I have a 1991 2.3L ranger and the truck has been great. Absolutely no problems until just recently when I blew a head gasket. I've never done any work on engines other than change the oil and spark plugs but when the mechanic told me it was $1500 for a head gasket replacement I said I would do it myself. Hell, $1500 is more than the truck is worth.

Some one told me I should replace the head bolts but I have a Haynes manual that says I just need to clean the bolts with a wire brush and chase the threads and reuse them. Does anyone know the thread size for these bolts or is there a way to tell on the bolt what the thread size is? Or do you think I should just buy new head bolts? Also, anyone know of any previous threads that help with replacing head gaskets? I'm a bit nervous about tackling this project but I'm too broke to take it to the mechanic. Thanks for any help.

 

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Mat11. That does sound rather high but I'm guessing for that price he is including a rebuilt head, new cam belt, water pump, and cooling system flush. Head gaskets usually go out from cooling system failures. The engine gets too hot and the head warps. Then the gasket fails. If you do it yourself you will need to take the head in for a rebuild. If it is cracked it will have to be replaced. Do a google search for rebuilt heads to get an idea of the cost. I would guess $400 - $500 for a complete rebuilt head. The other stuff I would gestimate at about $150. If you have very little mech experience this may be a bit too much to tackle alone. You should find someone with more background to help you. You will need a torque wrench, service manual (for torque specs), and a set of socket wrenches and end wrenches etc.

Replacing the head bolts.... replacing is required for the ones that stretch when torqued. You would check the service manual for that.

I would also post this in the 4-banger forum. I'm sure you will get a lot of responses that will help you decide you best course of action. You can, of course, also get more bids on the job. Another option is a junkyard engine. It is actually a less technical job to swap a complete engine than to do a top-end rebuild.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

 

There's a thread going in the 4 banger forum now:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=246851
Get a service manual & it will get you through the head job and any other thing that comes up in the future.
AL.

 

Thanks xlt4me and Dealford for the replies and advice!

I feel pretty stupid about this but I think this may of what caused my blown head gasket. My ranger is a bit quirker when it is cold. If I don't let it warm up for a minute or two before I start driving it idles high and drives me crazy. Some times after it warms up I can turn it off and start it back up and it then idles fine. A while back I was in a rush and took off and sure enough it was idling high. I turned it off but I couldn't restart it. I sat through a couple rounds of traffic lights trying to get it started while the traffic behind me was backing up. Some one approached and told me I should gun it while starting it up and that should clear up the problem. Well, I did and a couple of days later I noticed the blown head gasket.

I only put about another 5 miles on it before I noticed the problem. Can gunning the engine cause a blown head gasket? Do you think that just a few miles can warp the head?

Thanks again.

 

What symtoms of a blown head gasket are you refering to?

Over reving it may have blown out a week spot in the gasket and then you lost coolant??? One mile without coolant can warp the head.

 

i just got done putting a head gasket on my 2.3 also ,i used the old bolts also but i cleaned out the holes good to ,depends on your miles u may want change your timeing belt,i did with all the stuff off it makes it a little bit better to put on

 

Yes, I'm thinking that is what happened xlt4me. I blew out a weak spot and then lost some coolant. The radiator was still half full of coolant so I didn't run it dry. I'm hoping nothing got too hot to warp the head.

Marvoles, what is the thread size of the head bolts? I just wanted to buy a single tap and die instead of a whole tap and die kit. Thanks for the advice, I will change the timing belt while I'm at it.

Today I got pretty far. I'm almost ready to take off the valve cover. When I took off the throttle body the inside was filthy. There is a sticker on the T.B. that says not to clean the inside of the throttle body though. Why is that?

 

All head bolts will stretch when torqued. The ones that HAVE to be replaced are called ANGLE bolts. With these bolts, they are tighted (turned) a specified number of degrees, after being torqued a lower amount.

 

the bolts and holes are metric,sorry i was in a hurry i did not check,as far as the tb just wipe it out ,take carb cleaner spray on a rag and wipe it out ,take your the bolt with you when u get parts, thay will no what tap to get ,parts i replaced,when i did the head was head gasket ,tb gasket, timeing belt,thermostat and gasket,valve covergasket,intake gasket ,exust gasket,,check your hoses now is the time to replaced them????,i will be starting mine up sunday after4pm hopefully it will start the belt was a pain ,hope it all works for ya any ??? give me a shout marvoles

 

Good luck to you tomorrow Marvoles. Hope everything goes well and it starts for you. I haven't got to my timing belt yet. It looks like that will be the trickiest part of this whole thing.

 

there was a thread that discussed cleaning the throttle body recently. If I recall correctly, there is a protective coating on the inside and you arent suppose to wipe it at all, just spray throttle body cleaner, not carb cleaner, on it. am i correct? someone please confirm this.

 

Yes, throttle body cleaner (not carb cleaner) is what you want to use, a few wipes with a rag is OK.

 

hay thanks, i did not know that, i learned something again thanks marvoles

 

Hey Marvoles, how did you get the fuel supply and return lines disconnected on the fuel rail?

 

Hay mat, go to the auto parts store thay will have what u need, its a sleave that opens up and slips over the gas line,u pull up on the tool and it should release,{BUT BE CAREFULL THE LINES ARE UNDER PRESSURE WITH GAS ] use glasses,when u put them back on thay just slip back on ,o also there is a saftey clip u will see that comes off first,it is hooked on by a wire,it just clips off ,make sure u put them back on ,GOOD news i got mine runnin,i have to do a little ajusting but in runs, have any more? give me a shout,PS take your time and mark wires and hoses,1-1 2-2 ,it makes it a lot easer to put togather have fun marvoles