I have a 87 BII/2.9/A4ld . I am having to remove the intakes/upper end/heads to
diagnose why I am losing 1/2 gallon of coolant per day,,which seems to be coming out my exhaust in the steam form.***Maybe its a gasket,maybe its a head crack,,or both**I was just wondering if any body had found that pulling the motor and tranny out as a combo was worth the effort,, with the benefit being that every thing is so much easier to get to???,,and it would allow me to pull the oil pan,,clean it out,,,install new oil pump etc. **** Is it worth my Time? or is it just one of a million ways to skin this cat?

 

i would probably start by just pulling the intake and heads to check the head gaskets and have both heads magnifluxed as these engine are known to crack due to poor water flow. no need to pull the engine if it is just the heads. how many miles do you have on it?? does it use oil? has the engine ever been rebuilt in the past?

 

The vehicle/motor has 148xxx miles. I have reciepts from the 2 previous owners that go back to about 20xxx miles in the late 1980's. At varying points in the past,,before I bought it 4 years ago,,,it has had a 1500$ rebuild of the infamous A4ld tranny ,,,,a replacement radiator,water pump,, Im not sure if the heads are original or not. It runs awesome,smooth and uses no oil,,,but leaks a little. ***Im always aware of the problem of dumping excess money into a pig of a rig,,,,but on whole ,,this bronco probably warrants up to a 1000$ being put into it on repairs. ***I just bought a complete "master" head gasket kit today for 103$ that seems to have every possible gasket thats needed from air intake down to exhaust manifolds,,,with new head bolts included as well.*** Its cold and snowing and Im not looking foward to this with just a carport for shelter,,,but its gotta get done within the next few miles.***Thank you for the reply,,,,,Ive visited here often,,,but never posted anything.*** With this level of repair ,,,I would be an idiot not to tap into the hands on experience of this sites members.

 

well,if the engine runs good,i would just pull the heads and have both checked for cracks,and replaced both head gaskets.if the heads are not cracked there could be other problems.but i am willing to bet one of the heads is history

 

i've pulled the engine and tranny out of one in one piece...just make sure to take the transfer case off to make it easier on getting out. It's not easy to take it all at once...i'd seperate them if removing them ever again.

 

Not sure why you'd want to pull everything for a coolant problem but either way I'd start by just removing the intake and heads while the engine is still in the vehicle. I had to remove the heads to install new lifters and it wasn't a job that warranted pulling the engine.

What's up with all the ***?

 

For gust the coolant leak I wwould leave it in the vehicle. I you want to pull it I suggest only the engine. Adding the weight of the tranny and the angle to pull both them seperate especilly in a carport in the winter. Consider a wakeshift tent of tars or plasyic for shelter. While I had the engine out I would have the bores checked and put in new bearings and rings since it has 148K on it.

 

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen. If I had a better shop setup Id like to pull the drivetrain to do a more intensive fresh up,,,but I guess I'll just try to correct the main problems with the drivetrain in place.Hopefully with new gaskets and head/s added to the still quiet bottom end this motor might go another 20-30k before a total rebuild is needed. I apologize for the excessive ******'s,I was just experimenting in how to best do a legible post.<> My family has always trended toward Ford trucks for 60 years because there often the right tool for the job to be done. Im just following a sensible family Tradition. When I complete this repair I'll tell ya guys how it went..

 

I like how people immediately point to the heads or head gaskets when they have steam coming from the exhaust. All three of my trucks steam... and I don't think my '04 Toyota has already blown a gasket or cracked a head. While the 2.9 is known for cracking heads, you would see evidence of this on the oil dipstick as well as under the rocker arm covers. You may have a block heater that is leaking (like mine was), a bad radiator cap (like I had), or leaks elsewhere (like the heater core, lower intake gaskets, freeze plugs). You don't want to immediately assume that it's something like the heads and end up spending money you don't need to spend. First thing to do is to -prove- it is in fact something that necessitates this. Check all of your hoses for leaks, check everything cooling system related for leaks, check your water pump and water outlet (theromostat) for leaks, check ALL the freeze plugs, do a pressure test. Once you have narrowed it down to it being a head or both heads -FOR SURE- .... then bite the bullet. As notorious as the 2.9s are for the head problems, they are equally notorious for radiator problems and oil and/or coolant leaks, etc. Just my $0.02 and humble silly opinion, for what it's worth.

 

I started undressing the motor today,, uncoupling all the harness connections,sensors,etc. Im labeling/tagging /video taping as I can,, because ,,,even though this is a clean original B2,,,,the factory harness and associated wiring are routed in some strange ways. Just by moving vacume hoses,etc I have already broken a handful of rubber tips and vacume lines that were brittle from age. I found that taking off the front wheels and safely lowering the chassis down onto flat 2x12's really makes leaning into the engine bay a lot easier. If it wasnt for all the wiring and sensors ,,,Pulling the intake and heads would be rather easy.LOL.

 

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Smart man!

 

I have many many many pics too if you miss anything.

I was pleased to find out that the wiring was much easier then I thought it would be going back together.

 

I just thought of another possibility, since you have an automatic (A4LD) tranny. Check your tranny / tranny cooler for signs of coolant infiltration. Hopefully, the coolant isn't getting into the tranny. And yes, very smart to bag, tag, take pictures when disassembling things! Hopefully, you figure out where your coolant loss is! Good luck!