Hi Gents,

I'll attempt to repair my friend's X - Type, 2002 model 2.1 Ltr V6 Petrol.

Having never worked on these cars before (other than brakes and regular service) I'd appreciate any help.

The car started running rough a couple of months ago, and it never occurred to my friend to have it checked out.
As it turns out, there is oil in the water - NOT water in oil.

I've suspected that for such a symptom it could probably be the oil cooler.
Apart from that, although his temperature gauge in the dashboard is on the correct temp level, you can hear his water in the expansion tank, bubbling up like a kettle !

Has anyone else experienced such an issue with an X-Type before ?
Where would be the best place to start looking for the fault ?

Chris

 

Chris, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but from what you describe sounds a lot like a head gasket issue where you have a failure between the coolant channel and the oil system with the problem extending into the cylinder. I say this based on the fact that you are hearing bubbling in the overflow bottle. There is a certain amount of water flow that goes through the overflow bottle (part of the continuous venting that occurs with the engine), so, make sure that is not what you are hearing.

The first check that I would recommend doing is a compression check. That will tell you if you have a problem with the head gasket like I fear. What you are looking for is all the cylinders to be roughly the same value (give or take 10%). If you have 1 cylinder that is significantly different than the rest, that cylinder has a problem. Based on what you are describing, that would make me believe it is a head gasket.

NOw, just to make sure that we are thinking the same thing. When you say that there is oil in the coolant, you are able to see a brown layer on top of the overflow bottle. Or, are you just seeing a slight shimmer on the surface of the water? If it is just a slight shimmer, then I would not worry about that as I see that all the time and it is no big deal.

Assuming that you are just getting a slight shimmer and the car is running rough, as you are doing the compression test, take a look at the plug holes. It is possible that you will find a plug hole that is getting an oil level in it and that is the source of your problem. If you get oil in the plug well, it will cause the plug to short out and it will cause the cylinder to misfire. Now, along these lines, is the Check Engine LIght on? If so, get the code(s) and post them here. That may help us narrow down where your problem lies.

 

Thanks for the reply Chris !

Yes the Check Engine light is on... actually its always been on because the car has a defect on a lamda sensor and it has high emissions.

The oil in the water is... Mayonnaise ... :/
Thing is, the car is his daily driver, and its been like this for a long time !!! It works on all 6 cylinders and only runs rough from time to time (from what my friend told me coz I haven't lived with the car to know how it behaves).

A compression test would be a good idea though, at least we can rule that out
Also that way I will be able to see if DURING the compression test, I get bubbles in the water bottle !

Hoping its not a biggy !

...by the way... Where is the oil cooler on this car ???
I've seen the steering cooler and the gearbox cooler up front behind the bumper... but haven't been able to find the engine oil cooler at first glance...

 

Chris, I do not believe that our cars have an oil cooler in them. So, odds are, you are not going to find anything.

 

Hmmm... that would explain why I couldn't find it easily then !

hahaha

Looks like Christmas is here early for my mate then !

How much would a complete head gasket kit for this car cost ?

 

supercharged, what you are after is:

Felpro Head gasket set (Part Number HS 26248 PT-1). The one website I found, they have it listed for $335 USD. But, that is both head gaskets, intake seals, exhaust gaskets, etc. So, that would cover all the seals you need to do a top end rebuild. Then all you would need to order is a 2 sets of head bolts as the Ford bolts are a 1 time use only as you deform the bolts when you properly torque them (you put the bolts to their max tensile stress in the torquing process and to torque again stretches the bolt to the point that it becomes much weaker leading to issues).

HOpefully this will give you a point to start with and then you can get it done. I think you big issue will not be so much getting the heads off per se, but getting at the timing chains enough that you can ensure the timing marks are properly aligned.

 

Thanks for that mate...

I'm afraid the car will stay as it is for now, as funds don't allow a head overhaul at the mo.

You are right about the heads, hopefully it will soldier on till my mate can afford to fix it