[Roadsters] O/T Bronco coolant question

[Durf & Sue Hyson]

There are 3 simple " first attempt things"  you can do . You can do the 
first on your own . The second will require help . What you are 
describing sounds like the first warning of a failing head gasket . So 
far it has only failed slightly . You have a breech in the gasket 
between two of the small holes . Both are pressure flows , The oil 
passage pressure is way higher than the coolant flow pressure so you are 
getting transfer from the high side to the lower side . The gasket 
hasn't failed between the coolant flow passage and the cylinder bore yet 
therefore no water in the oil yet .

1.) Do a visual inspection of the head to block joint . You are looking 
for the evidence of a localized oil leak or weep from that seam . If you 
have ever seen a Z that has had a head gasket failure most of them 
develop a weep line directly above the oil filter long before the gasket 
completely fails . If you find evidence of a weep clean it up . Then 
start the truck up and let it run for 1/2 an hour . If it was a weep it 
will be wet again with fresh oil .

2.) Slightly overfill the bottle so it is 3/4ths or slightly more full . 
Leave the cap off . Fire up the engine and see if you get a geyser out 
of the bottle or if you can see any evidence of what looks like a water 
spring in a lake . The coolant in the bottle doesn't really have a flow 
of it's own so it should be pretty stable .

2.) Go to your local garage or inspection station and have them use 
their inspection machine to check the coolant bottle for Hydrocarbon 
emissions . There shouldn't be any .
If there are and you are lucky you can determine which side of the motor 
is the problem by looking at the spark plugs . What you are looking for 
is 1 or maybe 2 adjacent ones that seem abnormally clean compared to the 
rest . Steam cleaning will do that . A tiny head gasket failure will 
steam clean them .

Good luck . I hope one of these helps .

Durf
On 7/9/2013 4:45 PM, steven boortz wrote:
> Hi everyone
> My 1996 Bronco with the 5.8 has oil in the coolant overflow tank. The oil on the dip stick looks normal, if a little dirty. No water.
> Does that still mean it's the head gasket?