Head Gasket?

[steelyglint]

hi there. i recently bought a 2.3 petral auto 2003. on saterday i noticed a dripping from unger the bonnet and on investigation the coolant tank was full of 'choclate milkshake' wich i assumed to be coolant and oil and also leading me to assume the head gasket had 'gone'. on closer inspection today there is none of the said water/oil mix in the engine itself or in the rocker caseing. it dus however stink of transmission fluid and it dripping transmision fluid from underneth. any ideas? it does start and drive about altough no more than 100 yards jus to manover it about. does the coolant run though the gearbox and the engine? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chrispb123456]

hi there. i recently bought a 2.3 petral auto 2003. on saterday i noticed a dripping from unger the bonnet and on investigation the coolant tank was full of 'choclate milkshake' wich i assumed to be coolant and oil and also leading me to assume the head gasket had 'gone'. on closer inspection today there is none of the said water/oil mix in the engine itself or in the rocker caseing. it dus however stink of transmission fluid and it dripping transmision fluid from underneth. any ideas? it does start and drive about altough no more than 100 yards jus to manover it about. does the coolant run though the gearbox and the engine? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi yes the transmission has a cooler, sounds like its leaking. Water could also be getting into transmission

[tamworthleon]

hi there. i recently bought a 2.3 petral auto 2003. on saterday i noticed a dripping from unger the bonnet and on investigation the coolant tank was full of 'choclate milkshake' wich i assumed to be coolant and oil and also leading me to assume the head gasket had 'gone'. on closer inspection today there is none of the said water/oil mix in the engine itself or in the rocker caseing. it dus however stink of transmission fluid and it dripping transmision fluid from underneth. any ideas? it does start and drive about altough no more than 100 yards jus to manover it about. does the coolant run though the gearbox and the engine? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiya, Where abouts is the oil,bell housing ect? Could be the front gearbox oil seal.Clean it all off then run the engine and get under the car.

Your other problem, You need to let it run for a while and maybe you will get it happen again.Start your engine with the bottle cap removed to see what its doing. If it starts forcing water out of the top of the bottle then thats a good bet it will be the head Gasket.I've had this before with a Granada,it turned out to be the thermostat was knackard.They are easy to test.Let us know your findings.

Edited April 19, 2010 by tamworthleon

[steelyglint]

hi there. i recently bought a 2.3 petral auto 2003. on saterday i noticed a dripping from unger the bonnet and on investigation the coolant tank was full of 'choclate milkshake' wich i assumed to be coolant and oil and also leading me to assume the head gasket had 'gone'. on closer inspection today there is none of the said water/oil mix in the engine itself or in the rocker caseing. it dus however stink of transmission fluid and it dripping transmision fluid from underneth. any ideas? it does start and drive about altough no more than 100 yards jus to manover it about. does the coolant run though the gearbox and the engine? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiya, Where abouts is the oil,bell housing ect? Could be the front gearbox oil seal.Clean it all off then run the engine and get under the car.

Your other problem, You need to let it run for a while and maybe you will get it happen again.Start your engine with the bottle cap removed to see what its doing. If it starts forcing water out of the top of the bottle then thats a good bet it will be the head Gasket.I've had this before with a Granada,it turned out to be the thermostat was knackard.They are easy to test.Let us know your findings.

 

 

 

okay tis not the head gasket! oil in engine is nice and clean. theres gearbox fluid EVERYWERE though! this is whwts mixed with the coolant i think

[chrispb123456]

okay tis not the head gasket! oil in engine is nice and clean. theres gearbox fluid EVERYWERE though! this is whwts mixed with the coolant i think

Hi again

Have enclosed a picture of the transmission cooler its located on top toward the rear of the Gearbox.

Whats worrying here is if waters got in the gearbox.

This is what I would do, remove the two coolant pipes from the cooler join them together with a piece of tube , top up the water reservoir and then clean around cooler pipe connections take the car for a short drive, check where you have cleaned has anything come out of cooler connections? the cooler is removed by removing the single bolt in the middle

 

Engine radiator and hoses can be flushed out you may want to use a radiator flush additive to get oil out of cooling system.

There are procedures in the FAQ section for checking and draining fluid if water has got in the box you will have problems getting it out because of design you cannot drain all the fluid as the torque converter holds about 2.5 litres

[steelyglint]

okay tis not the head gasket! oil in engine is nice and clean. theres gearbox fluid EVERYWERE though! this is whwts mixed with the coolant i think

Hi again

Have enclosed a picture of the transmission cooler its located on top toward the rear of the Gearbox.

Whats worrying here is if waters got in the gearbox.

This is what I would do, remove the two coolant pipes from the cooler join them together with a piece of tube , top up the water reservoir and then clean around cooler pipe connections take the car for a short drive, check where you have cleaned has anything come out of cooler connections? the cooler is removed by removing the single bolt in the middle

 

Engine radiator and hoses can be flushed out you may want to use a radiator flush additive to get oil out of cooling system.

There are procedures in the FAQ section for checking and draining fluid if water has got in the box you will have problems getting it out because of design you cannot drain all the fluid as the torque converter holds about 2.5 litres

 

 

wow typical ford that looks like a pig to get too! thank you ill have a butchers nxt coupla days and report me findings.

[steelyglint]

so i have replaced the g'box oil cooler and flushed through the engine 6 times. fourtunatly the oil/coolant mixture didnt get in to the g'box proper so there dosnt seem to be any perminant damage touch wood. thanks for your help guys!

[chrispb123456]

so i have replaced the g'box oil cooler and flushed through the engine 6 times. fourtunatly the oil/coolant mixture didnt get in to the g'box proper so there dosnt seem to be any perminant damage touch wood. thanks for your help guys!

Hi again good result then :( I guess the gearbox fluid pressure is greater than the cooling system, as a point of note how much was the cooler?

[steelyglint]

so i have replaced the g'box oil cooler and flushed through the engine 6 times. fourtunatly the oil/coolant mixture didnt get in to the g'box proper so there dosnt seem to be any perminant damage touch wood. thanks for your help guys!

Hi again good result then :rolleyes: I guess the gearbox fluid pressure is greater than the cooling system, as a point of note how much was the cooler?

hey there! bout 80

[chrispb123456]

well done :rolleyes:

If you remove your radio and get the serial no, there are on line sites that will email you the code, prices vary depends on age of radio.

[gregers]

steelyglint there are peeps on the forum who might be able to help you with the correct code,i would suggest asking in a thread if any could pm you the code.do not ask for it on the open forum though :)