1997 Ford Thunderbird Head Gasket going out

TD91970

MEMBER
1997 FORD THUNDERBIRD
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
130,000 MILES

Today when I got my oil changed, when he drained the oil, the first thing that came out was like chocolate milk. He said that's water/antifreeze mixed in with the oil and the head gasket is going out.

One mechanic said they can do a pressure test and see where it's leaking, but I fear it will only make problems worse. I found a product on line called "Bar's Leaks - Head Gasket Repair". Here are the links...
http://www.barsproducts.com/tech/1100_tech.pdf
http://www.barsproducts.com/msds/1100_msds.pdf
http://www.barsproducts.com/tech/1100_faq.pdf

So far, it has not overheated or anything. If it runs rough when it is started in the morning, I've not noticed it, because I use a remote start to warm it up. I took it to the garage because it was making a screechy noise when it started and when I turned. They replaced the Harmonic Balancer yesterday.

Do you think the Bar's Leak would be a good inexpensive thing to try to save my engine? It's only $30 at Autozone. I would probably pay a mechanic to follow the instructions in detail and hope it works! Just looking for advice. Do you know if they work? If it did, do you think it would fix it for good? It's just too beautiful of a car to scrap! I've always fixed any problem that it's had and have put quite a bit of money into it through the years. I've had it for 12 years. Here's a pic of my beautiful T-bird...

3 Replies

OBXAUTOMEDIC

MECHANIC
3,711 POSTS

Hello,

Well, Honestly if you are going to do that you might as well have the Heads Gaskets Replaced. If you haven't read the Instructions you might want to before making your final decision.

If you are looking for temparary fix to get you by for a while you can use the Bars Leak that you just add to the Coolant, it only costs about $8 or less.

.

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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 AT 8:14 PM

TD91970

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you were refererring to when you said "if you're going to do that".
"Well, Honestly if you are going to do that you might as well have the Heads Gaskets Replaced."

I think replacing the head gasket would probably cost about $2,000 - $4,000 for a 4.6L, right?

Yes, the instructions are pretty crazy, that's why I figured I would want a mechanic to do it, if I had it done. I didn't realize there was one that could be added just to the coolant without draining the coolant and flushing it. I will check on that.

The other option later is putting a new engine in the car. Is that crazy for a 12 year old car? Would all the other parts start dying soon?

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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 AT 10:14 PM

OBXAUTOMEDIC

MECHANIC
3,711 POSTS

I was refering to the Bars Leak Head Gasket Repair, were you have to drain the whole cooling system.

Replacing the Head Gaskets should only cost about $1,500. You can call around and get some quotes. And to have a shop do the Bars Leak Head Gasket Repair could cost about $1,000.

Or like I said about the Bars Leak you can just add the the Coolant as a temp fix.

As far as a new engine, well if the vehicle was not burning oil and you had no problems prior to the head gasket there is no need to replace the engine.

And for other coming problems that will depend on the maintenance schedule and how dilegent you are on having it done when suppose to. If you haven't had any problems with the vehicle and this is the first then of course there will be other repairs, but they should be minor, ex: water pump, alternator, starter, a/c compressor, timing belt. Now, if you replace the motor depending on were you get it you will have to use most of the parts off your old engine like the starter, alternator and A/C Compressor.

.

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Thursday, February 4th, 2010 AT 10:36 PM