98 ford ranger v6 blowing white , Out the exhaust
 

I am working on a 98 v6 ranger and it has white, smoke out the exhaust, and oil in the rediator. I did s compression test and found cyl # 1 65 psi and # 2 90 psi, # 4 is 65 psi also.
Did a leak test on the cooling system and it could not hold pressure for less than 30 seconds and no external leaks. I removed the rockers and put air into each cylinder trying to figure what side of the v 6 was blown head but only got leaking into the crankcase due to rings.
wondering if anybody has seen this before. There is no coolant in the oil and the spark plugs seem pretty clean.
Engine runs a bit rough also.
cracked head or ???? Blown gasket ?
not too experianced with these and need advice before I pull the heads.
thanks guys
Al

it's one or the other so the heads have to come off anyhow....

X2 pull the heads.

Re: 98 ford ranger v6 blowing white , Out the exhaust
 

All of those engines crack the heads sooner or later. There used to be plenty of places to buy brand new replacements for them.



Roger
582r10

Might want to hope and pray it isn't like my friends explorer he had to take the engine out to replace the head gaskets.

ouch...

Those pos v-6s are terrible for the heads cracking.. Im assuming its a 4.0ltr. Done quite a few of them over the years. Make sure u get new head bolts.

And you will not have to pull the engine out.. even on a explorer to do the heads. Cadilacs with the northstars you do..

There are 2 different 4.0 motors that Ford used. The 8th digit in the VIN will tell you which one it is. If it's an X it will be a pushrod motor, an E will be an overhead cam motor. I don't think they used a OHC motor in the '98 ranger but if that's what it is it will be easier to pull it out to change the heads and you will have to have special tools to setup the cam timing. Those heads are notorious for cracking and the cracks are sometimes difficult to detect.

best bet would be find a good machine shop, pull the motor, and have them do a complete overhaul and start from scratch. not sure what the economy is like in your area of the world but i would be able to get all basic machining done and build the motor for you for about fifteen hundred all inclusive. hope that helps