also found coolant dripping out of the crack.
So looks like I have a head gasket to replace. Friend has been out of work for sometime so he cannot afford to go all out and replace everything. I want to get him going so he can do some side jobs to feed his family and pay his mortgage. First task this weekend is to do a compression test to check, but all indications point to the head gasket.

Background is I have been over on the diesel section for a while and while doing searches here I have not found a good write-up on doing the head gaskets. I need some help. I am looking for a parts list with numbers if you have them with recommendations. (I.e. ford or aftermarket) And the torque specks for putting it all back together.

What I have so far for a parts list is:
• Ford MLS Head gaskets
• Ford TTY bolts
• Intake gaskets
• Exhaust gaskets
• O-ring for injectors

My plan is to test compression and confirm the head gasket leak. Then tear down to the heads and visualize the cylinders and jackets, and rebuild. As I stated he cannot afford to have the heads checked and decked. With this plan I am also going to try and fix the 1 confirmed broken exhaust manifold bolt on the top of #4 and fix the c-clamp exhaust leak. Then just rebuild.

Should I even think about pulling the driver side? I am leaning toward doing it but since he is not going to do anything with the heads I am not sure if it is even worth it. No obvious broken bolts or issues.

I will be documenting as I go to post the findings and the build steps I use. Thanks in advance

 

IMO you are foolish to not have the heads checked.

 

Hi,
here a small list from my Cylinder Head change 4.6l Windsor Engine (I don't think it's just the Gasket, but may you got more luck)
For the torque specks I would recommend buying a Repair Manual (is not very expensive in the US (look at ebay or your local Autozone, NAPA etc.)

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Cylinder Head Bolt Set x2 / Fel-Pro ES72798
Cam Holding Tool / OTC 6477
Cam Positioning Tool / OTC 6476
Ford Crankshaft Holding Tool / OTC 6024
Fuel Filter removal Tool / W83114

Good luck!!!!!