Head gasket likely shot, engine replacement tips?

[Minnie79]

My friend has a 2013 Fiesta, 1.6 automatic. Pretty sure the head gasket let loose today. No coolant in oil, but the act of cranking the engine blows coolant from the reservoir. And of course it won’t start. It may have been going on longer than this, as one of the lines to the reservoir kept developing leaks and she’s had to keep adding coolant. Thought it was fine a few days ago when I patched the line. New line has already been on order. Another guy looked at it today and said the water pump is seized up. She just had a shop put on a new serpentine belt a week ago, after she said there was a chirping sound. You would think they would have noticed.

Edit: It’s now in my yard so I can work on it whenever. Compression starting from belt side is 120, 94, 58, 118. Head gasket between middle two cylinders.

Anyway, rather than do the water pump and timing set, and find out the head is possibly warped or cracked… I’m thinking it would be better to drop in a good used engine for $350, and change the water pump and timing set while it’s out for good measure. And least get her going in the least amount of downtime.

Is there anything else that is a common problem item, which would be better replaced while the engine is out?

Also, I watched a YouTube video on engine removal, and had a couple questions for anyone who has done it.

1. Does the hood need to come off, or is it just more convenient that way? Looks like a good way to put it through the windshield if I’m not careful.

2. Does the steering knuckle need to be disconnected for the axle support to be removed? Or again, is it just more convenient that way? Looks like a good way to inadvertently overextend the axle.

I’ve done 3 engine swaps, but always with late 80s GM FWD cars. This is my first experience with one of these cars. Engine wise anyway. Last winter I replaced the Fiesta rear wheel bearings and the front balljoints/control arms.

 

[Minnie79]

Engine is out. It’s in the garage, which is normally the home of my show car. Took me 12 hours yesterday, about typical. Hood stayed in place. I removed the passenger axle to keep it from getting overextended or damaged. I just popped out the balljoint since I just did those last winter anyway.

Only thing that broke was the starter solenoid, which would have broken regardless. Trigger wire nut was so tight it took 2 stacked vise grips plus wrench to remove the nut from the terminal. Can’t believe how much starters are for this thing.

In contrary to what the other guy said, there is nothing wrong with the water pump. It must have slowly lost coolant from the broken hose at the overflow tank.

Still wondering if there are any common issues on these engines that would be better fixed while it’s out/apart ? Like for example, the distributor O ring on the GM 60 degree V6. I would definitely do the timing belt and water pump.

Also wondering whether or not to do the head gasket, or just put in a replacement. What’s it commonly like when the head gasket goes on these? Does the head usually weaken or warp or crack? If not, I can save 2-3 hundred dollars if I can just fix this one. It wasn’t seriously overheated.

I did buy a repair manual CD. And have watched a lot of videos. One thing that seems to be a confusing spot, is the torque on the camshaft caps. Lots of people saying the published torque is too much. That’s a pretty critical area for conflicting information.

 

[Handy Andy]

The engine block and the head need to be checked for warpage - else you may not be able to reassemble it right once the new gasket of this original motor has been changed.


When you remove the head, you'll see that the cylinders appear to "float" in the block when you look from the top-side down. The block itself is merely a container for the waterjacket the upper cylinders have around them. This is how the motor even works - the fluid carries the heat away while the sleeves transfer heat from their chambers. The Gasket itself is adjunct - which keeps the cylinders from bleeding - blowing into each other - but there are areas of concern where there are gaps in the joiners - the cylinder to cylinder sleeves - that let fluid in to cool that section. If these get caked with debris, the effort to restore it may be pointless for they may have developed minor cracks and will fail soon enough - meaning replacing the gasket is only buying time. As to - how much time? Depends on how much the gap is plugged from debris or caked with sludge from the radiator fluid and oil mix.



The Cylinder head receives the fluid and pushes it out the outlets in the back.

So gotta' keep the ports clean so if you decide to change the gasket - make sure those areas are clear of debris and old oil.

Have to add this in, because you also asked about the "Camshaft cap bolts" torque specs, they run about 92 to 95ft/lbs which may seem high, it is supposed to be...

Think of the geometry - the head floats above the block - the cams are integrated (bolted and journaled) into the head.

When the head takes on extra air and charge - the head itself can deform due to the combustion - so the deformation also can affect the journal to bearing clearances - people have had their head caps crack due to the out of round condition that can happen when the cylinder head gasket goes awry as well as lose camshafts due to the head warpage.

This is coming from advice I get when I ask about this kind of motor - although many like it, when it gets abused, they get junky as in - unusable - quickly - especially after racing or short track jaunts - they don't take too well to that abuse and cost too much to fix, it's easier to sell out for scrap by weight and get another rebuild (if they are locally available) else even the rebuild inventories are dwindling on these motors so if you need to make a choice - get a spare and eat the cost up front, the older motor can possibly be rebuilt and resold later - you might be able to break even if the rebuild "takes" to the motor and no issues come up during the rebuild. .